Purity and Passion: Spiritual Truths about Intimacy That Will Strengthen Your Marriage Paperback – December 1, 2004

My Husband and I have been reading this book as a couple and have greatly enjoyed it. Though our marriage is not struggling, we just decided to see what a licensed marriage counselor would say. It was very insightful and a great confidence builder for us. Not only did we identify a few areas we could improve as a couple, but it was a major conformation of what we are doing well and right in our marriage. We have decided that we will revisit its pages often just so we can keep the dust and cobwebs out of our relationship.Many reviews have given this book a bad rep because the author was not married at the time.... That happens all the time in the professional world.My first OB-GYN was a Gentleman... So he had definitely never birthed a child of his own, and never had expirenced morning sickness... But he had delivered 1000s of babies and was able to help my husband and I at that time because of his devotion to his patients and career.This woman has helped 1000s of couples improve their relationship over decades of her career.in regards to problems in the bedroom, this book is designed to help a husband and wife to lay a foundation for their relationship so they can enjoy and be unified in all aspects of their marriage to make it a lasting happy one. She states with out this foundation physical intimacy will only be a patch to a relationship and not healing.There was plenty of advice on physical intimacy, though if you are looking for a step by step guild, or diagrams or pictures... I would suggest a councillor to address your relationships specific needs, as every relationship is different and will need different direction... No respecting professional would write a book like that.My husband and I were very grateful for her advice and her gentle direction she gave to help us address our unique perspective pertaining to our marriage... Anything more specific would only be applicable to very few couples and only belongs in therapy and I'm glad she shows the Professionalism and maturity to know that.This is a wonderful book and could be a great tool to help you know if you need more individual help, or you are just trying to keep or build a healthy foundation for your relationship.

The book is written withing the paradigm of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wendy Watson (now Mrs. Russell M. Nelson) offers some effective tools to greater marital communication. My husband and I read this together about two months ago. At this point, I think it is being referenced most often for her "48 hour" rule. "You can't bring up past "wrongs" and ask for change if it happened more than 48 hours ago. The time has past." I may have adapted her suggestion a bit. I didn't look it up. Her suggested discussion questions were also helpful. As a result we discuss some topics we needed to talk about but hadn't previously tackled.

I read this book, and like a few other reviewers was let down in the department were I actively saught suggestions to increase intimacy in the bedroom, but I recognize that Wendy in her book simply states a fact that purity outside of the bedroom can lead to purity within. And when you have purity within your bedroom, and a sanctified marriage under God's pleasing eye, you can (and should) go to Him for suggestions (not the world). I was the one that had to change my center of view and not expect something that the author didn't know about.So the reviewers who have specific problems with their spouce's center of intimacy, take it to a therapist, or even better TALK WITH THEM about their feelings and see if you can't create your own 'in house marraitial intimacy' .... that is of course the purpose of a marriage I feel (and this book gives a key to opening up that door)... that is to get to know your spouse and learn to accept them mortality and all, and still come out the other side loving and accepting of them. Such a commitment, stated verbally, from the opposite spouse will in effect help in the issue of lacking of intimacy.For the love of all that is good, you are (or should be) exposing yourself fully physically to your partner, why not learn to expose yourself in all your past: be it dark, different, natural, un-natural, childish at times etc. ?

I found this book to be very insightful. Although Ms. Watson was unmarried at the writing of this book, she has spent her life as a marriage counselor and gained some valuable insight that she thoughtfully shared. This book is not a "how to" about sexual intimacy. But the principles presented in this book rang true to me. I have given this book to all of my children before they married. It gives a totally different perspective to couple intimacy than the one we are bombarded with from the world-- that sex is just about personal gratification and not much more than an animalistic instinct. It's worth the read.

This is an excellent guide for finding or restoring intimacy in a relationship. Wendy Watson is a brilliant woman with wonderful insight. If you read this book with an open heart and you're prepared to do some work, your relationship will improve in ways you never realized it could.

I have enjoyed reading this book but being a mother in a fast pace world, it would be nice to have an audiobook available so I can listen while doing other things. This is a book I would like to re-read (listen to). Thank you Wendy for you wise insight!

EXCELLENT Book!!

An insightful book with helpful, practical advice. Goes much deeper than the superficial stuff I've read in other books.