"Yes Dear" A Father's Vindication, From Ryan

The wise counsel of my father received apostolic vindication today. For years my father has been wisely teaching his sons that the most important phrase in marriage is not, “I love you.” Oh no, the most important phrase in marriage is, “YES DEAR.” In spite of the rolling eyes of my mother, sisters, and wife. In spite of the laughs and chuckles my father, brother, and I share. In spite of the reactions of “Whatever” and “Yeah right” we receive from the woman in our families upon repeating this phrase; the sagely advice from my father has carried on to the next generation.

In the past, when I have prepared to go into the proverbial dog house, or have tried to get out of it, I too have wisely exclaimed with a smirk on my face, “YES DEAR”, to my own beloved wife. No longer can she react with a role of the eyes and a sarcastic look, for I now have apostolic authority to declare those immortal and eternal words.

Today Elder Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles preached the same advice. Our family attended a regional stake conference broadcast in which Elder Oaks told the sisters in the congregation to write down the following four phrases that he stated their husbands needed to say to their wives more often. He stated that these phrases were sound marital advice. Those phrases were:

1. I love you
2. I’m Sorry
3. ****Yes Dear****
4. We Can’t afford it

So to you dear and wise Father, I and Shawn salute you, honor you, and marvel at your wisdom and foreknowledge before it was preached by an apostle. May the words of “YES DEAR” ever bring peace and humility to the hearts of the men in our homes. May I, as a father in Zion, raise my sons in the correct ways and ensure that they too carry this key of martial bliss with them to their own eternal unions. And, may we always remember that, “IF MAMMA AIN’T HAPPY, AIN’T NOBODY HAPPY.”

Mom, Mindy and Katrina, you now have apostolic permission to accept this kind phrase from your husbands.