Kait Learns

1 Nephi 1:1 “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father;” I love that the Book of Mormon starts off this way. As I have read this verse many times in my life I have been reminded that Parents are so important. My classes this week were all about parenting. Here are a few questions that I think are important to ask ourselves. What do you want to accomplish with Parenting? What is the purpose of Parenting? What qualities do I want my children to have? Michael Popkin has said, “to protect and prepare children to survive and thrive in the world which they will live,” is the most important thing for a parent to do. I found it interesting that the world we live in plays a huge part in the way children are raised. If raised in a Monarchy, children are more clever, obedient, and compliant. When raised in a Democracy, children are more respectful, responsible, courageous, cooperative, and better self-esteem. My parents have alw...

In a General Conference talk given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, titled Fathers , there are several great points brought up. He starts his message by saying, “I speak today of fathers. Fathers are fundamental in the divine plan of happiness, and I want to raise a voice of encouragement for those who are striving to fill well that calling. To praise and encourage fatherhood and fathers is not to shame or discount anyone. I simply focus today on the good that men can do in the highest of masculine roles—husband and father. -- As a Church, we believe in fathers. We believe in “the ideal of the man who puts his family first.” We believe that “by divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” We believe that in their complementary family duties, “fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.” We believe that far from being superfluous...

I am a Communication major so I was excited for the topic of this week's discussions; communication and mutual problem solving. It is important to know that we are always communicating. Whether that be verbally or nonverbally. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says, “True disciples of Jesus Christ seek to follow His example in the ways they communicate. Their communications, both verbal and nonverbal, are to be kind, compassionate, and helpful, reflecting a love for Heavenly Father’s children and an understanding that all people are brothers and sisters.” Doctor David D. Burns has a blog and podcast called Feeling Good. In class we talked about his Five Secrets of Effective Communication. On the podcast it is episodes 14 and 15. In these podcasts, the five communication secrets are discussed. It is shared how these steps can rapidly transform conflict and misunderstanding into intimacy and trust. The Five Secrets of Effective Communication can be remembered using the...

We talked in class about how different families react to trouble. There are four different scenarios that we discussed. First, some families experience issues and come out of it just as successful as they were before the trouble began. Second, other families experience issues and come out the other end not terrible, but not as good as they were before the issues began. Third, some families experience trouble and never end up recovering. Fourth, families can experience issues and come out the other side of it better than they were before. Every family encounters stressful times. It’s not the event, but how we respond to the event that will determine the outcome for the family. We need to look at the crisis as an opportunity. Family scholars have used the ABCX model to understand diverse family responses to stressful events. The “A” is the actual stressor event and the hardships it produces. The “B” is both the resources available and response to the event. The “C” is the family’s cogni...

This week's lessons were on sexual intimacy. This is a topic that a lot of people are afraid to talk about. On https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ it says, “Heavenly Father created the plan of salvation so that we can experience life, return to His presence, and have joy. Central to this plan are the spiritual, emotional, and physical unity developed in marriage and family life. He gave us the capacity for physical intimacy so that we could strengthen and grow our eternal families. He intends for sex to be a beautiful, powerful, and joyful part of our lives—not something evil or corrupt. Sex enables a husband and a wife to have children, express love, and strengthen their spiritual, emotional, and physical bonds. Sexual intimacy is an important part of marriage, and when it is used in the way that God has commanded, it brings great blessings and joy. While many in the world portray sex as casual or crude, the gospel teaches that sexuality is a powerful gift from Heavenly Father a...

Transitioning from engagement to marriage can be a challenge for many couples. Last week we discussed the four steps that lead to marriage: dating, courtship, engagement, marriage. The goal is to be stepping up to marriage, and not sliding down to marriage. Every step is very important and different from the step before it. This week I want to share what I learned about engagement.  How couples get engaged plays a role in marriage. Studies have shown that when couples go through rough parts of marriage, the wife tends to look back at the engagement to hopefully have a good memory of how the marriage started out. One comment from class that I loved was “is the engagement a commitment or a show.” In today's society with social media playing a huge part of our lives, proposals tend to be a huge production. This doesn’t need to be the case. The proposal needs to show that the guy is fully committed and is making a sacrifice to make the relationship move forward. In class we discu...