What has happened to dating?

 I know that I said that this would be a blog for FHE lessons for kids, but I am going to start off before the kids come and how to build a strong foundation before they come along. Many young adults in today's society have given up on the idea of marriage. There is an idea that marrying someone will change too many things in your life, and that you might as well just try living with that person first to see if things work out, sometimes however is not better.  The book Successful marriages and families by Alan J Hawkins, David C. Dollahite, Thomas W. Draper says "Although social attitudes are changing about marriage and the transition to adulthood, the lord's prophets have always emphasized the importance of marriage according to god's plan. Moses recorded that after the lord placed Adam and eve in the garden of Eden, he declared " that it is not good that the man should be alone, wherefore i will make a help meet for him (Moses 3:18)." What is it that has changed the worlds view on marriage, I would like to suggest that it is the way that we have been dating. Isn't that crazy, we have become relaxed with the way we go about dating, it is not as important to act your best on a date, or be polite. In fact it has become a little less popular to even go one dates anymore. Which makes the dating cultural a lot harder when you are actually trying to participate in dating. Again from the book Successful Marriages and Families "Numerous Scholars have noted that the culture of dating that young adults experience today is markedly different from the one experienced by their parents and grandparents." For this blog I would like to add a list of fun date ideas! I want to focus on ideas for the fall season, because it is Fall and I love fall. Ok! Some cheap and easy dates:

• Go to a pumpkin patch 
• Try new flavors of Hot chocolate, make a game out of it, maybe put a blind fold on and take turns trying to guess what flavor it is. 
• Carve pumpkins
• Make a fall treat together 
• Play a game of tennis, or Flag football 
• When it gets closer to Halloween watch a scary movie (that's not actually scary)  
• Take an old door, and go reverse trick or treating ( knock at someones door, then set your own door with a sign that says knock and when they knock you give them candy) 
• If it is closer to thanksgiving, take a camera around the town you live and take pictures of all of the things that you are thankful for 
• Go Paint balling (try to choose a warmer fall day) 
• Find a concert to attend and make it a fancy event 
• Try an art gallery 
• Play balloon darts (for extra fun fill the balloons with paint)