Heart and Soul                                                        

 What does it mean to apply the principles of obedience and sacrifice to our marriage? Goddard says we must keep the commandments to be obedient, whether or not our partner does. Yet, we must love them with all our heart. We can’t pick what we love and what we don’t. When we devote our time and energy to our marriage, this is a sacrifice that gives us feelings that lift us. The spirit that comes from giving is like a helium balloon that makes us happy. If give without heart and soul, then it is not true sacrifice, and the spirit is missing.

Pure Love.

This involves the pure love of Christ. Our sacrifice is to go beyond what we would like to change in our partner. It is acceptance of what we are given. This month’s visiting teaching message found in the Ensign is about this “Charity”:

The Guide to the Scriptures defines charity as “the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love” (“Charity”). It is the pure love of Jesus Christ. As we learn of Jesus Christ and strive to become like Him, we will begin to feel His pure love in our lives and be prompted to love and serve others as He would. “Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down,” said President Thomas S. Monson. “It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.”  (Charity Never Faileth, Ensign, November, 2019)

Remember the good times?

Why did you marry your partner? Did you expect to change them to be what you thought they should be? Or have you simply forgotten when love was simple. Instead of focusing on faults, we need to create an attitude which can foster admiration and fondness. Some ways to do that are:

• ·         Taking time to remember all you found good in your mate when you dated and married them for, can bring back that loving feeling.
• ·         Make sure you make time together each week. Talk! Discover each other’s feelings, wishes, fears, etc.
• ·         Look at pictures or videos from your time together, especially wedding memories. Remember the love and the fun!
• ·         Laugh together!!! Remember how much you did while dating?

“A good marriage is not about skills. It is about character“(Goddard, Drawing Heaven into your Marriage. Pg. 52).

What’s in your character?