It’s a message young people in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hear early and often: You should get married because marriage is wonderful and family life is at the heart of the faith. The problem is that church leaders haven’t grasped the power of cultural trends in technology, education and economics that Read more
For decades, viewers have enjoyed the Japanese reality TV series “Old Enough!” in which preschool children venture into the streets alone to run errands for their parents. What if American women asked their live-in boyfriends to stop playing video games, leave their couches and run errands? In the “Saturday Night Live” sketch “Old Enough! Longterm Read more
An Invercargill couple celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary believe they were lucky in love. Reaching a platinum anniversary would be a challenge for many couples, but for Lenox and Betty Allison it seemed to have been an easy task as they said had not noticed the time passing. “Honestly, it did not seem that long. Read more
Several months ago, as my wife’s birthday approached, I was thrilled to discover that a band she likes had plans to play next year in a nearby city. I booked good seats, spending a bit more than I normally would on birthdays, and began anticipating her reaction. On the morning of her birthday, she opened Read more
An image has been occurring to me of boats that have become unmoored. They end up on the rocks, or colliding with one another. There are features of our Western world’s culture that seem to fit the image. Important aspects of our lives seem to have become disconnected from what gives them meaning. If this Read more
A 41-year-old woman allegedly abandoned her husband of 20 years and claims to have married the Holy Spirit in an act that has shocked Kenyans and embarrassed the church in the East African country. A man who said he is her husband viewed the most recent ceremony differently: “There are not two marriages here. She Read more
A leading canon lawyer explains how a valid marriage in the Catholic Church’s tradition must meet three requirements. Rev Prof Michael Mullaney, President at Ireland’s national seminary, St Patrick’s College Maynooth and a leading Canon Lawyer said the couple party to such a marriage “must-have capacity (ie the requisite freedom and knowledge to give such Read more
I still have a photograph of the breakfast I made the morning I ended an eight-year relationship and cancelled a wedding. It was an unremarkable breakfast—a fried egg—but it is now digitally fossilized in a floral dish we moved with us when we left New York and headed west. I don’t know why I took Read more
If people are providing a ministry to families, they must make sure they actually know what the families need, Pope Francis says. The Catholic Church cannot claim to safeguard marriage and family life if it simply repeats its traditional teaching without supporting, encouraging and caring for real families. This is especially when families are struggling Read more
For many U.S. couples yearning to be married, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on their wedding plans while bolstering their teamwork and resilience. For couples already married, it has posed a host of new tests, bringing some closer, pulling others apart. Spending more time together — a common result of lockdowns, furloughs and layoffs — Read more