This quote was on the top of the weeks notes and information for me and my fellow classmates.

 I love it!!

"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." 

-President Henry B. Eyring

I try to cover topics for all adult ages to gain ideas and information from. Today I want to talk about the "s" word... yes sex. But I want to talk about it in a family friendly zone. 😅 I hope to be able to help future moms and dads, parents of young children and parents of teenagers to know how and when to talk about it. 

I love this website. It is put out to the world as a source by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Parents Guide: https://www.lds.org/manual/a-parents-guide?lang=eng

I found it really interesting that we should be teaching our children about sex from the time they come out of the womb. We teach them to respect their bodies, to have kindness towards others. I pulled a section from this website, I couldn't say it better than they did.

"Be kind and patient as infants learn to do things for themselves. Harsh correction could diminish their self-esteem and make them anxious about trusting others. For instance, if a little girl tries to feed herself and constantly spills her food and her father habitually becomes angry, she may come to believe that she is bad because she spills. She may also learn to fear men. Her father’s challenge is to find a clean spot on which to kiss her and to encourage her to keep trying day after day until at her own pace she develops the needed skill. If she throws down the food in anger, her father should simply ignore her anger and temporarily remove the food from her reach. Patient, kind acceptance of young children’s efforts to learn will help them have good feelings about themselves and feel confident in loving their parents." 

I found a couple steps that help give us direction with kids when they are in the ages between 4-11 

"1. 

Teach your children to take good care of their bodies.

2. 

Teach your children how intimate relationships differ from other kinds of relationships.

3. 

Teach your children to accept and understand that basic differences between men and women are complementary in nature. To understand their role identity, children need to understand that each gender completes the purpose of the other’s creation.

4. 

Teach your children about sexuality as they become ready to learn.

5. 

Protect your children from physical and sexual abuse."

Amen. I really like how in #4 it says "as they become ready" When I was little I was quite innocent you could say... I was not like a lot of other kids who had curiosity. My mom and dad had to be sensitive to me and to my little sister. We were ready for differnt things at different times. I can see how important it is for parents to be lead by the spirit in rearing their children in righteousness especially with a topic as sensitive as this. 

It is a responsibility for all parents to educate their families! The teenage years are hard and we all know it! Trying to figure out who you want to be is huge... We need to create an environment where children feel safe to come and ask questions and if they mess up that they dont fear to come and get help. We need to share the love that Christ shared with all of us.

One more topic... Tips to stay faithful in marriage!

We talked a lot about this in my class and it made me realize a lot of different things that I had not thought of before. I never thought about what my future spouse will think of when I have opposite gender friends or how to protect myself in the work environment. Brother Williams made a comment about how when we get engaged that is a time to cut strings and put new ones up between the two of us. I never thought about how having opposite gender friends can be a tool used to destroy a marriage. It makes perfect sense though... why would you go and tell someone things you should be telling your husband, or spending time with someone when you could put that focus on one individual. The chances of their being jealously is really great. I thought to myself in class, I have a lot of guy friends and I don't see there being a problem with it as long as bounds are set. Then Brother Williams asked us... What if he had a bunch of "girl" friends that he had lunch with, just to catch up with. I thought oh heavens no. I think that is a great role to go by in marriage is asking ourselves that exact question. Or how would that make my spouse feel. We should always be trying to lift each other. My mission president was a really great example of how to handle the opposite gender while at work. He was a dentist and he and the hygienists and secretary that worked with him often had to travel for meetings with other doctors. He would never travel with just one lady. He would make them drive separately or would invite his wife to come with them. He never had to be placed in an uncomfortable situation and his wife never had to worry. This week in class I had multiple lightbulb moments and I hope that as you read this you too have had a few thoughts of how you could better your life or the life of your family.