Unlike some other kids outside of Utah, I was able to have seminary class in one form or another throughout high school, so I've done release time seminary during school, online seminary, and early morning seminary. Sometimes it’s no fun to wake up so early, or have problems with the webcams and microphones during video calls, or hope with all hope that the substitute won't think my class is too insane... But, no matter what, I'm so happy I stuck through with it and can say I somehow managed to finish seminary. I think it had a really positive effect on my testimony and just me as a person. I've pretty much been asked to talk about that, so hopefully everyone can relate.
I'd always been the kind of kid who would hear that you're supposed to read the scriptures and pray and etcetera in Primary, and I definitely believed that was true, but... never really did it of my own volition. Even with my fierce testimony in prayer from a childhood experience, I never made the habit of praying in the morning and before bed. I hardly paid attention during family scripture study. And, really, I barely knew anything about scripture stories outside of the Book of Mormon. Seminary changed that.
For one, I learned a lot about our doctrine and stories I'd never heard or understood within all the different books we studied over the years. I don't think I'd get even half of it without seminary there to guide me through it all. It's really nice to look at one of those weirder parts of the scriptures, and kinda sorta maybe know what it's supposed to mean. Especially because, well, we should try to know what they're saying; like the scriptures themselves say, their words are meant for us, and whatever trials the prophets went through and sacrifices they had to make when writing all of this in order for us to be able to have this now... It's like saying that none of that means anything to us if we don't bother to make an honest effort to read and understand the scriptures. That's what matters, that we're trying, just like trying to pray often and fast every month even if we don't always succeed at paying enough attention for it to work. I think I hadn't understood these things back in Primary. But at least, now that I do understand how important the scriptures were and are, (thanks to seminary,) and that we really should put our all into understanding what they need to tell us, (thanks to seminary,) I'm gonna try to do just that.
If you're thinking, though, "I still don't get Isaiah"... Don't worry, me neither.
Two, seminary helped me start making some habits that I really needed to make. One was, of course, reading the scriptures daily; I'd started with reading 5 minutes every day, then eventually to the 10 minutes they ask us to do. I had a hard time with it at first; I kept glancing up to the time on my phone, thinking, "Can I stop now? Can I stop now? Geez, when did 10 minutes ever feel so long?" (That's sort of how I'm feeling now with this talk.)
As I started to make a more conscious effort to integrate real daily study into my routine, though, I also started to see the kind of effect it had on me. The scriptures really did make my life better. If I wanted to become happier and happier, I needed them. One experience in particular comes to mind that taught me this, but it's not really the usual sort of experience. It wasn't a time where a scripture helped me, but the one moment where I didn't have a scripture to help me when I desperately needed it.
Basically,
I had an absolutely terrible day. I'd felt miserable, and gotten more
and more stressed, and so scared that things wouldn't go right, and
as I went to bed that night, hoping my daily scripture study could
help take my mind of the problems or give me some counsel... the
Gospel Library app decided to stop working before I managed to read
anything. It was like the scriptures got yanked right out of my
hands, then I got slapped in the face for good measure. At the time,
I thought it was the last straw in a day that had gone so wrong. But
when things started to turn around just after, and I was in my next
seminary class, it didn't take very long for me to see that last
straw for what it really was: a reminder that I can always have God's
word there for me anytime (besides that one day, of course),
something I’d pretty much taken for granted my whole life; that it
is an ever-present comfort when all else fails; and there's so many
brothers and sisters out there in the world who don't have and never
had that comfort in their lives when they had days like mine- when
they had days so much worse than mine. If we could help introduce
someone to the gospel and to the scriptures, they wouldn't have to
have any days as awful as that anymore.
So, that day serves as a testimony to me of the necessity for missionary work and how important the scriptures are to me personally, how important they should be, and that I should hold onto them with everything I've got. That I should give church and seminary everything I've got.
When I really started to get scripture study down, I then started to do more prayers, one between reading and going to sleep. Then I started doing a prayer in the morning, then finally a prayer before reading, as well, like I'm supposed to. It's been a really good thing to do these prayers, because I really do feel closer to Him, even though sometimes most of the prayer ends up being me just rambling and saying a lot of pleases. But, like we learned from Christ and His plea on the cross, all those pleases shouldn't be for what we want, but what God wants, what we need, and what will help us become better people and be able to help others. I could probably still do a little better with that, but I'm doing better than I used to about asking for His will to be done, not mine. I'm sure He knows all of us a whole lot better than we know ourselves, so the least we could do is acknowledge that and ask Him to guide us in our lives.
Three, I have fantastic teachers and amazing friends to thank for making my seminary experience awesome. Sometimes, when we're stuck in schools and towns where everything and everyone aren't particularly spiritual, and sometimes even bad influences, it's hard to remember that there are people with very strong testimonies out there that are able to uplift others without even trying. But you can find them in seminary. I had the privilege to become friends with some of these people, whether they were teaching or sitting alongside me, and I really think they made me better, when they'd bring the Spirit so strongly or encourage me or even just give me something to laugh about. I'm hoping I did an okay job to reciprocate all of that back, because it meant more to me than I think they'll ever know.
I'm proud that all of us can be here ready to move on from both school and seminary, hopefully going on to Institute and whatever else awaits all of us in the near future. I'm gonna miss this entire experience really badly, and I'm hoping all the other seniors enjoyed their own experiences as well, enough to miss them as well. We're saying goodbye to a really awesome thing today, guys.
I'd like to share real fast a scripture:
1 John 5:5
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Sometimes, overcoming the adversary and enduring to the end sound like very difficult things, but... already, with believing in Christ, we are overcoming. Already, with being in church and seminary, we are overcoming. We are overcoming, and I know we can keep overcoming.
I know that this Church is true, and it is truly led by Christ, who loves us so much that He's allowed us the opportunity to learn and grow through programs like seminary. The world is scary, but if we all do our best, we'll make it through and be happy. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
So, that day serves as a testimony to me of the necessity for missionary work and how important the scriptures are to me personally, how important they should be, and that I should hold onto them with everything I've got. That I should give church and seminary everything I've got.
When I really started to get scripture study down, I then started to do more prayers, one between reading and going to sleep. Then I started doing a prayer in the morning, then finally a prayer before reading, as well, like I'm supposed to. It's been a really good thing to do these prayers, because I really do feel closer to Him, even though sometimes most of the prayer ends up being me just rambling and saying a lot of pleases. But, like we learned from Christ and His plea on the cross, all those pleases shouldn't be for what we want, but what God wants, what we need, and what will help us become better people and be able to help others. I could probably still do a little better with that, but I'm doing better than I used to about asking for His will to be done, not mine. I'm sure He knows all of us a whole lot better than we know ourselves, so the least we could do is acknowledge that and ask Him to guide us in our lives.
Three, I have fantastic teachers and amazing friends to thank for making my seminary experience awesome. Sometimes, when we're stuck in schools and towns where everything and everyone aren't particularly spiritual, and sometimes even bad influences, it's hard to remember that there are people with very strong testimonies out there that are able to uplift others without even trying. But you can find them in seminary. I had the privilege to become friends with some of these people, whether they were teaching or sitting alongside me, and I really think they made me better, when they'd bring the Spirit so strongly or encourage me or even just give me something to laugh about. I'm hoping I did an okay job to reciprocate all of that back, because it meant more to me than I think they'll ever know.
I'm proud that all of us can be here ready to move on from both school and seminary, hopefully going on to Institute and whatever else awaits all of us in the near future. I'm gonna miss this entire experience really badly, and I'm hoping all the other seniors enjoyed their own experiences as well, enough to miss them as well. We're saying goodbye to a really awesome thing today, guys.
I'd like to share real fast a scripture:
1 John 5:5
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Sometimes, overcoming the adversary and enduring to the end sound like very difficult things, but... already, with believing in Christ, we are overcoming. Already, with being in church and seminary, we are overcoming. We are overcoming, and I know we can keep overcoming.
I know that this Church is true, and it is truly led by Christ, who loves us so much that He's allowed us the opportunity to learn and grow through programs like seminary. The world is scary, but if we all do our best, we'll make it through and be happy. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
(June
4, 2017)
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