Preventing Affairs

Last week we talked about sexuality. It was almost awkward at times because of how our religion seems to view sexual intimacy in general. Some of the class grew up in Idaho, like me, or in Utah. This is where the members of the LDS church seem to populate every valley that the Rocky Mountains have to offer. We remember having the feelings that our bodies were gross in a way or unacceptable. We believe that we should be sexually inactive until we are married. Going from our sexuality being totally unacceptable to it being expected is a hard transition. How do we teach our children to keep their bodies sacred, but also have them ready for marriage? We decided that teaching children that their bodies aren't gross, but that they need to be kept personal and sacred that this might be a better way to teach them about things that are inevitable.

Another major part of our class discussion was preventing affairs, or maybe better said as how to keep the bond with your spouse strong. I never thought that talking with a co-worker of the opposite gender could contribute to being unfaithful. But then I realized that I could be sharing emotions, feelings, or thoughts with them that should be saved solely for my husband. Another thing that has taken me off guard that makes complete sense is making sure to only use your charm on your spouse. I never really thought about that being a bad thing, but then I realized: I won him over with my charm, why would I want to use that same charm on someone else that I don’t care near as much for? Make sure that there isn't “my friends” and “his/her friends” labeled, make sure it’s labeled “our friends”. Make sure it is a group gathering. This encourages unity in your gatherings, and that there aren't any secrets between you and your spouse. Share passwords so that you can have the possibility of checking in on each other’s stuff. You don’t need to be nosey, just aware. There are things like these that we need to be far more conscious about in order to keep your marriage safe and strong. I know that if we do this, we will find that our marriage is far happier and less stressful.