The Church

I have never heard anyone say that marriage is easy. In contrast, I have heard many people express exasperation about the challenges of marriage.

Where does a person go for help in building a strong marriage? I have previously recommended John Gottman’s excellent book, The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work. For Latter-day Saints, Meridian Publishing offers my Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage. Deseret Book offers The Peacegiver. But sometimes we want something more.

A Marriage Retreat in St. George

If you are interested in a marriage retreat, you may want to join the Goddards, June 19 and 20 in St. George, Utah. At the Becoming a Celestial Partner’ Retreat you will learn how to magnify the bonds of marriage and get more out of your sacred union, including:

1. Being more CHRIST-CENTERED
2. Stronger FRIENDSHIP
3. Increased UNDERSTANDING

We know that one of our most essential purposes on this Earth is to create a loving and powerful celestial marriage with our eternal companion, and yet we often allow the distractions of daily life to sidetrack us from that objective. By focusing on eternal principles, we can put our lives in proper perspective.

For more information or to register for this marriage retreat, go to https://www.familycollege.com/

The Smart Marriages Conference

Every year the Smart Marriages conference meets in a U.S. city. Thousands of educators, ministers, scholars, and citizens gather to learn about the newest ideas and programs for strengthening marriage.

This year the conference will convene in Orlando, Florida. People will gather from all over the world for this unique conference that supports marriage as a vital institution. Conference workshops range from solid, research-based programs to controversial charisma-based programs. It’s all there at the Smart Marriages Conference. Registration for the full three-day conference costs over $400. Although, some Latter-day Saints may be interested in attending the full conference, many more may be interested in attending the FREE pre-conference session focused on marriage education in the LDS community.

Wally Goddard and James Marshall, family life professors with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, have organized a pre-conference session on What’s Happening in LDS Marriage Education. You can attend this pre-conference and learn from and share with other saints about what’s happening in LDS marriage education: programs, books, retreats, and policy and get ideas for your own marriage strengthening efforts. This gathering is free, open to all, and you can attend any part of the session (late arrivals welcome.) No registration is required but please e-mail to confirm your plans to attend so we can reserve adequate space: 20********@ua**.edu" target="_blank">wg******@ua**.edu. The free LDS pre-conference will be held from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8 at Rosen Shingle Creek Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

For more information on the conference, go to https://www.smartmarriages.com/conferencedetails.html To learn more about the pre-conference, from the website above, click on Training Institutes and scroll down to #118.