Covenant Hearts

by Bruce C. Hafen

Filled with practical insights and richly illustrated with true stories, Covenant Hearts shows that by living the Christlike life of the Good Shepherd (who will not flee when the wolf comes), husbands and wives will find—and give to each other—the abundant life of authentic joy.Other books may offer marital counseling tips, but no other book delves as deeply into the big picture of why marriage is so central to both personal growth and the health of society.Another Bruce C. Hafen, an eritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, explains that we are witnessing the biggest cultural shift of attitudes about family life in five centuries. This remarkable collapse of marriage is inflicting toxic damage on children, parents, and society. And "when a confused culture confuses us about what marriage means," writes Elder Hafen, "we may give up on ourselves and each other much too soon." Yet an eternal perspective "can help us transcend the modern chaos, until our marriage becomes the most satisfying and sanctifying—and the most demanding—experience of our lives."We may begin by marrying mostly for comfort, but uncomfortable opposition always follows. Covenant Hearts teaches ways to learn from working through our natural problems rather than fleeing from them. Then our marriage will bring us joy—a much higher form of comfort. At that level, marriage mysteriously empowers personal growth and fulness, now and forever.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Marriage, Lds

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2012

About the author

Bruce C. Hafen has been a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy since 1996, having served recently as Area President of the Australia/New Zealand area. Earlier he was president of Ricks College, Dean of the BYU Law School, and the number two administrator (Provost) at BYU. Elder Hafen is known to Deseret Book readers for his frequent Ensign articles and his bestselling trilogy on the Atonement, which includes the award-winning book The Broken Heart.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing perspective on marriage

Elder Hafen, who practiced Family law, provides deep gospel insights on the doctrine of covenant marriage and why it is so important. He also uses the parable of the Good Shepard to help us see how good marriage partners face the wolves of life together.

Finally, in a moving epilogue, Sister Hafen makes a compelling plea (in the form a letter to her grandchildren) for us to keep our covenants by sacrifice.

I think every married couple (or any contemplating marriage someday) would benefit greatly from a sincere and thoughtful reading of this book. My heart is changed. Or I should say, my change of heart is deepened.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand the importance of the covenants we make in marriage as LDS members.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main point of the book is to emphasize that marriage has value and is worth fighting to protect, whether within individual marriages or as defined by society more generally. A definition of marriage as between a man and a woman is beneficial to society. This marriage arrangement establishes and maintains a natural, protective, and nurturing environment for parents and children. The redefining of marriage, throughout the world and in the United States, will have consequences of moral decay that will erode away the very fabric of our society. It seems almost a lost cause to try and turn the tide of our society back towards the traditional definition of marriage, the dam has already broke. But, we can in our own families hold on to beliefs and attitudes that keep marriage sacred and protected.

[Katherine Whitworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was uplifting, like one would expect from a gospel-centered book. I learned about the importance of communication, eternal perspective, empathy, and diligence when it comes to maintaining a happy marriage.

Reading this book was an assignment for my Eternal Families class at BYU in fall 2017 (5+ years ago). I'm sure I would get even more out of this book now that I'm actually married.

[Myrl Breinholt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written counsel born from a lifetime of experience on the topic of love and genuine unity of Covenant marriage.

[Amy Bergsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very, VERY GOOD parts. A few very cringey parts — female morality and male morality chapters are just simply so outdated. Book could be a bit discouraging for someone who has ever been divorced.

[Mitzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly doctrinal discourse on the importance of marriage and family. Hafen digs deep into the doctrine here, with statistics and some anecdotes. it was good to be reminded about the fundamentals of a good marriage, although he doesn't really go into practicalities, other than to remind us that our spouse should be our first and main priority. The last part of the book talked about how marriage was a critical to the community,which I hadn't thought about in those terms before. It is slightly outdated, and the anecdotes tended to be on the dramatic side....wished some of them could have been a little more relateable.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my thing, but some interesting stats about marriage and it's important in society and higher likelihood of children's success.

I did like that the book clearly illustrates that society's tolerance leads to protecting behavior that can hurt families and children.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Partial read. Read first 5 chapters and 1 later chapter.