Prepare for a Happy, Healthy Marriage

Purpose

You can prepare now for a happy and loving marriage by developing skills for healthy relationships.

Prepare for marriage by developing healthy relationship skills.

Practice showing interest in other people. Ask someone questions to learn about his or her goals, interests, and hobbies. You might even ask that person to teach you about something he or she does.
Take a school or community class or read a book on communication to learn about skills like listening, how people communicate without words (sometimes called “body language”), and handling disagreements. Practice what you learn by having face-to-face conversations with others.
Ask several married couples what they believe makes a marriage successful. What challenges have they faced and how did they overcome them? Take notes.
One key to a happy marriage is selfless service. Strive to serve others in simple, ordinary ways, and learn to receive service from others.
Pray about specific qualities or gifts you should seek to develop to help you be a better partner in your future marriage. See Develop Your Spiritual Gifts for more ideas.
Host or attend a social event where you can get to know your peers better, including members of the opposite sex. If appropriate in your culture, go on a date.
Create your own goal.