Br. Martins - REL 235 - Achieving Eternal Marriage

Religion 235
Achieving an
Eternal Marriage

Martins Family, 2015

Course Objective

We will use the scriptures and the teachings of latter-day prophets to: (1) increase our knowledge of the basic principles and doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and of how they relate to marriage; (2) increase our knowledge of the principles necessary to magnify present or future roles as husbands and wives; (3) increase our ability to find answers to the many challenges of married life in the word of the Lord.

Teaching Philosophy

When I look at my students I see not only who they are today but also who they may--and in most cases very likely will--become in the future. I envision parents, grandparents, missionaries, leaders in communities, governments, and in the Church.

Whatever the central subject-matter of my classes, I always focus on the ways to apply the doctrines and principles contained in the scriptures to achieve two goals:

Provide immediate answers to issues relevant to my students' present experience--e.g. relationship with roommates, full-time missions, temple ordinances, dating, and marriage.

Give my students a sample of gospel-based answers to the main problems they are likely to be asked in the present and in the near future by investigators, fellow Church members, and neighbors--problems such as: financial difficulties, different forms of addiction, domestic problems, divorce, and different manifestations of spiritual apathy.

Required Materials

The Standard Works (so far: Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, & Pearl of Great Price)
Student Manual: Eternal Marriage
The manual is available online in both HTML and PDF formats at the Church Educational System website (click on the picture)
You may download the entire manual to a flash drive, a laptop, or another electronic device. Just be sure to read the assigned chapters before each class period.
Reading Assignments - available on the web (click on the hyperlinks on the schedule page)
Accessory: Online Dictionary
You and your brain equipped with "a sound understanding" (Alma 17:2)

Class Format

I do not lecture--in the traditional sense of the word--very often. Instead, most of my classes are typically dialogue-driven; more like a group conversation, or like a Q&A (question-and-answer) session.
Therefore, it is essential that you read and think about the assigned materials before coming to class, so you will have good questions to ask me, or insights and experiences related to the readings to share with the class. Our discussions should focus on ways to apply the information in the lessons to analyze real-life situations or issues and propose solutions (currently feasible or not) to them.

Speaking of questions, we often hear the old cliché "That question is not important to our salvation", with which I agree when applied to regular Church meetings. But in a university class, questions are important to our education. Therefore, if you want to learn something gospel-related that will be important--either to your salvation or to your education--I'll teach you, always based on official doctrine or church policy, and also on my own research.

In my opinion, at the end of the day the relevant factors are:

1) Was the discussion academically stimulating at a college level?

2) Were my explanations accurate, intelligent, and defensible from a doctrinal standpoint?

3) Did those explanations bring you to a higher level of understanding of the doctrines of the restored gospel, and inspire you to study and learn more?

And above all: (4) Did you eventually feel by the power of the Holy Ghost that what you learned is true? (This last factor is outside of a teacher's control, and in some cases it may take some time to happen).

This way we may accomplish the Apostle Peter's counsel that we "... be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15)

Midterm Exercise
Paper
Final Exercise
Class Participation

Total Points

150 points
150 points
200 points
100 points (Attendance, Comments)

600 points

During the semester we will read a good amount of excellent prophetic statements and wise counsels about marriage and family life. But far from making this just an empty exercise, I propose that you try to incorporate these teachings into your life.

Therefore, the paper for this course will consist of a personal essay describing how you plan to implement those teachings about dating (in case you are single), fidelity, education, financial management, children, and other characteristics of married life.

This exercise could be titled "Personal Decisions for the Future," and I would like you to take this very seriously. So, as you read the assignments for each class, inspect your feelings--think about who you are, how you behave, and make some decisions about how you would implement those teachings in your life in preparation for (or to refine an existing) marriage.

Choose three or four topics of our discussions, and explain how you are planning to incorporate the knowledge you have obtained in those articles in your future.

The paper should be no longer than 3 pages (double-spaced, using a 12-point font, and 1 inch margins) and it must honestly discuss what changes or refinements you will implement in your life. Since this paper will deal with private and sensitive matters, I will not "grade" it in the regular sense of the word; rather, I will merely verify that you completed the assignment. All I want is for this class to be a relevant force for change or refinement in your life.

The paper is due on May 29th.

Do not print the paper; just send me the file as an attachment via e-mail. Use formats ".docx" (Microsoft Word), or ".rtf" (Microsoft Rich Text). When you create the file, save it with a descriptive name in the following manner: Last name-First name initial-course number For example, my name is Marcus Martins; so, if I were a student turning in a paper in REL 235, I would save the file with the following name: Martins-M-235

After you send me the paper, I will confirm its receipt within two work-days (not counting weekends). If after two work-days you do not receive my e-mail confirming that I have your paper, it will mean that I never received it. In that case, contact me right away. If you do not contact me, your score for the paper will be zero.

House Rules

I like to use BYU-H's Honor Code to our advantage. This Honor Code is based on mutual trust. That implies a commitment to be "... honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous ..." (The 13^th Article of Faith). In practice, that requires us to give credit to others' ideas, to speak the truth and accept full responsibility for our actions--or for the lack of them. That commitment also requires us to respect and to develop love for each other as children of the Most High and heirs of eternal kingdoms, independent of our differences in ideas, beliefs, gender, race, or national origin.

As a consequence of the commitment to accept full responsibility for our actions, there will be no make-up exams, and no assignments for extra credit. The exercises (or exams, if you prefer) will not be given on dates different than the ones mentioned here, except in cases of extenuating circumstances.

Extenuating circumstances do not include the following: forgetfulness, early travel arrangements, homesickness, your best friend's wedding, a mid-semester family vacation, the death of your family's dog, a great surfing day, the discovery of your eternal companion, assignments for other classes, pizza parties, and other similarly unholy and impure excuses.

Cases of conflicting final exam schedules, serious infirmities, or other truly extenuating circumstances, should be reported immediately and not postponed until the day before an exam. If you are planning to get married within the next 2 months, please, schedule your ceremony for a non-conflicting date. (This request does not apply to births, of course ...)

Classroom Etiquette

I believe that the university's dress and grooming standards reflect the standard that any educated and civil person should adopt anywhere in the world. As a professor as well as a Church high priest I adhere to that standard and expect all my students to do the same.
Since our classes are held in a sacred building, we must display the proper reverence and demeanor suitable to a house of worship. I ask that you refrain from wearing hats, shorts, "grubby attire," beachwear, and from enjoying foods and drinks in the classroom. Falling asleep occasionally is forgivable, but chatting during lectures is not.
To avoid distractions to you and others, while in class, please turn off cell phone ringers--and do not take calls or messages while in class. If you are expecting an emergency call, it might be better for you to miss class and take care of the emergency. Just be sure to send me an e-mail explaining the nature of that emergency. By the way, talking to an old friend, or to your sweetheart in Bangkok, Beijing, or Boston does not constitute an "emergency"--unless he/she is about to undergo brain surgery.

Laptops, Cell Phones, and Facebook in Class

For those among you who are "techno buffs": you are welcome to download the readings to your laptop or access them online in class.

Feel free to share online your ideas, opinions, questions, or short accounts of non-confidential experiences in response to any of the assigned readings or to an idea shared during classroom discussion. In fact, you are welcome to include your Facebook friends in our discussions--but your interactions must be about the topics being discussed in class, not unrelated matters. I count on you to honor this requirement!
You are welcome to share with the class the comments and questions your online friends may send you. All such communications must be intelligent, respectful of others, and real contributions to our education.

Other than the interaction described above, be sure that during class you will use your computer or cell phone to explore that day's reading assignment, not for mindless social networking, e-mail, games, or work for other classes.

Those who use their cellular phones to browse the web are welcome to access the readings in class that way, but the ringer must be silent during class. No phone calls or text messaging are allowed! Any exceptions to this must be due to a (real) emergency and cleared with me before each class.

I will not constantly monitor what you do with your electronic devices in class, but if I catch you indulging in stuff unrelated to class, well ... "Houston, we'll have a problem ..."

Participation

Class participation will be judged on both the amount and the quality of your questions, comments and contributions to the progress of your peers. The breakdown for those 100 precious points is the following:

Attendance up to 50 points

A lot of money and resources are spent in your maintenance in college. So, the least one can do is to attend classes and try to gain the most from them. Occasionally, circumstances may lead you to miss one class period.

One absence due to illness or one job interview, or one field trip in another class, and absences due to athletic & performance groups, will be waived, but you need to inform me immediately. In all other cases there will be a penalty of minus 15 points for each absence.

If you need to leave class early, please let me know at the beginning of class. But if you leave class less than 25 minutes after the roll call, or if you sneak out, you will be considered absent on that day, and will lose 15 points. Arriving in class more than 15 minutes late--without a reasonable explanation--will also be considered an absence.

Comments in Class up to 50 points

Our objective with this exercise is to learn from insights shared in class as we study the doctrines of gospel of Jesus Christ and apply them to our lives.

These "comments" may take the form of ideas, opinions, questions, or short accounts of experiences, and they can be made in class or electronically via e-mail to me.

Our class periods should be seen as opportunities for mutual enlightenment. I encourage and expect many exchanges of ideas and gospel-based life experiences.

If you consider yourself shy, I recommend that you put your shyness in a box and mail it to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean (the Pacific isn't far enough). While in college, take advantage of the resources available to you and "re-engineer" yourself, thus becoming an active participant in a society. Semester-long silence will be rewarded with 0 (zero) points.

Frequent "parallel conversations" (i.e. chatting with classmates often about matters unrelated to the class) may be penalized with a 5-point discount.

Since full participation in class discussion necessarily requires frequent reading of sacred texts, failure to bring your personal copy of the Doctrine & Covenants to class may be penalized with a 5-point discount ... each time.

What If English Is Not Your Native Language?

No problem. You are welcome to pray in class in your own language ... provided that there is someone available to translate your words into English--for the benefit of all those present. Take a look at the Apostle Paul's words on the subject:
"For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. ... [When] thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room ... say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?" (1 Corinthians 14:14, 16)

What If You Belong to Another Faith?

No problem at all. I am a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I respect whatever religious background you come from.

I will never be my intention to offend you or hurt your feelings. I will teach you according to my beliefs in the hope that if you do not accept the restored gospel, at least you will understand the core beliefs of the Latter-day Saints, and help dispel many of the myths and misconceptions about those beliefs. We still would like you to be a good friend of the Church.

Disabilities & Special Circumstances

If you have a diagnosed disability or believe that you have a disability that may require reasonable accommodation, let me know right at the beginning of the semester.
My role and function as a teacher are to assist you in achieving spiritually enriching, rewarding, and intellectually stimulating experiences in and out of the classroom. Your concerns and suggestions--whenever you have them--will always be appreciated.

Official Communications

Class announcements will be made via e-mail. You are responsible to check your BYU-Hawaii e-mail "inbox" regularly. E-mail messages sent to BYU Hawaii e-mail addresses are considered official notification of course policies and procedures.

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B+ 555-569	C 490-504	D- 430-444
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