Conflict and the Council Method

The previous week we learned about conflict. I learned that conflict is not just arguing or fighting with your spouse.But something as simple like a difference of opinion can be considered  as conflict.
 There are various styles of conflict which include:

Competition: it involves a high concern for oneself and a low concern for the other.

Avoidance: it involves having little concern either for your own interests or for the interests of the other.

Accommodation: it is the neglect of one's own interests in order to pursue  the interests of the other.

Compromise: involves some concern about both one's interests and the interests of the other.

Collaboration: it involves a high degree of concern both for one's own interests and for the interests of the partner.

Now it is important to understand that conflict is not always bad. There are good things about conflict in a marriage. These include: Helps us to better examine ourselves, brings issues out to the open and builds confidence in abilities and the relationship. 

This week we learned about the Council Method. I had never really heard about this before but know that I have I think its amazing. So the Council Method is based on having everyone speak about their concerns and be able to express their opinion, rather than just having one person impose their ideas on the other individuals.

I had such a beautiful and spiritual experience while learning about this because this is the way Heavenly Father if giving us the opportunity to become one with our spouse and our family. If you would like to learn more, I've included these articles.

 M. Russell Ballard, “Strength in Counsel”, General Conference, October 1993

 M. Russell Ballard, “Counseling with Our Councils”, General Conference, April 1994

 

Types of Affairs

This week in class we talked about affairs in my Family Relations class. Did you guys know that 21% of men and 14% of women have affairs? And there are different types of affairs as well.

4 Types of Affairs

Fantasy: emotional affair with someone who doesn't even know what is going on. For example, imaginine your life with someone else other than your spouse.

Visual: this consists of pornography, movies or books. For example, thinking that William Levi is super hot and you have tons of pictures of him on your computer etc.

Romantic: becoming emotionally involved/ attached with a specific person.

Sexual: engages in sexual acts outside the bonds of marriage with or without emotional attachement.

We also talkked about way that we can prevent marital infidelity.

Preventing Marital Infidelity

Setting boundaries, being on guard
Being fiercely loyal to your spouse
Controlling thoughts

I had learn previously how damaging an affair can be to a family. I know that it distroys families, I mean it id destroyed my family. But I'm so grateful for a husband who constantly strives to be failthful to me and that I have committed to be faithful to him forever. I know that these things can be controlled and prevent much heartache. I hope this helped you gain a little more knowledge about the importance of our choices.