Preparing for Marriage/Dating

This week we talked about dating and selecting a life partner and such. My husband and I are a stereotypical homogeneous couple. We grew up within about 10 miles of each other, we are about the same height, he's about 2 years older than me,  we share religious commitments, etc. The readings that we have done in our book have been quite interesting actually but I feel like I could have benefited more from it before I got married (obviously). The research that is available is interesting and makes a lot of sense and really makes me want to warn people and help them. For example, cohabitation is so rampant in today's world and people think that it is necessary, good, important, preparation, etc. But couples that cohabit have so many disadvantages. If and when they actually marry, they are more likely to have problems and end up in divorce.  
We also talked about dating and that now days we are not following the steps to marriage. It goes dating, courtship, engagement, then marriage. A lot of people are just skipping some steps, adding others (like cohabiting) just sliding from one step to another instead of talking about the steps and determining each distinct movement from one step to another.
This just makes me want to tell everyone and help them do things right so that they can be happy like me! 

Anyway that's all I really have to say! 

Same-gender attraction/Gender Roles

This week we talked about gender roles and typical behaviors and homosexual tendencies etc. I feel like this topic is definitely one that needs to be approached sensitively. Although it is hard because some people don’t understand and when you try to help them understand they get offended and think that you are close-minded and bigoted.

So as i said in my discussion board post: This is how I feel. Say a person who identifies themselves as homosexual tells you that they were born that way. Who are you to tell them that they weren’t, how do you argue that they don't feel the way the feel? Yes, there is science and research that you could bring up and prove your point but in the end you will only offend them. My view is that heavenly father challenges each of us with different temptations. Some people are extremely tempted by drugs, some pornography, some same-gender attraction, some alcoholism, some laziness, etc! The problem with same-gender attraction is that society is trying very hard to make is moral (same with laziness, alcohol, sex in general, etc.). Now the tricky part is trying to convince others that that is the truth. I still have yet to be faced with an opportunity to do so (thank goodness) and I have yet to find a good way to do so.

In my own family I think gender roles are good to reinforce to my children. That doesn’t mean I am going to force them to behave as their gender dictates but rather love them and teach them correct principles. I'm not going to forbid my boys from playing with dolls, or forbid my girls from playing with cars but I will teach them correct principles so that they understand right from wrong. They will be able to make their own decisions with the foundation that they have gained in my home and in the church. 

I am so excited to have kids, I swear my baby fever gets worse and worse every day! Well, I'm sure that day will come soon enough! 

Cultures? Validity? Eternal Truths?

So this week we talked about cultures and flaws maybe in their practices and if some cultures or values are better or more right than another. It's kind of a political topic and it's hard because every one is so bent on being politically correct and accepting everyone and encouraging everyone to do whatever they want. And I think THAT is where our problem lies. There ARE eternal truths, actual morals really do exist and some things are wrong! I don't need to convince anyone that murder is wrong but we all know it is! The other wrong things have simply slipped out of mind and into some made  up grey area that may or may not be okay to most people. It's a simple fact that there are eternal truths. I am not a debater, I am not good with words so my trying to convince anyone of that would be a waste of time but I believe that with everything that I am. On another note, in class we talked about immigrant families and how hard their lives are and how immigrating has effected their family, their roles, and their culture. I kind of felt that the lecture was redundant because we read an article on the topic then came to class and didn't really learn anything. And this also was a politically charged topic and we didn't discuss any of the politics so I was kinda stewing all class. My husband is a PoliSci major so it's hard not to think about politics now. The whole topic was on illegal immigrants. So ya know I kinda was turned off by that in the first place. But all in all the whole cultural validity was an interesting topic. 
On a completely unrelated topic, I am having a TON of fun with that GenoPro program, it's funny I never that that I would be excited by genealogy or anything but this is seriously awesome! :D

Genealogy and family trends

I had some fun this week with the GenoPro thing. My family is extremely weird and disconnected so I realized that I don't know near as much about them as I thought I did! I don't even know my parents ages! But I looked through my family and the only trend I found wasn't such a great one. Through my mother's line every woman has gotten divorced once and either divorced or widowed once, so there was at least 2 men if not 3 for every woman. I also have a trend of not having more than 5 children in a family! So I learned quite a bit from this little project!

Children? Fertility? Population?

This past week we talked about population, fertility rates, economic issues, etc. It really opened my eyes to see what is going on in the world in regards to population and possible predictions for the future. I really loved that we talked about our personal beliefs about how many children we feel we should have and who it affects, this is what I wrote about it:

Does it really matter how many children I have? Why, and who is affected by my decisions?

Of course it matters how many children I have! It doesn't matter so much to me but it matters to Heavenly Father and what he has planned for me and my family.

On who is affected and why, it's simple. Everyone. My husband and I (along with both of our entire families) are affected because they are our children, the amount of children I have will greatly influence everything I do, every day of my life. This decision also effects my children's entire generation. I have no idea what effect my children can and will have on those around them and those that they marry and the children and grandchildren they have. It also effects the economy and society in general. The number of children I have effects the population and that directly and strongly effects the economy and the success or failure of it. My decisions of amount of children I have can also influence how many children other people have, friends and family of mine specifically, but possibly more. And most importantly it effects my children! They will be born into a family strong in the gospel with loving parents and a safe environment. Whereas if they were born to someone else, they might not get that advantage in life.

Therefore I would like to have as many children as Heavenly Father sees fit for me. Of course I have an ideal number in mind, or rather an ‘at least’ number, but I am definitely open to whatever Heavenly Father has in store for me.

All in all, Bring on the kids! :D