Strength through action

As children of a Heavenly Father, we have the opportunity on this earth to prove to ourselves and our Eternal Father that we have been able to cast off the natural man and are worthy of eternal life with our Father above. Even when we try our best, sometimes we are unable to keep a happy attitude and have faith in our Lord. When trials come into our lives, as humans we tend to put our focus on what we need and may shut out the needs of others. Selfishness isn't something that people strive for but rather something that we fall back on when times become rough. We think that being selfish will protect us when trials that test us arise. The natural man may not want to change this attitude which can in turn ruin good relationships. Sadly many people often don't see their selfishness as a bad thing. One may think that those around them want to tear them down just because they are not at the same level. This selfish way of life causes harm to many marriages. Some couples are able to step back and see the problems and them choose to work hard for the bettering of their relationship and others only see what they want and ultimately destroy any chances of a healthy marriage.

In The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, Gottman (2015) , Dr. Gottman explains that there are ways to strengthen a marriage. One of the ways listed is to work on what he calls, our "Love Map"(pg 53). These "Love Maps" are our knowledge of our spouse and their interests and desires. He explains that these "Love Maps" can help build our marriage and also determine how much more time we need to spend with our partner learning about them. The first step is to do the "Love Maps Questionnaire"(56) This questionnaire is meant to help a couple understand how much they know about each other while giving them a chance to communicate about themselves and their desires for the marriage. This questionnaire is the start of three exercises that a couple can do over their course of their marriage as many times as they can. These activities are a way to practice being selfless while becoming closer to your spouse. Investing valuable time in the strengthening of one's marriage is one of the best ways to fight off selfishness. Using these activities and studying the scriptures along with temple attendance and prayer will help couples become closer to the Lord and each other. Marriage is a sacred relationship that many people do not get to have. The opportunity to be married should give us all the desire to do everything that we can to keep work on our marriage in every way possible. Temple marriage is a blessing that will span into the eternities. Working hard to strengthen our relationship with the Lord and our spouse will bring satisfaction and also bless us in times of trial.