Eternal Marriage

"According to the law of the Lord, every marriage should endure forever. If all mankind would live in strict obedience to the gospel and in that love which is begotten by the spirit of the Lord, all marriages would be eternal."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that quote is from the manual, and is something that Joseph F. Smith said. Esther had it written up on the board during her lesson today and it really does sum things up well.

We talked a lot about how staying married is a choice that we each make with our spouses every day. The triangle below was referenced during the lesson, it illustrates how the husband and wife need to strengthen their relationship with God (individually and as a family), in order to draw closer to him and to each other, so they can better become one.

We have a fantastic bishop and his comment during the lesson really struck me. I am going to butcher this, but basically he said we should not let ourselves get wrapped up in our spouse's shortcomings, or things that may be wrong with our marriage. Instead we should always be working at strengthening our relationship with the Lord, and then husband and wife will naturally draw closer to each other. Healthy marriages don't just happen, they are carefully worked at by both the husband and the wife.

I am so grateful for my husband and the things he does for me. I have noticed that when we each draw closer to the Lord, we do naturally draw closer to each other. Maybe it is because we both have a heightened level of the spirit, which helps us better meet each other's needs.

Anyways, marriage is great - feel free to leave your comments below!

Modesty

I have seen a lot of blog posts, news articles, and YouTube videos about this topic lately. It is interesting to see people's varying view points on modesty. For me, seeing different people's varying opinions on modesty brings home the fact that dressing modestly is a choice that we each make individually. For many of us dressing modestly is a journey; one where we each learn by experience what brings the spirit in to our lives, and what doesn't.

Dressing modestly (or not so modestly) shouldn't be a result of peer pressure, it should be a choice that you deliberately make every day when you put clothes on. I like to dress modestly because it makes me feel comfortable. Dressing modestly allows me to feel peace and to not worry about covering certain body parts up when I move a certain way. I don't like to think too much about myself and dressing modestly allows me to stop thinking so much about how I look, and to think more about the needs of those around me.

We shouldn't judge others because they don't quite fit in with our standard of modesty. We are all walking our own path when it comes to following any commandment. Dressing modestly just happens to be a commandment that is easily seen by others when broken, and there are varying levels of following that commandment. I'm sure the Lord would rather have an immodest women coming to church to show her love for him, than not coming to church at all. We should all help each other feel welcome at church, no matter which commandments we may individually be struggling with.  :)

Anyways, that's my little spiel on modesty. I tried to cover what the Stake Relief Society Presidency covered in the lesson, but I'm sure I missed some things. Also I hope I didn't offend anyone... feel free to add your thoughts below!

Here is a video that kind of relates to the topic:

Love you girls!
-Lisa Stoddard