Creating a Partnership in Marriage

Marriage is a partnership! A husband and wife work together to achieve mutual goals and enjoy the fruits of their labors. There is great power in a strong partnership. President Russell M. Nelson said, 

"True partners can achieve more 

than the sum of each acting alone." 

This is synergy!

Here are some things that make a partnership successful:

• Collaboration
• Agreement
• Sharing Insights and Efforts
• Building a Consensus
• Complete Loyalty
• Suppressing Personal Ego in Exchange for Creating Something Better
• Individuals Developing Personal Attributes of Character

The most important partnership is found in marriage between a husband and wife. In "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" it says, "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

Here are some ideas for a successful marriage:

1- Get outside of ourselves and be unselfish.

Sister Cheryl C. Lant said, ". . . if we could just get to the point where we are thinking about someone else's needs, our needs are met. That's the best way to get our needs met, if we are looking to take care of somebody else."

Sister Susan W. Tanner said, "It takes work to have a good marriage; it requires consistent effort. Never let a day go by without thinking about how you can bless your spouse and help meet his or her needs. It would be wonderful if we could have companionships that were filled with decencies daily, where we think about what we can do through our words and actions to show love."

 Elder Jeffrey R. Holland counseled us to be equal partners and said, "There will be ebbing and flowing. There's a balance here. We've got to be in this together. We've got to share in this. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. That says to me, I'd better address my flaws before I spend a lot of time worrying about everybody else's flaws in the family."

2- Put family first.

Make time for * Family Prayer * Family Home Evening * Family Scripture Study * the things that have eternal consequences. 

Develop Family Patterns--things that we always do. We go to church on Sunday, attend all of our meetings, accept church callings, give service willingly, have prayer before we leave for school in the morning, read our scriptures every evening before bed, go on missions, pay tithing, eat meals together, work and play together, and try to have meaningful fasts. 

Create and maintain traditions. 

3 - Be equal partners.

President Boyd K. Packer said, There is no task, however menial, connected with the care of babies, the nurturing of children, or with the maintenance of the home that is not the husband's equal obligation. Likewise, women assist their husbands, directly and indirectly, with the burdens of supporting the family."

Marriage is not only about responsibilities. It is also about dreams. "There must be room enough in a marriage for the dreams of both the husband and the wife and sweet encouragement from each to the other to follow those dreams" (Hudson & Miller, pg. 39). 



Hudson, V. M., and Miller, R. B. (2012). Successful Marriages and Families. Equal Partnership between Men and Women in Families. BYU Studies.