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The Blended Family

Dear Future Family, This week in class, a topic was brought up that I found very enlightening. It was the topic of the blended family. I am not in a blended family, however, many of my friends and extended family are. I can see how this has effected many of my loved ones and something that, although I have not experienced first hand, is a familiar concept to me. Something that caught my attention was mentioned was the fact that the birth parent should be the one to do all of the “heavy duty” disciplining and the step parents should be the “fantastic aunt or uncle.” I think that this is brilliant because it causes far less conflict. Now, that’s not to say that the step parent should just let kids walk all over them. It also doesn’t mean that if there is a serious issue brought to the by one of the children that they should keep it secret from the birth parent. It simply allows the birth parent to know that their spouse will be helpful but not too tough on their children while the c
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Preparation for Parenthood: Disciplining with Love

Dear Future Family,       Parenting, I have heard many times, is not something that you can prepare for. Even if you try, you will soon realize how little your preparation has helped. Although I am not a parent, I do not agree 100% with these ideas. I agree that you will not be 100% prepared to parent and no amount of preparation before hand will make you the perfect parent when the time comes. Having said this, I also don’t believe that it is useless to prepare before hand and I believe there can be some wonderful benefits to pre-parenting preparation. One of the biggest challenges, I feel, that parents face with their children, especially their teenagers, is communication. When disciplining a child, it can be so difficult to do so without becoming angry or frustrated. However, when disciplined with love, you can create some wonderful opportunities to connect with your children and grow closer together. There are several ways that one can reach the point where they can successful
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Women and Education

Dear Future Family, “A young woman’s education should prepare her for more than the responsibilities of motherhood. It should prepare her for the entire period of her life. ” – Dallin H. Oaks While I believe that a woman’s primary responsibility is to her family in the home, I also believe that education is an important tool that she can use to be a greater blessing to her husband, her children, her community, and the world. There is so much wonderful knowledge that can be gained by attending a university in which principles are taught that can be useful in many aspects in life. It is also a wonderful opportunity for one to gain social skills that will not only help the individual, but their children as well as others that they may have the opportunity to interact with. I am currently attending Brigham Young University-Idaho. It has been a truly incredible experience. I cannot imagine that I would be where I am now without the learning and experiences I have gained by attendin
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Family Council

6/24/17 Dear Future Family,             Conflict is unavoidable. Everyone is faced with it every day. It doesn’t necessarily have to be catastrophic or major to have an effect on the way we interact with those around us, especially with those closest to us. The interesting thing is, when it comes to conflict, too often when we choose to react poorly to it, we allow our anger or frustration to be taken out on our loved ones. Our homes, a place where we should be able to feel safe and be able to take refuge, is, unfortunately, can easily be turned into a place where people attack one another and justify being unkind.             There are several solutions to such an issue, but I would like to focus on one in particular. Elder Russell M. Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said, “ A family council, when conducted with love and with Christlike attributes, will counter the impact of modern technology that often d
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Coping with Crisis

6/17/17 Dear Future Family,             When you think of the word crisis, what do you think of? At the beginning of this week, I would have probably said something very similar to how google defines it: “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” This is correct. However, with a little change in perspective, it could mean much more.             In class this week, I learned that the Chinese character for crisis is: 危机 . When translated, these characters stand for danger and opportunity. So, if we take the first definition, it does include danger, but the beauty of the Chinese translation is its inclusion of the word opportunity. This changes the word crisis from one that can seem unpleasant and daunting to one that is more tangible and hopeful.             Just think about it using this scenario for a minute. You are newly married and barely scraping by even though you are working two jobs and your spouse is working one. You are nervous about being able to pay of this
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Transitions in Marriage

06/17/17 Dear Future Family,             A couple of weeks ago, in my Family Relations class, we were talking about transitions in marriage. This is a topic that interested me greatly because I have recently become engaged and was curious to see what my fiancé and I may experience or have experienced already as we make this great commitment to one another. At first, we talked about the obvious ones like closet space, cleanliness, traditions, new-found quirks and other things that just come with living with someone. However, as we got deeper into our discussion, there was one thing that was brought up that I had not anticipated or that had even really crossed my mind. Boundaries.                       Now, these aren’t boundaries between husband and wife, although there are some of those as well. What really caught my attention was boundaries with family and friends. More so family for me.  My family and I are super close. We are that family where we loved to be with each other
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Within the Bounds the Lord Has Set

6/11/17 Dear Future Family,             Something that is very fascinating to me is the fact that today our society makes it seem like love, acceptance and happiness are found by living the way that the world teaches us to live. In reality, if we follow the way of the world, it cannot provide us with true love, complete acceptance or never-ending happiness. That kind of fulfillment can only be found in its fullness by living the way that Jesus Christ lived.             This week’s topic is one that can be complex and sensitive. There are many aspects of one’s life, as well as the lives of those around them, that can be impacted greatly by it and that, unfortunately, is misunderstood and mistreated today. I would like to focus, however, on one particular idea that I have found very valuable in my own life and that I have seen change the lives of others.             In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that, “the sacred powers of procreation are to be e
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