Picture your idea of the 50's: fathers working outside the home, mom's cooking meals and teaching children. It's a lot different in society today. Increasing numbers of households have both spouses bringing home the bacon. Standards for life are different and with increasing costs comes an increasing amount of people who need to work. Sometimes it doesn't even matter if a woman gets married, and has kids. She may still expect to work. Some people say this is modern and intelligent. Some claim it is neglecting the roles a woman should rightly fulfill. What's the right answer?

No one can place such judgment on the working lifestyle of another. Each family unit has different challenges, and needs. For one family it may be helpful (financially, emotionally, intellectually) for the mother to hold a part time job. For another, the woman may be more economically stable, emotionally fit, and intellectually challenged by raising a family at home. The key is that both spouses agree on what their goal is, and how to maintain it. Unity. 

Don't Assume

"They just don't communicate."
We've probably said that a time or two about a spouse, family member, or friend. The problem is not that people don't communicate it's that they communicate poorly. Ans usually it is both parties that are at fault here.
Not saying something is just as influential as saying something. Let's remember that silent treatment is a form of communication. If it weren't we wouldn't do it.
A good rule for communicating with others is DON'T ASSUME. When we assume that we now what the other person is thinking, or even what they are saying we can get in serious trouble. Don't be afraid to clarify and to ask for clarification.
You can avoid a lot of contention and confusion if you seek to gain understanding instead of seeking to make a stance and win.

It's as Bad as You Think It Is

CRISIS

Every person experiences crisis in their lives. 

Have you ever seen people post of facebook about their trials? They range from bad waiters to cancerous tumors. But different people handle dilemmas differently. And this may come as a shock to you, but there are better ways of dealing with crisis.

My favorite quote is "Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out." -John Wooden

So much of how much a situation affects us is based on how we perceive the situation. The better attitude we have, the better the outcome will be.

For example, there are many people who are uncertain about an afterlife. When a family member dies they imagine it is the end, and the death has a hugely negative impact on them. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we have faith that everyone lives after mortality, and we can be together as families for eternity. This perspective helps us to handle the crisis of death in a much less mournful pattern. We have hope instead of despair. We have faith instead of fear. 

How would it affect our lives if we handled every challenge with the optimism that the atonement gives us-with the belief that everything will be okay? I'm willing to try it out. 

Becoming Like Satan

In chapter one of the manual A Parent's Guide it states:

"The philosophy of the world follows Satan: “Do your own thing.” “What’s in it for me?” “If you think it’s right, it’s right.” “If it feels good, do it.” As a result of such thinking, people turn away from God and focus on themselves, doing just what Satan himself wanted to do—setting themselves up as the judges of what is right and wrong and taking to themselves all honor and glory. They treat other people largely as a means to their own gain, their own pleasure. Ultimately, they are miserable—because happiness is the result of becoming like God, not like Satan."

So much of the world criticizes standards. If we follow a certain normal then we are seen as unintelligent, old-fashioned, and unable to think for ourselves. Adam and Eve didn't have the wrong idea; The world today does. 

Let me be less vague. The "ideal" family of a loving father and mother, with multiple children, all living under the same roof, is the ideal. If you don't have that, it doesn't mean those who do think you're bad. The world is not perfect and few people will be blessed with the perfect family situation. But if you want to provide the best future for your family, you will TRY to reach the ideal. You don't just "fit" this standard. You work for it. Remember, the best things in life don't come easy.