Analysis
First, we look at the problem from the perspective of both the wife and the husband.
From Cassie’s perspective, she feel obligated to start a family and having a baby as soon as the couple is financially capable of raising a child. From her viewpoint, the extra cash Brad earned over the summer seemed sufficient for this purpose. This is the reason she proposed having a child before the agreed-upon time to try to have a baby (two years from the day of marriage). She struggles with the idea of being financially and physically capable but do not make an effort to start a family. She considers this being selfish. To some extent, it is selfish to refuse to have children. President Kimball said, “It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so” (Ensign, May 1979, p. 6). This refusal might even reduce blessing and faithfulness to God. Elder Oaks mentioned in “The Great Plan of Happiness”: “When married couples postpone childbearing until after they have satisfied their material goals, the mere passage of time assures that they seriously reduce their potential to participate in furthering our Heavenly Father’s plan for all of his spirit children.”
On the other hand, Brad has a more realistic point of view. He think it is wise to wait until they are better off materially to have a baby. His opinion does not stem from selfishness, it stems from his love for both Cassie and to his family as a whole. This is a reasonable point of view, because it would ensure the child to have all the necessary resources to grow up healthy to his full physical and intellectual potential. In fact, many scientific studies has been about relation between a baby’s well-being and the parent’s stage of life revealed that trying to have child too soon might not be such a good idea. In addition, Cassie and Brad both talked and prayed and reviewed counsel of the Prophets before reaching the conclusion that they will wait two years until trying to have baby. This is a conclusion the couple reached together. Cassie wanting to change her position now is something that might raise a lot of faith issues for the relationship.
Plan of Action
Even though the couple’s actions and opinions differs, they both stem from their love for their family. Brad loves his wife and does not want
