Getting Ready for Marriage Workbook : How to Really Get to Know the Person You're Going to Marry

The saying goes "When you marry, you don't just marry an individual, you marry a whole family."  But more specifically, you are marrying the influences that family has had on your spouse.  Our families have shaped our views on everything from religion to finances to sex, and, whether helpful or harmful, these views are brought to our marriage and can unknowingly affect it.

Jerry D. Hardin served as a pastor over marriage and family life at Central Community Church and was founder and director of the Family Life Counseling Center. He has served as a clinical marriage and family therapist, teacher, seminar speaker, and facilitator of marriage, family, and premarital workshops. Jerry and his wife, Marilynn, have been married for more than fifty years and have three sons--Steve, Scott, Paul--and seven grandchildren.