Given the opportunity to offer their "best counsel" to couples, what advice would Latter-day Saint marriage counselors and educators impart? Here is a book that contains a great number of helpful insights and suggestions from fourteen such individuals.
A collection of a dozen essays from professional counselors who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although each one points out that success in marriage (or any relation) is best found through repentance and following the Gospel of Jesus Christ, each one is very different. I have a wonderful marriage—now in its 44th year—and I found good hints, reminders, and useful points of view. I was edified.
I heartily recommend this to anyone—member of the Church of Jesus Christ or not—who wants to become a better, more loving and happy person.
I enjoyed the focus of ME changing. We are happily married, but I was bugged by a few things my husband did. I didn’t realize I was so critical of my spouse’s criticism of our children. After reading, I realized, I wasn’t criticizing the children, but I was doing the same thing to him that I despised. I was able to look inward and focus on me and become more like Christ.
The author is a marriage therapist. After one particularly frustrating session, he wondered what other therapists would do. He asked each of them to write a chapter with their best advice. Thus, each chapter can be read independently, and is one perspective – giving the best advice of that author. Perhaps that is what made it such an interesting read.
I managed to quite annoy my wife by reading from one of the chapters, but then because of other chapters that I read from to her, she became interested in reading it herself.
Most of the chapters were wonderfully interesting, giving me a deeper understanding of the importance and sacredness of the marriage relationship. The commonalities were interesting, as were the variations of viewpoint, all in one succinct book.
To be honest, I didn't finish this one. I've tried to read it twice now and I've ended up ditching it twice. I did make it farther this second time. It's a collection of essays from various LDS marriage and family counselors. I enjoyed reading the persectives of different authors but I'm ditching the book because there is, in my opinion, nothing earth-shattering. There is nothing new. Granted, I have a pretty happy, healthy marriage but everything that I read left me saying, "well, duh!" Time to move on.
Someone gave Jeremy and I this when we got married. After Corinne was born I couldn't make it to the library so I read it. Not bad. Fairly unmemorable. Although, the chapter comparing relationship cycles to the three pillars of the Gospel has spurred some very important thinking for me. I also really enjoyed the chapter that focused on the way LDS/Mormon language about intimate relationships shapes those relationships.
This book compiles marriage advice from several LDS counselors/authors. There were some good ideas in here, but I've read lots of books like this one that are better.