As summer break begins, students preparing for marriage received guidance from professors in the Brigham Young University School of Family Life.
Of BYU's student body, 17% are married, more than double the national average for married students in the United States.
Students at BYU tend to get married at younger ages, Chelom Leavitt, a professor and researcher for the School of Family Life, said. She believes that this presents a unique set of challenges.
"I think one of the challenges is that they're still in school, right? And so, finances are limited," Leavitt said. "They're both likely still working on their education, and they may even decide to have children right away."
Leavitt recommends seeing dating, engagement and marriage as processes, not just milestone events.
"My favorite piece of advice is to take things slowly. Be really intentional about how you develop your marriage," Leavitt said. "I know, as a researcher, that (in) the first six months to a year of your marriage, you're laying down a number of patterns in that relationship, and those patterns are likely to stick with you for decades."
Brian Willoughby, another professor at the School of Family Life, advised students to avoid pornography and artificial intelligence companions or chatbots. He said these media forms are detrimental to relationship success.
Willoughby said it is also inevitable for people to experience issues in their relationships.
"Whatever it is in your relationship, there's gonna be something or a couple things. Talk openly about," Willoughby said. "It doesn't mean you have to solve things, it doesn't mean you have to fix everything."
He also suggested that now is the time to begin having honest, difficult conversations.
"You're just establishing a pattern that we talk about hard things together," Willoughby said. "We are vulnerable together so that when we talk about all the infinitely hard things that will happen throughout our married life, we have that as our pattern."
For those experiencing marital issues while at BYU, Willoughby recommends studying General Conference talks from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visiting the BYU Women's Center or Student Health Center and looking into the CAPS counseling program.
Both Leavitt and Willoughby also recommended taking classes from the School of Family Life for those who are working through issues in their marriage or who would like to prepare for the future.
Leavitt said ultimately, marriage helps individuals fulfill their divine potential as children of Heavenly Father.
"I think it's important to realize marriage is not just about being happy; it's about becoming holy," Leavitt said. "What I think the most important message of marriage is that this is an opportunity for us to become more like the Savior."
To learn more about the School of Family Life, click here.