Separation and Divorce

"Those from disrupted homes have lower levels of trust and altruistic love, various difficulties in intimate relationships such as more conflict and anxiety about love and commitment, and a lower likelihood of marrying."

(Jacquet and Surra 2001; Tallman, Rotolo, and Gray 2001; Wallerstein 2005; Chen et al. 2006)

Altruistic love is defined as the belief in or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others.

A good friend of mine was painfully unwilling to say "I promise". My initial reaction to her inability to feel safe taking upon herself the responsibility of  making and keeping promises, made me feel unsafe-- not to mention how much pressure I felt if I wasn't perfect in keeping the promises I'd potentially make to her.


When I shared this in class today my professor paused, and then reflectively said "I wonder...how will she handle making gospel covenants?" I'd failed to perceive the potential struggle in my friend's making and keeping eternal covenants.


Oh, how important the Savior's Atonement is. I am grateful for my witness of His healing love.