Ashlee's Facts of Life

When I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I was required to always work with a companion. We had the responsibility to help each other progress and get better at teaching people the gospel. Every week we would have what we called "Companionship Inventory." This was a time when we would discuss things that we could do to be better and make goals to accomplish that. I once had a companion who would keep a list of things that she didn't like about me. She would add to it during the week every time I did something that she didn't like. And then on the day of Companionship Inventory she would unload this long list of things that were wrong with me. It was frustrating, degrading and discouraging. She made me feel like there was nothing I could do to make her proud of me because there would always be something wrong with me. This experience, though frustrating, taught me a lot about how to give constructive criticism. I learned that if you a...

I feel a little silly for writing about parenting this week. I'm 23 and married but I'm not a mother yet. I've never had to "parent" someone longer than a few hours. Babysitting has given me a little practice but I can't really count babysitting as actually parenting. Being a parent is a never-ending job. It requires working late into the night, waking up early, and changing what seems like an endless number of diapers. It also requires providing for their physical, emotional, psychological and developmental needs. Parenting is a HUGE job. And I've never experienced it before. So I feel a little silly for writing on it. But I'll share my observations and the knowledge that I've gained through research. On September 23, 1995, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came out with what they call The Family: A Proclamation to the World. This is an article that states God's direction and commandments when it comes to the family. The Procla...

Should the husband and father be primarily responsible for the family income? Sense the beginning of time men have been responsible for providing income for the families needs. Even back when money didn't exist men were responsible for hunting and bringing home food for his family and the women were responsible for taking care of the children and the home. But in modern times this has become quite a controversial topic. We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have been taught that men have the divine responsibility to provide for the financial and physical needs of his family. And the woman is divinely responsible for caring for the children and the home.  Many people look at this principle with judgmental eyes. They think that it is degrading for a woman to "have" to stay home That men are "more capable" and "better suited" for work outside of the home. This is not what the church is stating. Women are more than capable and ...

There has been controversy about whether or not a father is an important aspect of the family. Many would argue that men aren't as important. Men are not present and they don't make much of a difference in children's lives. Many would even say that men are "annoying accessories." But what a lot of people don't realize is how crucial it is to have the father present and influencing the children in the home. RN and BN Leah East and her colleges made a statement on the importance of fathers in the lives of their children, (1) "This special relationship can shape childhood development, influence values and be a predictor of both positive and negative psychological well-being." Children who grow up as delinquents, girls that grow up with skewed ideas of how a man should treat them, and even most of teen pregnancies are directly correlated with children who didn't have fathers present in the home. A father figure helps young women to...