Monday, May 2, 2011

Thoughts on Dating

I was asked a question today about dating and whether or not I would date some one that is not of my faith and I don't feel like I really answered the question how I would've liked because I was interrupted. So I'm going to take advantage of this blog and explain my dating standards and those that are taught by my church as well.

I'll start with the standards that are taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. And I'm going to start with a quote by the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley that I love!

“The Lord has made us attractive one to another for
a great purpose. But this very attraction becomes as
a powder keg unless it is kept under control. . . . It is for this
reason that the Church counsels against early dating”
(President Gordon B. Hinckley).

Dating is taught to be an important part of life because it's a way to find qualities that you would like to see in the person you want to be with forever. We're also counseled not to begin dating until we are at least 16 years old because it will limit the number of people you will meet and keep you from experiences that will mold you into more mature person. Group dating has always been suggested as a place to start as well as not sticking to the same person for multiple dates. Basically the LDS church teaches its youth to go on dates with a variety of people in order to experience a multitude of different personalities and traits and find out things that you do and do not like in people. We're also counselled to date people that share the same standards as ourselves for obvious reasons.

Now for my standards:

They're basically the mirror image of the churches with a few quirks for myself. I try to date people that are LDS but there are not very many in my area so I go out with young men who hold the same standards as myself and who will help me keep my own. This is not to say that I want a non-LDS boyfriend. My biggest goal in life is to get married in the temple and I can't do that with someone that is not a worthy member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the people that you date seriously are most likely the kind of people you will marry later on in life. I also try to make it a point never to be 100% alone with a guy, like in a house or something. There are too many things that could happen. People may ask, but don't you trust yourself? I would like to think I do, but can you ever truly trust yourself when your emotions are unpredictable or strong? All I have to say about it is that I'd much rather be safe than worried or sorry. Done. Ever.

There are many people in the world and I want to meet a bunch of them. It's extremely hard to do that if you're worried about a boyfriend or girlfriend. I'm not saying that you should never ever have a boy/girl friend. I'm just saying that there is a time and a place for it. And I don't believe its the high school years. Those years should be spent meeting many different people and getting to know them. Not being spent with the same person every weekend. That can lead to too many bad things. Too many strong emotions for people so young. There is so much time. Just wait. The world is a big place and the people you meet in high school are the smallest fraction of those people. Most likely you won't even see the person sitting next to you in class every day ever again. That's just how I feel. 

4 comments:

Silviu said...

Bri You're awesome. I also think the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing is rather...eh.

Susan Holloway said...

Very well said. completely agree

Bri said...

What do you mean Silviu?

Thank you Sister Holloway!

Anonymous said...

Bri I love reading your blogs because their always very inspirational (: thanks, you make perfect timing and I completely agree

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