Especially for Newlyweds
3 Ways Attending Institute with Your Spouse Can Strengthen Your Marriage
Taking institute classes with my husband helped elevate our spiritual connection, communication, and commitment to each other.
“Why should I attend institute if I’m married?”
It’s a valid question. When I was a young single adult in college, institute helped me strengthen my testimony, make friends, find people to date, and enjoy free food! The summer that my husband, Johnny, and I started dating, we took institute classes together.
But we didn’t realize then how those classes would help lay a foundation for our marriage.
Now that we’re married, our reasons for attending institute have changed, but it’s still valuable. As President Russell M. Nelson’s wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, has reminded us, “Creating a strong, happy marriage is not easy! … But it will bring you joy!”
Having a Christ-centered marriage takes work, but the joy that comes from learning and growing together in the gospel is immeasurable.
Attending institute together has been key in helping our marriage blossom. Here are three ways it can strengthen your marriage:
1. Elevating Your Communication
Communication is crucial in marriage, and institute has helped us become better communicators. We share insights, ask questions, and discuss lessons. This opens the door to meaningful conversations about our testimonies, goals, and future—deepening our emotional connection at the same time. A stronger connection can help in other areas of marriage too, like managing conflict, being more empathetic, and enhancing overall partnership.
As Elder Marvin J. Ashton (1915–1994) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained, “If we would know true love and understanding one for another, we must realize that communication is more than a sharing of words. It is the wise sharing of emotions, feelings, and concerns.”
2. Nourishing Your Spiritual Intimacy
Spiritual intimacy comes when we do things like pray, study the scriptures, partake of the sacrament, or attend the temple with our spouse—basically whenever we are doing something to invite the Spirit into our lives. And institute is another place we can do that!
Studying the gospel together leads us to reflect on our experiences and how to apply the principles we learn. This helps us set spiritual goals to work on together, like magnifying our callings and attending the temple more often.
Mosiah 18:21 teaches us to have our “hearts knit together in unity and in love.” Institute can help us unify our hearts and minds in Christ.
Use what you learn in institute to discuss spiritual matters more openly, find ways to draw closer to God, and invite the Holy Ghost into your marriage.
3. Strengthening Your Commitment to Keep Covenants
Institute helps Johnny and me remember our temple covenants. The lessons focus on eternal principles and remind us of the commitments we’ve made to each other and to God. Reflecting on our covenants helps us make choices that honor those promises. As President Nelson (1924–2025) taught, “The safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!”
It’s easy to get distracted by daily life, but institute can help us stay focused on Jesus Christ and our temple covenants.
Think about how attending institute might help you honor your covenants. Maybe set aside time to talk about how the lessons apply to your marriage and the commitments you’ve made to each other and to God. Reflect on how to keep those covenants in everyday life, and use institute to recommit to those promises.
A Powerful Tool for Your Marriage
Institute can help you grow spiritually, emotionally, and in your commitment to each other. President Nelson said: “Attending institute will help you to feel more of Heavenly Father’s great love for you. … Attending institute will help you to live the gospel and to feel more joy—right now.”
Making time for institute has strengthened our marriage. I know it can do the same for yours. Whether you’re newly married or have been together for years, it can be a powerful tool for building a Christ-centered relationship.