Equal Partners

Who wears the pants in your relationship?

This is such a common phrase that is often joked around about, but sometimes people are serious about this topic.  People may be lighthearted when saying comments like these, but they may truly take pride in having dominance over their spouse in the relationship.

 

When we look at how the Lord would have us treat our partners, He would have us treat them as equals.  God created Adam and Eve as helpmeets for each other, so that one could not exist without the other.  They are there to help each other and serve each other as equals, not one is better or more important than the other.

 

Excerpts from Who is the Boss: Power Relationships in Families describes how the husband and wife relationship should be.

 

"Remember that neither the wife nor the husband is the slave of the other.  Husbands and wives are equal partners, particularly Latter-day Saint husbands and wives (Marion G. Romney,Ensign, March 1978, pp. 2–4).

Remember, brethren, that in your role as leader in the family, your wife is your companion. As President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught: 'In this Church the man neither walks ahead of his wife nor behind his wife but at her side. They are coequals.' Since the beginning, God has instructed mankind that marriage should unite husband and wife together in unity.  Therefore, there is not a president or a vice president in a family. The couple works together eternally for the good of the family. They are united together in word, in deed, and in action as they lead, guide, and direct their family unit. They are on equal footing (L. Tom Perry, Ensign, May 2004p. 71)."

 

Husbands and wives have distinct divine roles in the family, but that does not mean that they are unequal in their importance to the family unit.  Husbands may work for the financial support of the family, and mothers may raise and nurture the children, but both efforts are equal and neither spouse should hold power over the other in any decision making.

 

Families are most successful when based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ as well, so it is also important that when a husband and wife make decisions, TOGETHER, they include Christ in the decision making process and include Him in their family counsel.