Family Life and Sexual Intimacy

This week in class, we discussed sexual intimacy and family life. I found this topic to be important to discuss because it is essential to the family. I love this quote by President Henry B. Eyring. He said, “Just as Jesus used a child in His mortal ministry as an example for the people of the pure love they must and could have to be like Him, He has offered us the family as an example of an ideal setting in which we can learn how to love as He loves. That is because the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is." I love this quote because the family is central to His plan and our plan. The family is a place where we learn to love and be loved by those around us. It is one of the safest places to teach your children of love and sexual intimacy. With that being said, I think it is important that we are willing to be open to talk about this with our children and family. In my opinion, I would want my children to first learn and understand the purpose of love and sexual intimacy within marriage from my spouse and I. I want to make sure that they are open with me about this subject because I don’t want them to first learn it form their peers. What are some of your thoughts about educating your children? How and at what ages would you educate them?

On another note, throughout class, we also discussed how there can be many challenges to early marital intimacy. For example, miscommunication between the husband and wife of how and when it is appropriate. This can create a strain in the relationship. Another challenge might be not being aware of each other’s needs regarding sexual intimacy. These challenges could possibly lead to infidelity in marriage. So how can we protect marriage from infidelity of any kind? This is just something to think about because there are many ways to protect marriage. Honestly, from my perspective one of the biggest ways we can protect marriage from infidelity is communicating with one another. Having that solid communication with your spouse is essential in marriage. I feel that my generation has a problem with effective communication. I have heard many times that “communication is key”. I truly believe this statement. I hope that I can continue to improve my communication skills with any relationship that I have so that I can help myself prepare for marriage.

I just want to say that sexual intimacy and family life is a sensitive topic. We should not take it likely though because it is very serious. From what I believe, God has blessed us with this wonderful gift. We have the opportunity to create our own individual families with this divine gift and I am so grateful for that. The family is central as we learn about this gift. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the principles that I have learned that continue to guide and help me in my relationships with others. It continues to bless my life in helping me to not only protect myself but also to protect others. I am so grateful for the things that I have been taught in class because it has helped me to prepare for my own family. I hope that we can remember these things to help us in our own families and daily life.