Torment

As we strive to strengthen ourselves and our marriages, it is important to remember that Satan is always watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike. In 1 Peter 5:8, it says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” We must […]
Agreeing to Disagree is Pretty Much Saying…

Agreeing to disagree is a false notion. It is sweeping all those little issues under the rug, but over time someone moves that rug and we still have to deal with it.
Celestial Orientation

Several years ago, I was pondering what it must be like for a woman, who thought she was in a good and stable marriage, to discover her husband has been participating in significant sexual misbehaviors that are traumatizing to the marriage. I had recently stood on the east bank of the Mississippi river at […]
5 Steps to Rebuilding Trust after a Relationship has been Traumatized

When a relationship experiences trauma, it is like an airplane crash. The one who does the betraying is like the pilot and engineer of the plane, and the injured party is like the passenger.
Working on Emotional Intimacy – Discussing the Past

Emotional Intimacy is one of the hardest phases of the entire process of rebuilding and repairing your marriage. You will need to be able to skillfully keep the Spirit present during conversations, and skillfully retreat and regroup if things start to fall apart.
Marriage Repair and Applying the First Three of the 12 Steps

The following is just one of over 100 lessons taught in the Marriage Repair Workshop: The Lazarus Lectures – by Maurice W. Harker, CMHC and team.
What To Do When You Have an Inadequate Spouse

What to do when you are an inadequate spouse. What to do when you have an inadequate spouse. As I have experienced my personal agony of not being enough in many circumstances…
Sex as a Reward?

A common question asked of me in my work with women who have experienced betrayal trauma or sexual trauma is something like, “What role is sexuality supposed to play in a healthy relationship?”
Marital Repair Case Study #1

(The words of the wife are in italics.) I was able to have another chat with my husband last night where I calmly explained my distance of late is due to working through pain and past hurts. I explained that, just like when you get a serious burn, in the moment it hurts but […]
The Line-Upon-Line Relapse Prevention Intervention For Couples

How am I supposed to handle it when my husband has a “lost battle”? (A “lost battle” is a term used in the Men of Moroni as well as other recovery programs within Life Changing Services. For this article, a battle is “lost” when the husband chooses to engage in, or act with behaviors […]
“Letter to Husband” who blames his wife for his addiction

Nowhere in the principles you have learned from prophets past and present have you ever been told, “If you no longer find your wife to be attractive, you can now view the naked bodies of the other daughters of your Father in Heaven.”
Psychological Intimacy Improves Physical Intimacy

I have observed a certain destructive pattern in marriages for some time now, and a couple of cases have really stood out this week. This pattern could lead to the end of the marriage(s).