Premeditated Dating

I remember back in the awkward days before the awkward days of dating, we had the DARE program at school. We talked about how to say no to drugs and alcohol. We practiced saying no in different ways and even role played saying no in different situations. We learned that it's easier to stick to your decisions if you've thought about it beforehand and made your decisions already.

That works with dating too. Make your decisions about dating now. Take some time to study the scriptures and the words of the living prophets about dating. Think about what kind of spouse you want, what kind of spouse you want to be, what kind of relationship you want with your future spouse. Then think about what kind of things need to happen (or not happen) with your dating to get those results. Draw a line that you will commit to NEVER, under ANY circumstances cross, especially for physical affection.

In the BoM we meet a guy named Lehonti, who had thought about what he wanted. He had made his decision that he would never leave his safe place. But just thinking about it and making the decision wasn't enough. You have to actually follow though. In the end, Lehonti allowed himself to be convinced that he would still be safe if he left his safe place. Idiot! Right? Well, I've seen it happen too often in dating. Don't do that to yourselves!!