Week #10

WOOT! WOOT!

Why is it that we need a long weekend so BAD right now?

Well, here's what I've noticed, time and time again, after YEARS of wise experience...

We just do.  Period.  :)

But I have loved being with all of you this week.  

Really, I have!

You are the highlight of my day.

Sometimes I wake up--(almost every day, especially when it's dark and cold),
and say to myself....

'Self, you have been doing this for a LONG time.
Are you even making a difference?'

(and then my persuasive subconscious verifies),
'YEAH, I can't believe you are still doing this!'

But then I get up, get going, throw my hair into some weird bun thing,
get in my car, come and see all of your beautiful, happy faces...

and then I just KNOW why I keep doing this.  

It's because YOU + THE GOSPEL= JOY.  

That's why I keep going.  

You know, since I've been taking MATH this semester,
I am learning that these are the only mathematical equations that really
make sense to me anymore.   

Today we ended with the sad story of James Covell.  

A man who was offered abundant blessings of the gospel, yet walked away.  

We too are offered these blessings.  

Let's face it, the gospel has so much to offer! 

Do me a favor--PLEASE don't walk away.  

Realize that Satan wants you to.  

Realize that he is always waiting for the right opportunity to persuade you that it isn't worth it.  

But it is worth it.  

Yes, there is work involved, yes, there is sacrifice,  

but work and sacrifice have always been part of God's wise plan.  

Please, stay with it.  

I know it feels like there is just so much to do....

And some days, in fact, maybe everyday, YOU wake up and say to yourself...

'Self, I can't believe your doing this.  

Other people aren't doing this. 

 It's still dark out.  

It's cold.  

I'm so tired and I need more sleep.   

Is it worth it?'

Let me assure you that it is.

It's worth it because The Lord has asked us to do it, 

and because when we do what He asks, He blesses us for it.  

Obedience+Sacrifice= The Lord's blessings. 

So- KEEP CALM, enjoy this long weekend,  

REST UP, have some FuN and I will see you all next Wednesday!

(PLUS---Guess what--November has lots of time off!)

Week #9

This was an awesome week!  

I think we are finally starting to feel more rejuvenated.  

I hope so.  

We had a wonderful Morning-side on Tuesday.  

The theme was, "In the Strength of The Lord I can do all Things".

Each member of the seminary counsel spoke about something difficult that they 

have experienced in their lives that has made them stronger as they turned to the Lord.  

Each of these stories were like life's beautiful parables.  

  I loved it! 

After that the week took on a cool "PARABLE" theme.  

Here are some examples: 

Section 30: 2-3 "But your mind has been on the things of the earth more than on the things of your Maker, and the ministry whereunto you have been called; and you have not given heed unto my Spirit, and to those who were set over you, but have been persuaded by those whom I have not commanded.  Wherefore, you are left to inquire for yourself at my hand, and ponder upon the things which you have received."  

Remember this talk by Elder Bednar from General Conference, April 2014.

It's a talk I need to read regularly.  

Section 33: 17-18 "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom-- For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly.  Even so.  Amen."  

Section 35: 16 "And they shall learn the parable of the fig-tree, 

for even now already summer is nigh."  

I don't think I've ever studied, or really understood this parable.    

Well, we do now and this video explains it! 

(This video is found on lds.org, search "Be Not Troubled") 

I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

I'm grateful for prophesies and promises found in the scriptures.   

I am grateful to be able to study these things on a daily basis.  

It helps renew my faith every day. 

We all need that.  

I hope it's helping your faith as well.   

Have a wonderful weekend!  

We will start section 36-37 on Monday. 

Week #8

What a week! 

Wow.  I'm totally worn out.  

I wonder if that's how everyone is feeling.  I bet it is.   

  Between boundary changes, homecoming preparations/festivities and Be Smart firesides, it's been super busy this week.  Today, Thursday, as I was teaching class, I sat down to do a power point and could hardly get off the chair, I was that tired.  I might have been sleep/teaching. :) 

Weird!  

I'm ready for the weekend. 

Tomorrow we are going to begin our Doctrinal Assessment review.  

I read through all of the questions today and I KNOW we are going to do great!  

We've covered almost everything on the test already and we're just getting started.  

This week we talked about 3 main things.  

#1.  The importance of education.  (Something we do every year- it's part of the curriculum)

#2.  The importance of personal revelation.

#3.  The importance of missionary work. 

Personal revelation and missionary work come up a lot in the Doctrine and Covenants.  

I'm good with it because we live in a time 

when we need to be focused on both of these topics every day.  

Even though we're all worn out and ready for the weekend, 

I want everyone in my class to know that I am very proud of them.  

I have to be careful how much pride I feel, lest it become the wrong kind of pride. ;) 

When we say the Joseph Smith History I can feel my heart swell.  Wow, it's incredible.  

Please share it with your family and friends.  What we have accomplished is miraculous!  

I am proud of myself as well.  

It's a huge accomplishment, and it makes me feel good about myself for having taken this challenge.  You all should feel good about it too!  

Now it's time to share it- so others can feel the power that comes from saying it out loud.  

So....as they say, "That's a wrap!"

See ya all next week,  rested up and ready to jump into Section 30!  

Have a great weekend!!  

Week #7

Each week I'm growing to love this class more and more.  

It's such a diverse group.  

This makes it very FUN and very INTERESTING.  

I don't think anyone can debate that we have a lot of personalities to learn from.  

That's really cool!

One thing about seminary, or really any calling in the church,

is the heart's capacity to grow and expand.  

Even when things change, we once again find ourselves in love with the new 

group of people in our lives.

Let's keep that in mind this weekend when some of our wards change. 

The heart really does have a great capacity to grow and expand.  

Things always turn out just fine, in fact, they turn out awesome! 

This week we started off with a nice Conference review.  

I was thrilled that so many of you watched conference!  

What we learned in conference will continue to come up all year.  

At this point in Church History things start to take a bit of a turn.  

Many sections are shadowed by some type of religious persecution in the history. 

 Persecution is not a topic that is foreign to us. 

I thought it was appropriate to focus on dealing with persecution, as well as 

being the source of persecution.   

We may as well, there are certainly times when we are the persecutors in some way.  

This week was interesting.  

I honestly think that conference wore us out.  

I could feel the energy level was lower.  

Maybe this is because of homework, sports, or homecoming preparations- 

but I'm thinking we were all a little spiritually drained.   

Must mean we've been working really hard.  

We ended the week with section 25.  

Section 25, as you recall, was given to Emma Smith.  

Thinking about her reminded me of how much I respect and admire her.  

I think we might need some additional time on this section Monday. 

Elder Neil Anderson spoke on hearing the Prophet's story in our own voice.  

Do you remember that?

Well, that is precisely what we are doing.  

We have Joseph Smith history 1:15-19 down!!  

After some thought today I decided that we SHOULD go ahead and do verse 20!!!  

The other Freshman class has it already!  

Call it competition, or whatever you like, but we just gotta get it! 

So come prepared on Monday to get to work on that final verse.  

I know we can do it, and I am so moved by the spirit whenever we say it.  

We are doing what the Lord has asked us to do!  That makes me happy! 

FYI- I changed the name of the blog title to follow the guidelines that just came out about social media web links for church programs.  It discourages the use of personal names.
Don't worry, I will not post any pictures of our class,
and I have informed President Parker that I have this blog.

Disclosure- This blog is not an official Church-sponsored product.

If you can think of a better name for our title, please tell me!
"Seminary Insights" isn't very creative. :)

See you all on Monday! 

If anyone wants to read up on the General Guidelines here is the link.
https://www.lds.org/pages/online-resources-for-church-callings?cid=vb-internet

    

Week #6

Another great week!  

This week we had a lot of discussions and insights about The Worth of Souls.

(Section 18) 

A great highlight was hearing from the newest member of our class, Juan Pablo.  

He shared with us his amazing story of having extensive back surgery this summer.  

This surgery was probably "the great trial of his life", thus far.

He also shared with us how difficult scoliosis has been for him throughout his life.   

(We were all pretty amazed when he told us that he stood a full foot taller after his surgery! Gasp!) 

He is truly blessed to have parents who have helped him to see the love of God in his experience.  

He also reminded us that WE help others to feel of worth and feel God's love when we 

support each other and help carry their burdens.  

Having him in our class is such a great blessing.  

We were also privileged to have Sister Allie Clawson come and share some experiences about her mission to Argentina.  She told us that the process of helping others to see their worth to God helped her to see her own as well.  I loved that!

I think it's a great thing having returned missionaries, 

and those who are preparing to go, come and speak to us.  

The spirit they bring is beautifully unique.  

Both sides of the mission experience brings a sweet and tender humility.  

Yesterday we had a visitor from across town come to watch how our class runs.  

We are encouraged, as seminary teachers, to visit other classes often.  

We do so because we are constantly striving to be better at what we do.

I gotta admit, I completely forgot that she was coming.  

But I have to tell you, it was a great experience. 

However, this was not because I was incredible at teaching. 

It was because this class is filled with incredible students of the gospel.

I have come to believe that inspired learning occurs
when students come prepared to be great students AND great teachers.   

I was so proud of them! 

They paid attention, they asked questions, they knew answers, 

they bore sincere testimonies, they followed instructions....

THEY WERE AMAZING!!!

I am very happy with how our class is progressing.  

It's line upon line, precept upon precept.  

We are making great progress every day.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful conference weekend!!  

Take good notes and come prepared to share on Monday!