5 Ways to Build Closeness
- Make an effort to find out more about your spouse's job or hobbies.
- Explore new ways to help each other.
- Think how your spouse's talents and strengths might be used in service to others.
- Make time to talk about things other than children or family finances.
- Study the scriptures together.
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Tying Another Knot
As Latter-day Saints, we enter into
marriage with strong commitment and great hopes for a long, joyful relationship in this life and the next.
However, whether through divorce or the death of a spouse, many Church members find themselves
unexpectedly single again. Some are able to move forward by falling in love and remarrying. And while
second marriages come with many unique challenges, such as blending families and overcoming grief, they can be both successful and rewarding.
Here are some insights from six people who have graciously agreed to share some of their greatest
challenges and greatest joys of second marriages with us.
Read more >
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Hot Cakes: The Top Ten Wedding Cake Trends
by April E. Osborn
Your wedding cake is the centerpiece of your entire reception, so just like everything else, you’ll want to make sure that it reflects exactly what you want. Your individual taste will determine what kind of cake you choose, but in order to make that choice an educated one, here’s a collection of ten wedding cake trends for 2008. Read more >
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Flower Power: The Bride’s Flower How-to Guide
by LDS Living Staff
If you're planning a wedding this spring, you've probably got flowers on the brain, along with a few other things. So here's a guide to help you choose what kind of flowers you'll have and who'll wear them. Read more >
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Including Everyone in Your Temple Wedding
by Dawn Frandsen
A temple wedding is a joyous occasion, but friends and family members who can’t be present for the ceremony can sometimes feel hurt and excluded. Here are some ways to help your special day be special for everyone. Read more >
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Keeping the Magic Alive in Marriage
by Merrilee Boyack
Life can get pretty hectic. With kids, jobs, and Church callings all vying for our attention, sometimes our marital relationships unwittingly fall to the bottom of the priority list. Here are some ways to keep the magic alive in marriage no matter how long you’ve been together. Read more >
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Creative Dating
by April E. Osborn
Running out of date ideas right when you’re supposed to be at the top of your romantic game? Here are some ideas that might spark your dating creativity. Read more >
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Ten Tips for a Happy Marriage
by Neli A. Rogers, MS, LMFT
Most people believe marriage is important and that the family is the fundamental unit of society. People get married with great hopes to “live happily ever after,” but it is not easy to maintain the love and happiness they experienced during courtship in the day-to-day struggles of married life. Read more >
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What the Singles in the Ward Want the Rest of Us to Know
by Debra Sansing Woods
We may think we know the singles in our ward or branch – who they are, what makes them tick, what they want out of life, and how best to meet their needs as members of our wards and branches, but how often do we stop and ask them – our single friends and acquaintances-- to speak for themselves, to tell us in their own words what they’d like the rest of us to know about them? Read more >
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Tips for Winter Weddings
While the summer is the most popular season for couples to tie the knot, those who choose to marry during the winter months can enjoy an equally beautiful atmosphere on their special day. Read more >
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Time For Your Husband
by Tamara A. Fackrell
The setting sun once again casts its orange and violet rays on the glowing horizon like a skilled artist. My husband and I are walking down a meandering gravel road, holding hands and gazing deep and knowingly into each other's eyes. Romance is full as the rising moon and a candlelight dinner await us in a secluded mountain setting. The meal is perfect, and the flowered china and fancy, gold-trimmed silverware add just the right ambiance to the crystal goblets and night of full etiquette and delight. The true love between us is so strong you can practically touch it. Read more >
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Your Family, My Family, Our Family
by Kim A. Nelson
Here’s the way the plan for being a family is intended to work. Our parents model and teach what they believe is valuable. We learn how to be the parents, citizens, and people they hope we will be. Because our parents are not perfect (just like us), the plan provides for us to evaluate their model and teachings. We then improve on them where we can so our model and teachings will be better for our children. In turn, they are encouraged to do the same. Read more >
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Marriage Therapy--Try This at Home!
by Kim A. Nelson
Because we’re the ones in our marriage, we’re the only ones who can manage it. Our marriage is ours. It belongs to us. Are we qualified? Yes; in fact, we’re the only ones truly qualified to manage our own lives. Read more >
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Identifying Differences in Marriage
by Brent A. Barlow, Dealing with Differences in Marriage, 66-74.
I shared with you several differences that have emerged in my marriage. Some of these, Susan and I recognized immediately. With others, one or both of us had to acknowledge the differences as legitimate (getting out of the I'm-right-you're-wrong syndrome). And still others, we realized only after consciously trying to identify some things we couldn't quite put our fingers on at first. Read more >
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Remarriage and Combined Families
by R. Lanier Britsch, Terrance D. Olson, Counseling: A Guide to Helping Others, vol. 2, 172-186.
Combined families, also referred to as blended, second, reconstituted, step, or rem (remarried) families, are those families where at least one, if not both, husband and wife have been married before and have had children. Remarriage resulting in combined families is an increasingly common phenomenon that affects millions of men, women, and children. More than 50 million remarried people are currently living in the United States, and in 1975 one in every four marriages involved someone who had been married before. In 1982, 41 percent of all marriages were remarriages for one or both partners. Read more >
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Communicating With Your Spouse
by Ron Woods, Marriage Talk: How to Communicate with Your Spouse, 45-65.
"As long as people keep talking, there's hope of solving any problem." This maxim shows the value of communication in handling day-to-day problems and in avoiding future ones. Couples who communicate come to work as a unit in solving problems, rather than as two individuals. They feel the support of one another in their decisions, and their love grows because of it. Read more >
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Changing Your Focus
by Emily Watts
Sometimes our focus in marriage, if not centered on the right things, will only display the negative. But a quick shift in perspective can help alleviate the not-so-great effects of miscommunication. Read more >
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Valentine’s Day for the Married Set
by Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard
Married couples with children occasionally start to wonder about all this romance business. For example, a coworker approached my husband and asked, “Where are you and your wife going on your hot date this week?” Read more >
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Examining Your Marriage
by Merrilee Browne Boyack
You’ve seen some great wives out there, and (while not comparing, of course) you’ve wondered what you can do better. These five principles can help you achieve greatness in "wife-ness," increase your understanding of yourself and your husband, and strengthen your marriage. Read more >
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Beyond the Basic Bridal Shower
by Jordan Marie Williams
You’re about to be married; all you can think about is what kind of flowers will match your wedding colors, and you’re tired of scribbling addresses on towering stacks of announcements. If this sounds like you or someone you know, it’s time to relax and enjoy a shower! Read more >
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Buying Your First Home
by Ryan Shaffer
Depending on where you live, how far along you are with school, and how old you are, everyone reaches the point of considering home ownership at a different time. But anlong with thoughts of comfort and accomplishment, most of us consider this step with a certain amount of worry, dought, and fear. There is much to consider, but when the timing is right, this anxiety-ridden step can become one of your best memories. Read more >
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Redefining Romance
by Bill Hill
Attention husbands: Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. If you’re like me, then you might feel as though your romanticism has been washed down the disposal with last night’s potato peelings. Never fear, however, becoming your wife’s prince is about much more than chocolates and roses. Read more >
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How to Date Your Wife
by Stan Cronin
Dating was something enjoyed before marriage; and if not before marriage, before kids came along. But dating shouldn’t end with marriage or kids or a hectic schedule—it should be a lifelong priority and pastime enjoyed with your spouse. Read more >
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Be Each Other's Very Best Friend
by Gary and Joy Lundberg
One of the key ingredients for a long and happy marriage is a loving friendship with your spouse. The harmony associated with being your spouse’s best friend will be more fulfilling than any other relationship. However, the challenge to become best friends doesn’t always come easily. It must be worked on daily. Read more >
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Loving Your In-Laws
by Melody Warnick
Loving your in-laws isn’t always easy and there’s a cottage industry of bad mother-in-law jokes to prove it. Your relationship with the in-laws, however, really doesn’t have to be the stuff of nightmares and, in fact, can be one of the most rewarding and loving associations you could ever create. Read more >
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