Equality in Marriage

There is so much talk of equal rights, especially now a day. What is equal what is not? Are man and woman exactly the same and should they be treated so. While majority of the world encourages this teaching of everyone is completely the same and should be treated so I do not fully agree. There is nothing wrong with wants people to be treated as people but in this search for equality we down play innate even heavenly qualities that the different genders have.

Being a youth or unmarried the best thing you can do now to foster equality in your future marriage is to date people who respect you and value your role as a man or a woman. One of the biggest things about equality is learning how to work together and communicate. This might now come right off the bat but learning to tell your partner when things are bothering you or when you need help is important. If you do not share responsibilities or one person feels overwhelmed and does not share this with the other person than that can harbor many ill feelings.

"A marriage of equal partners will also be one in which the partners help one another in their stewardship." This is important to remember because while we have our one gender roles one of the best ways we can develop an equal marriage is by stepping outside of our roles to help out significant other at times. A marriage can not always be divided into chores 50/50. There will be times when you will need to do an extra 20% for your spouse, maybe they are pregnant, maybe they are out of town, or maybe they just had a really rough day. Picking up the slack sometimes is the best way to make things equal.

In the end quality really comes down to communication and making sure that you are doing everything you can do serve your spouse before yourself. In fact, David O McKay said that he believes the first question the Savior will ask you in the next life will be sometimes along the lines of, "he will request and accountability about your relationship with your wife. Have you actively been  engaged in making her happy and ensuring that her needs have been met as an individual."

As of right now I am not married but I would like to think that when I get to the next life, I will be asked the same question in regards to if I was actively engaged in making my husband happy and ensuring that his needs were met. I think the best way I can prepare myself for that time now is to develop the qualities that I would want in a husband. I am trying to prepare myself for my future husband and those covenants by making sure that I have a strong relationship with the Lord and that I try to develop the qualities that have been listed with in my patriarchal blessing.