Dating to Marriage

Sister Dalton came to speak to us for devotional last week. Of every topic in the world to talk about, she chose to speak about dating. She really emphasized that dating and hanging out are not the same thing. And we must date.

We talked in class today about how dating is a preparation for marriage. Not just that it helps us choose our spouse, it prepares men to be good husbands and fathers. The three roles of a husband are to provide, preside, and protect. While the three aspects of a date are planned, paid for, and paired off. Each one of these correlates with another. Being paired up prepares a guy to be the protector. He of course is to make sure no harm comes to her, but also as a priesthood holder it is his duty to make sure things stay appropriate. The relationship between paid for and provide is pretty self-explanatory. He is to pay for the date and also in the future hold a job to earn a living for his family. The man is also supposed to take the initiative to ask the girl out and plan the date. As a father, it is his role to preside at Family Home Evenings and family councils.

No wonder Sister Dalton decided this was the most important thing to talk about. Dating is critical for making good husbands and fathers out of boys.