Each of us is profoundly grateful for our wife (Loren for Sandra and Dave for Mary) and children and their ongoing support of our efforts to discover and share ideas that might bless individuals, couples, and families.

We are deeply grateful to the more than five hundred Latter-day Saints who, amid their very busy lives, have shared their experiences and ideas with us in in-depth interviews and surveys. We appreciate their humility and honesty as they have opened up their lives to us so that we might learn from them. We also appreciate the more than four hundred parents and youth from various faiths who participated in our American Families of Faith Project for sharing their thoughts and experiences about how their religion influences their marriage and family life.

In a time of great societal changes and challenges, we are grateful for the prophet and apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who live in such a way that they can obtain divine revelation to guide and bless all the families of the earth. With grace and patience they and their wives make monumental sacrifices of time so that they might help other families receive the peace and comfort that only ongoing divine guidance can bring.

We are grateful to several institutions at Brigham Young University for generous funding of our research over the decades, including the School of Family Life, Religious Studies Center, Family Studies Center, Eliza R. Snow Fellowship, Wheatley Institution, and College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. We’d also like to thank Louisiana State University for research funding.

Additionally, we are grateful to the wonderful faculty, staff, and student interns at the BYU Religious Studies Center who helped this book through the publication process, including (alphabetically) Scott Esplin, Abby Knudsen, Abby Larkins, Jared Ludlow, Julie Newman, Brent Nordgren, Joany Pinegar, Emily Rogers, Alex Socarras, and two anonymous reviewers who provided insightful and helpful feedback on an earlier draft.

We appreciate valuable feedback on an early draft from Heather Howell Kelley and Justin Hendricks, as well as editorial assistance from Maddie Wilde.

Author royalties from this book will be used to support students who participate in the American Families of Faith Project.