Family Relations

This week's discussions have been filled with incredible insight and meaningful knowledge in my Family Relations class. However, they have also been quite sensitive as we have been discussing same-sex attraction and how it affects the family. As my class has talked about this, I have been able to understand more about the topic. I am super hesitant to share my feelings on this topic because it is very controversial and sensitive, but here I go anyways I guess. So to start off, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, God has even commanded us to do that. In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it states, "We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife." These tw...

When we think of the word culture, we usually think of the beautiful different races and variety of people around the world. However, I learned this week that there are many different types of culture that are more than just race. First, let us define the word. The meaning of culture is " the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group." So yes, we have a certain type of culture based off of where we originate from, but we also have certain family cultures. For instance, my family has different traditions and processes than your family does. In a way, families are different social groups. We interact with each other every day, progressing forward together. We help, sustain, and support. Families develop systems and traditions which essentially creates a culture. I love my family's culture and the way we go about things because it is all done with love. As I have grown up, I have noticed different rules and tra...

I always grew up thinking Grandpa Wilde just didn't like me. He never gave hugs, never said I love you, and didn't really talk to me that much. While I continued to study this relationship as a ten year-old, my grandpa on the other side of the family (Grandpa Durrant) passed away. I was really close with Grandpa Durrant. We would cook together, eat tomatoes like apples, make homemade French fries, and eat expired Kraft Mac and Cheese, a staple at the grandparents' home. We spent quality time with each other, giving me the opportunity to really feel his love for me as a grandchild. When he died of a heart attack, I was crushed. I felt like I had lost a best friend. I needed a "grandpa best friend" again so ten year-old me got to work. Every time we went over to Grandpa Wilde's house, I would try my best to get some new information out of him. I would ask him questions about him growing up or how he met grandma, and when he wouldn't answer, I'd just ask...

There seems to be an ongoing debate in our world today how people should go about creating their family and raising children. As time has passed, the meaning of family has changed. Some people might even say that that meaning is lost. Flashback fifty years ago or so, and you would find a stay-at-home mother, a father working to provide for the family, and four children being tended to in their home. Today we see a child packing up clothing each week moving back and forth from mom to dad because they are divorced. Some children even have parents with a same-sex marriage, or just a single mom or dad. Another option for adults that is becoming more and more common is cohabiting as well. I find this rather funny because couples who cohabitate are three times more likely to get a divorce in the future once they marry. Crazy, right? In the life we live in today, it is becoming less likely to see that traditional family that was once so common years ago. I find that very interesting because s...