"There is no shame in a couple having to scrimp and save. It is generally during these challenging times that you will grow closer together as you learn to sacrifice and to make difficult decisions."
- President Thomas S. Monson
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“Marriage isn’t any big thing, it’s a lot of little things. Acts of kindness every day create a happy marriage.”
- John Bytheway, in What We Wish We’d Known When We Were Newlyweds
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“My parents gave me a great legacy. They faithfully dated. They were married over sixty years and dated up until the last couple of weeks of my dad’s life. [...] As a result, it was always drilled into me both by my parents and my older sister that you must date your husband--every single week. This was absolutely the number one best thing I did to improve my marriage.”
- Merrilee Browne Boyack in Strangling Your Husband is NOT an Option: A Practical Guide to Dramatically Improving Your Marriage
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"Marriage takes work, every day! You have to wake up and choose to love and fight for another person. In marriage, you definitely reap what you sow!"
- Amanda Lewis Long, LDS Living Reader
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"A true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It's about the person you love--their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, 'What's in it for me?', while Love asks, 'What can I give?'"
- Seth Adam Smith,Marriage Isn't For You
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“I am convinced the scriptures are the very best ‘how to’ books on relationships. They are the first and last word on how to be a better husband [or wife].”
- Wendy Watson Nelson in Rock Solid Relationships: Strengthening Personal Relationships with Wisdom from the Scriptures
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"Your time alone with each other is precious and should be enjoyed as much as possible to cultivate your love and relationship. So much so that when you are the only ones left in your home that you still want to hold hands while watching TV or stay up late talking in bed."
- Tammy Sorenson, LDS Living Reader
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“I have been trying to be a better spouse for more than 30 years. I still have a long way to go. [...] In our experience, it is just as God promises: ‘[...] With the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.’”
- H. Wallace Goddard in Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage: Powerful Principles with Eternal Results
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"Your spouse will be with you before kids come and after kids leave. Nurture your relationship. Be friends, partners, lovers, companions. Respect each other. Support each other. Date each other. Be spontaneous. Go somewhere away from family, friends, just the two of you at least once a year. Even if only overnight.
"From day one, 10% tithing, 10% savings/investments. Set up a 'fun' stash. Live beneath your means. Get an education that will allow you to provide for your family. Pay with cash. Take advantage of retirement packages offered by employers. Have food storage, 72-hour kits, and an emergency fund. Always have insurance: auto, home, medical, dental, life. Enjoy the small everyday moments. Dance in the rain."
- Sheryl Kiser Thomson, LDS Living Reader
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“It is critical in this first year that both partners try to listen and understand. The way you react now will determine whether your spouse will be willing to bring things up again in the future. And it would be a great comfort to both of you if you knew that your marriage had an ‘open door, open mind’ policy.”
- John Bytheway, in What We Wish We’d Known When We Were Newlyweds
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"The first year is the toughest and that if you can make it through that you make through almost anything."
- Christina Herzog-Garcia, LDS Living Reader
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“All that is required to nurture a relationships is to give all we are presently capable of giving, and to treat others as if they are doing the same.”
- Wendy Watson Nelson in Rock Solid Relationships: Strengthening Personal Relationships with Wisdom from the Scriptures
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"It's always better to be kind than it is to be right!"
- Mindy Martin, LDS Living Reader
What advice would you give to newlyweds? Tell us in the comments!