Preparing for Marriage- Pessimism About Marriage

Pessimism About Marriage

"Pessimism about marriage and wariness of divorce among emerging adults is creating a culture of divorce preparation rather than a culture of marriage preparation. The emerging ethic of marriage preparation appears to be: "When you are ready to get divorced, you are ready to get married." In this context, "single life" is not only becoming a permissable period of emerging adults, but it is also regarded by some as a necessary period before a young person is ready to settle down and get married. Many emerging adults believe that they will be ready for marriage only when they are finished being single. In a recent study, more than half of young adults today rank having "fully experienced the single life" as an important criterion to achieve before getting married (Carroll, Badger, Willoughby, Nelson, Madsen, & Barry, 2009)."

Are you preparing yourself for divorce or for marriage? Do you think that you must "fully experience the single life" before getting married? Why or why not?

Here is a wonderful talk by Elder F. Burton Howard on Eternal Marriage:
 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/eternal-marriage?lang=eng


Bibliography: Hawkins, A., Dollahite, D., & Draper, T. (2012). Successful marriages and families. Provo, Utah: BYU Studies and School of Family Life, Brigham Young University.