Leaving Home...

I have always wondered how I would handle leaving my home and getting married.  I have always held the belief that once I am married, I need to cleave unto my husband and none else, just as the scriptures say.  That isn't to say that I will only talk to and spend time with him, but I do think that I will need to manage the time I spend with others, especially my mom.  My mom and I have always been very close, and sometimes I feel bad for not being home more to spend time with her (I know she gets lonely and misses me), but I have realized that I need to be comfortable being my own person and living my own life.  This week's readings helped assure me that I don't need to feel bad for moving ahead with my life and entering the stages of married life soon.  I can still show her my love and support without feeling bad for being physically apart from her sometimes.  

I also really appreciated the counsel about only discussing marital matters between the two of you as spouses.  Information and questions regarding your relationship should be kept within the bounds of your marriage, and I believe that because of this, your marriage will be strengthened as you work through problems together and with the Lord.  If it is needed, of course help can be asked from parents or a counselor, but they should not be approached before the individuals in the marriage work together to find solutions.  

The advice and information about money was also very helpful.  I have always been a little apprehensive about managing my money, especially when I am married.  I am not worried so much about spending too much as I am not knowing how to save the most effectively.  I thought that the studies about family status and how those relationships affect your money management was especially interesting; it just goes to show that the way you are raised and how you develop as a person directly affects almost every aspect of your life later on.  These topics were so important for me to learn more about as I enter the holiday season and begin learning how to manage different families and different financial circumstances.

One

I really enjoyed President Eyring's talk about becoming one, called "That We May Be One".  His words rang true as I read them.  I want to share this quote from his talk:  "Our Heavenly Father wants our hearts to be knit together. That union in love is not simply an ideal. It is a necessity".  I love that he says that unity between hearts is necessary.  It's not just nice or something that can happen if we want it to, it is needed in this life and in the life to come.  I am so excited to be able to learn how to be more unified in love with my future spouse and with others around me throughout my life and in the eternities.  

Another quote from this talk made me think says, "Satan would tear us from loved ones and make us miserable. And it is he who plants the seeds of discord in human hearts in the hope that we might be divided and separate".  This quote reminds me of 2 Nephi 4: 26 and 27, which says:

"O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?"

This scripture has always been one of my favorites, because Nephi is frustrated due to his negative feelings.  It reminds me that we can all get upset sometimes, and those feelings of discord come from satan!  Just as soon as we feel closer than ever to our families, something seems to go wrong or something makes us angry.  Satan wants to tear families apart, especially ones that are unified and strong because of the love they have for one another.  But we don't have to let him control our feelings and allow his influence to make us sad - we can rely on the Savior to help us through and change our hearts.  I know that as I remember and do these things in my life, I will be able to be one with my spouse someday.