Hammer Blogs

 This week we're going to be talking about the next step in a relationship after courtship. This next phase in a relationship is a HUGE step and that is engagement. Engagement is when you've decided you want to be with your significant other for forever and all eternity. It is a very beautiful moment. However, from recent experience, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of and faith as this is a very important decision.       For me, to know my fiancé was the one for me, I prayed a lot, read conference talks and to be honest, just fully moved forward in faith. Now, I know everyone may not have the same beliefs as I do, and that's totally ok! This is just how I came to know for myself. To go along with following guidance from my Savior, I also began to to think how different my life would be without my fiancé and it made me incredibly sad. I've known my future husband since I was about fourteen years old. We dated for a little bit Junior year of High School, but I ...

     Ok folks, this week we have a fun topic...dating. Dating these days is different than it ever has been  before. Just two centuries ago, dating seemed more personal and intentional as it was set-up face-to-face. There wasn't such thing as dating apps or just "hanging out". Back then people would actually just go on dates to have fun and to get to know another person better. People had manners, didn't make a big deal about things, and just enjoyed each other's company. Where as today, dating seems a lot more scary. There is for some reason this great expectation that dates have to be grand and expensive where it's quite the opposite. A lot of the time dates are set-up through social media or dating apps. It's not as personal. Also, the word "date" rarely comes up, it's usually "hang out" as that doesn't imply anything serious.      I think as a society we need to work on the stereotype of dating and get back to how it used to...

      Gender has become a sensitive topic to talk and write about within recent years so I hope this post isn't offensive in anyway as I share my personal beliefs. I'm hoping to come across in a loving and understanding way, and I invite those who read this to share insights in the comments as this is a safe place for all.       In today's society, there are social norms, ideas of how a gender should be and act. For example, females are thought of to be more mature, aware of things, nurturing, and communicative where as males are thought of to be active, protective, spatial, and myopic. These are all things that we're told as a society as to how a male and female should be like and what they can and can't do. To a certain extent, I associate my thoughts and behaviors based on these "social norms" as I do believe that men and women have different roles to play in society. We were made different for a reason, to complement one another. If we were al...

     All my life i've been blessed to always understand and realize the importance of both the roles of a mother and father in a family. Both are vital for a happy, healthy family. I've been able to understand this as i've been blessed with involved, loving parents who understand their roles. In class, my teacher shared an  experience of a young man he was able to help who hadn't been so blessed with two supportive parents. This young man was involved with a gang and was facing a possible chance to go to a youth prison if he didn't follow simple procedures. The young man had a rough background as his father was in and out of prison his whole life. He didn't feel very loved by his family as he didn't have that fatherly figure who had an influence on him, and his mother was working hard by herself to provide for the family so he didn't see her very often. That's why the young man turned to gang members, he needed an adult relationship. Eventually his f...

 Have you ever thought about how every person in your family plays a vital role and without one of them and their position, your family would fall apart and be completely different? I haven't until this week, but it's so true. There is a total of five kids in my immediate family and i've realized that we each play a different role due to our personalities and because of our birth order. For example, my oldest sister is the leader of the pack. She organizes a lot of things and keeps up with everyone even though she has her own family to tend to. She's the one that most of us go to if we're in a state of a listening ear or have a difficult problem we need to logically and emotionally think through. My second oldest sister is the peacemaker in the family. She makes everyone feel good about themselves. She just has this glow about her where people can't help but feel happy. She has this smile and laugh that is so contagious that can change a bad mood into a happy on...