Lesson 36

Lesson Title: "Marriage Standards"

OTHER RESOURCES:

• Resource Guide for Young Women Manual 3 at lds.org. With Ensign, New Era, and Friend references

OBJECTIVE:

Each young woman will establish standards for her own marriage.

PREPARATION:

1. Picture 15, Yoked Oxen (62233), located at the back of the manual.
2. Provide a pencil and paper for each young woman.
3. Prepare a poster that says: “Marriage is perhaps the most vital of all the decisions and has the most far-reaching effects, for it has to do not only with immediate happiness, but eternal joys as well.” (Spencer W. Kimball)
4. Optional: Prepare the handouts suggested at the end of the lesson.
5. Assign young women to present any stories, scriptures, or quotations you wish.

ATTENTION GETTER:

Explain that a prominent and well-respected businessman was once asked what factors had contributed to the twenty-five years of success he and his partner had enjoyed in their business relationship. “There have been many contributing factors,” he said, “but if I were to single out one, it would be that I chose a good partner. This decision was not left to chance or speculation, as many business ventures often are. I sat down and made a list of the qualities and characteristics my future partner must have. I needed to know that he had the same beliefs, standards, and goals for the business that I had. After all, this was not to be a short-lived relationship. I had to look for some time, but when I found someone who met these tough standards and shared my goals, we formed our business. We have had both lean and prosperous times, but through it all we remained committed to the standards we had established, we pulled together, and each did his part to make the business work.”


Discussion:
Ask the young women to suggest some of the requirements this businessman may have established for selecting a partner.

Point out that we have the opportunity of selecting a partner for a far more important partnership than a business venture. Ask the young women what they think you are referring to. (Marriage partnership.) Write on the chalkboard: An eternal, happy marriage partnership.

LESSON:

CONCLUSION:

Refer once again to the poster used in the second section of the lesson. Emphasize the importance of setting righteous standards so that each young woman can be equally yoked in a happy, eternal marriage relationship.

HANDOUT: