Dating is the Solution

The average person in the United States goes on 1 to 2 dates a year.  I find that to be very sad because that is how you get to know people and who they truly are.  Some choose to cohabit because they believe that it will help them get to know them and when you look at it, it should work, but studies have found that it is not the case.  Those who cohabit are more likely to have future marriages that end in divorce, or to have their partner cheat on them.  They are not committed to one another because they didn't start out having a commitment, they started out "pretending" to be married without the actual security of being married. 

Dating is the perfect solution to actually getting to know someone if you do it right.  A date is when you are paired off with someone, other than just "hanging out".  It is also something that is planned.  When you don't plan what you are going to do before you go on a date it usually turns into just "hanging out", or that it never ends, which can keep you from wanting any further dates with that person.  Also a date should be paid for.  I believe it should be paid for by whoever did the asking, although many expect the guy to always pay.  When these three things are incorporated into a date it will be a perfect way to feel like they are actually taking the time to get to know you and with continuous dating in different situations, you will begin to see who they really are.  What I was taught is that no one is perfect we all come with flaws, so pick the ones that you can live with.  Divorce is not an option. 

Same-Sex Attraction

Men and women are different and we were created that way.  Many people believe that same-sex attraction is genetic or that it is something you are born with, though it has never been proven that this is the case.  Heavenly Father doesn't create sin, we do.  There are some males or females who don't have the "defined" characteristics of their gender.  When boys especially, have feminine characteristics their dads distance themselves from their sons leaving only their moms for influence.  These boys find that they make friends with girls more easily than with boys, and when they eventually reach the stage where most boys become interested in girls nothing is different for them.  They have been around girls all growing up, and still long for inclusion with the guys.  Children tease them right from the beginning calling them gay, although they don't really know what it means.  The boy eventually gives in and really truly believes that they have been gay all along.

Value of Money

When I think about social classes I consider most of where they are formed is from the amount of money people have.  Even looking back in history your social class and status/title was all based on how much money you had.

For me the difference between those who have money and those who don’t is best explained and portrayed in the movie called “The Ultimate Gift”.  There is a family who has had money given to them their entire lives and they don’t know how to live without it.  In their world it is all about materials and the main character has never even had to work for his money.  His family is so consumed by money that they are cruel to one another, family is the last thing they care about.  He learns that there are more important things in life when he meets a little girl who shows him that there are so many other things in life that make you happy, than just the amount of money you have.

 

I know that there are definitely different situations, because everybody is different.  I think the biggest difference is shown in how they earned it and what they choose to do with it.  If they just inherit it from their parents then they will probably never learn what it is like to go without or the value of working.  If they have to work for it they are more likely to appreciate their money because they worked hard to earn it, and it wasn’t just given to them.  I know that a lot of us today are so focused on our things, but hopefully we never forget what this life is really about, our families.   

The Unspoken Rules

Within every family you will find that there are unspoken rules, that you most likely learned from experience without it ever having to be explained to you.  Yesterday I was watching my niece Katelyn who will be three in July, and I picked up on some things that she has clearly learned from her own experiences at home.  I had left the light on in the bedroom and she told me that I needed to turn it off.  She had to learn it from somewhere so her parents, Emily and Brandon, probably tell her or each other not to leave the light on.  Also I noticed that after every time we got something out and she was done playing with it she would put it all away.  I know her mother Emily loves to organize and have things clean so I'm sure she has told her to clean up many times.  From another time when we were at their house Brandon had gotten upset with her about something and Katelyn went to the corner and was just standing there looking down.  When her dad noticed he told her that she wasn't in trouble and didn't need to stand in the corner.  I realized myself without having to be told that that was the way Emily and Brandon chose to discipline her, and Katelyn recognizing her dad was upset, went there without having to be told.  I find it fascinating that she is only three yet she can pick up on these rules, which is why I think so many of us may find it hard to recognize our family's rules.  To us it is normal and that is just what you do,  we have grown up with those rules, but to anyone else who isn't part of your family, they can usually pick up on them pretty quickly.