Divorce

Divorce is really hard for couples to go through but it's so much harder for the children of the family. Just like Elder Oaks (2007) had said in his talk, divorce is a very selfish concept. Granted that there are very legitimate reasons for divorce, mainly the various forms of abuse. However, that is the extent of what makes divorce ok. Other than that, the parents are mainly thinking about themselves and how they benefit from it and don't even ask the kids how they feel about it or think about how the kids are blaming themselves. 

There is a lot of eternal conflict that children go through when their parents get divorced. This was also greatly discussed in the Divorce School For Kids by ABC video. Children feel torn as they don't want to favor a parent, yet parents use their kids against each other. Some children are so hurt by the divorce that they don't want any half-siblings because they are afraid of being replaced. The fact that parents think that they are benefiting their children by divorcing are only fooling themselves. They are hurting, and in some sense of the word, destroying their kids. Children want their parents to stay together and in Elder Oaks (2007) words, "they should be best friends, kind and considerate, sensitive to each other’s needs, always seeking to make each other happy. They should be partners in family finances, working together to regulate their desires for temporal things." (para 20) 

I had two aunts go through divorce. One went through divorce about five times. Her daughter refuses to marry now because of the example that she has seen from her mom. She actually had a very difficult childhood growing up as she didn't get along with any of her step-dad's and they belittled her. My cousin had to turn to my grandparents and they became the parents that she needed because her mom put her relationships before my cousin and wasn't there for her at all. My other aunt has only divorced once, and that is because her ex-husband asked her for one because he was having an affair and wanted to be with the other woman. My cousins didn't blame themselves, but it still tore them apart to see their parents divorcing. It was really hard for them to no longer have both parents with each other and to not have their dad come home. Parents need to do their best to make things work, figure things out, so that their children don't get hurt.

Be Thou Humble

Something new that I learned was in 1 Corinthians 1:27. The scripture says “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty”. Here I learned that we must be meek and humble if we want to be enlightened rather than confounded. As long as we think that we have everything figured out and that we don't need God's help, He'll always find a way to help remind us that we do need him and to stop being so full of it. We also must rely on Him in order to receive revelation and take advantage of the Atonement. And we can only do those things by being meek and humble. The Atonement is the greatest gift. It's what Christ and God sacrificed for the most for us. So we wouldn't we use it? I don’t remember where I heard this from or who said it but it says, “God comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.” He cannot teach those who are prideful so He helps us to be humble. 

Continually Repent

Something that I learned in Acts that I thought was the most interesting and impactful for me this week was the fact that we absolutely must be continually repentant in order to receive continue to receive power and help from the Holy Ghost. We must be continually repentant by constantly repenting of the things that we have done. When I served my mission in Texas, my mission president had talked about how we need to repent as son as we realize that we have sinned. By continually being repentant, we can stay clean and have the help and power of God in abundance. Christ has always taught that we must not wait for the day of His coming to repent. We must do so and prepare now. For if we wait, it will be too late. And we need all of the help that we can get from Him now. So I encourage everyone to continually repent, even daily, so that you can be in tune with the Spirit.