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I like listening to old CES devotionals from General Authorities, especially Elder Holland's. I like the way he speaks, his humor, his use of Shakespeare and other poems to get the point across, and the way he makes his message a part life, not just something to think about. That's what it does for me in a nutshell. I even like his scoldings because they put me in check better than nice soft suggestions do.
One of my all time favorites of his is called "How Do I Love Thee?" It describes love far beyond fairy tales and makes it seem more real and lasting to me. I think it teaches very well the meaning of real, true love. I suppose it's not as much about romance as it is about trust, care, vulnerability, and not just a happily ever after ending but a whole life BEYOND that.
Especially being married now I understand the importance of the lessons he teaches in this talk. Andrew and I are still newly weds, for better or for worse. And we are still learning from each other how to act, how to treat each other, how to be more mature towards each other than we would be towards a sibling (no offense sisters and Luke). Because no matter how upset one of us may get, we can't run and tell on each other and walk away happily when one of us gets our way over the other. When one of us does get our way over the other all we feel is bad about it. And that's a new thing for me! I think getting your own way is not how happiness in a marriage is found. And, well, since I've never been married before I've found that I am re-learning a lot of things about life and I'm figuring out the person I want to be.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite quotes from that talk:
"Think the best of each other, especially of those you say you love. Assume the good and doubt the bad. Encourage in yourself what Abraham Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature.""
"Love is a fragile thing, and some elements in life can try to break it. Much damage can be done if we are not in tender hands, caring hands. To give ourselves totally to another person, as we do in marriage, is the most trusting step we take in any human relationship. It is a real act of faith--faith all of us must be willing to exercise. If we do it right, we end up sharing everything--all our hopes, all our fears, all our dreams, all our weaknesses, and all our joys--with another person."
"No serious courtship or engagement or marriage is worth the name if we do not fully invest all that we have in it and in so doing trust ourselves totally to the one we love. You cannot succeed in love if you keep one foot out on the bank for safety's sake. The very nature of the endeavor requires that you hold on to each other as tightly as you can and jump in the pool together."
"The prophets tell us that true love "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7). Once again that is ultimately a description of Christ's love--He is the great example of one who bore and believed and hoped and endured. We are invited to do the same in our courtship and in our marriage to the best of our ability. Bear up and be strong. Be hopeful and believing. Some things in life we have little or no control over. These have to be endured. Some disappointments have to be lived with in love and in marriage. These are not things anyone wants in life, but sometimes they come. And when they come, we have to bear them; we have to believe; we have to hope for an end to such sorrows and difficulty; we have to endure until things come right in the end."
"One of the great purposes of true love is to help each other in these times. No one ought to have to face such trials alone. We can endure almost anything if we have someone at our side who truly loves us, who is easing the burden and lightening the load."
I think this is what Heavenly Father made marriage for. I definitely reccomend this talk to anyone and everyone who is in love. He uses such good analogies and puts Jesus Christ right at the center of every relationship. And that's what life and love are all about anyway.
One of my all time favorites of his is called "How Do I Love Thee?" It describes love far beyond fairy tales and makes it seem more real and lasting to me. I think it teaches very well the meaning of real, true love. I suppose it's not as much about romance as it is about trust, care, vulnerability, and not just a happily ever after ending but a whole life BEYOND that.
Especially being married now I understand the importance of the lessons he teaches in this talk. Andrew and I are still newly weds, for better or for worse. And we are still learning from each other how to act, how to treat each other, how to be more mature towards each other than we would be towards a sibling (no offense sisters and Luke). Because no matter how upset one of us may get, we can't run and tell on each other and walk away happily when one of us gets our way over the other. When one of us does get our way over the other all we feel is bad about it. And that's a new thing for me! I think getting your own way is not how happiness in a marriage is found. And, well, since I've never been married before I've found that I am re-learning a lot of things about life and I'm figuring out the person I want to be.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite quotes from that talk:
"Think the best of each other, especially of those you say you love. Assume the good and doubt the bad. Encourage in yourself what Abraham Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature.""
"Love is a fragile thing, and some elements in life can try to break it. Much damage can be done if we are not in tender hands, caring hands. To give ourselves totally to another person, as we do in marriage, is the most trusting step we take in any human relationship. It is a real act of faith--faith all of us must be willing to exercise. If we do it right, we end up sharing everything--all our hopes, all our fears, all our dreams, all our weaknesses, and all our joys--with another person."
"No serious courtship or engagement or marriage is worth the name if we do not fully invest all that we have in it and in so doing trust ourselves totally to the one we love. You cannot succeed in love if you keep one foot out on the bank for safety's sake. The very nature of the endeavor requires that you hold on to each other as tightly as you can and jump in the pool together."
"The prophets tell us that true love "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7). Once again that is ultimately a description of Christ's love--He is the great example of one who bore and believed and hoped and endured. We are invited to do the same in our courtship and in our marriage to the best of our ability. Bear up and be strong. Be hopeful and believing. Some things in life we have little or no control over. These have to be endured. Some disappointments have to be lived with in love and in marriage. These are not things anyone wants in life, but sometimes they come. And when they come, we have to bear them; we have to believe; we have to hope for an end to such sorrows and difficulty; we have to endure until things come right in the end."
"One of the great purposes of true love is to help each other in these times. No one ought to have to face such trials alone. We can endure almost anything if we have someone at our side who truly loves us, who is easing the burden and lightening the load."
I think this is what Heavenly Father made marriage for. I definitely reccomend this talk to anyone and everyone who is in love. He uses such good analogies and puts Jesus Christ right at the center of every relationship. And that's what life and love are all about anyway.
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