In my religion class we have to post blogs every class, and we have assigned readings and we pick out a quote or just write what we learned or liked... this was my entry for Tuesday's upcoming class.

“Be worthy of the mate you choose” President Gordon B Hinckley

“The right person is someone for whom the natural and wholesome and normal affection that should exist does exist” Elder Bruce R McConkie

I feel like the assigned reading was meant for me right now. I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want in my mate, and what I feel I deserve. I went on a date recently where I was asked the question what I feel I am entitled to in life. That threw me, what am I entitled to? I said a good life, the blessings the Lord has in store for me, and some other generic answers, as I am not a very quick thinking when it comes to questions like that. Having had more time to think about it, and reading these quotes… I feel that I am entitled to love, to a mate worthy of me and I worthy of them. I feel like I am entitled to someone who loves me as much as I love them, who will be able to care and take care of me as much as I do for them. I deserve someone who appreciates me as much as I appreciate them. I am entitled to a hopeless romantic, or at least someone who can understand that I am! There are many more, but it is not necessary for me to write them here… I haven’t dated as much as I would have liked, but from the few relationships I have had, I have seen that sometimes I force things that shouldn’t be forced as Elder McConkie states. I have always been romanced by romance, and I have been struggling lately, trying to figure out if I should be giving up that thought of being swept off my feet by someone… and I find hope in Elder McConkie’s statement that I do not need to give up that idea. I think that when it is the right person, I will be swept away, but in a natural and normal kind of way. I am the type of person to gives all I can to make people happy, to brighten their day, and make them feel special. I do that naturally, and I think that the man that is right for me, will do the same. He and I will be similar, have had similar backgrounds, but more importantly, similar desires and goals out of life. We will we worthy of each other, and we will feel natural and normal affection towards each other, and I think at the same time. I dated someone whom I felt very close to quickly, and then it was over. Talking to my sister, she said, he wasn’t right for you. I said, but you never knew him! And she said, no, but I know you. And the man that is right for you will know what he has when he has you. I think that it will be a relationship that comes easy for me and him, we will be natural and ourselves the whole time, which is how I strive to be all the time, and we will understand each other. This is not to say that it won’t be work, but as President Hinckley states, “A good marriage requires time. If requires effort. You have to work at it. You have to cultivate it. You have to forgive and forget”. And what powerful advice! I think that is the way to live life in general, with effort, and forgiving.

I found this quote by Elder McConkie kind of funny… he tells us to look for partners who are seeking perfection and then says this “You will likely not find that perfect person, and if you did, there would certainly be no interest in you.” Haha!! Certainly no interest! Oh, I find it humorous… because he knows none of us are perfect! He goes on to clarify what he is saying with “These attributes are best polished together as husband and wife”. I think that is the honest truth that we will not find anyone perfect because we are not perfect. But we will find someone, whom with we will develop and grow with. And I think that is better than finding someone perfect, because it helps require us to lean upon the other, to work together. Finally, the last quote that inspired me was one by President Ezra Taft Benson, saying “…you are not required to lower your standards in order to get a mate.” So true! No matter how long we go unmarried, we are not required to lower our standards to finally get married, if we do we are no longer true to ourselves.