[Teachldsseminary] TEACH Seminary article

[Marji]

In case any of you are struggling, as we are this year, with parents who are
"less motivated" in getting their kiddos to seminary, I'm sending this
article that I wrote about a year ago.  Maybe it will help.  Mothers and
fathers, send your kids to seminary!

Marji

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Elder Boyd K. Packer: "In the history of the Church there is no better
illustration of the prophetic preparation of this people than the beginnings
of the seminary and institute program. These programs were started when they
were nice but were not critically needed. They were granted a season to
flourish and to grow into a bulwark for the Church. They now become a
godsend for the salvation of modern Israel in a most challenging hour. We
are now encircled. Our youth are in desperate jeopardy." 

- "Teach the Scriptures," Address to Religious Educators, 14 Oct, 1977,
Temple Square Assembly Hall

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Winning the Battle of the Mattress

by Marji Meyer 

 <http://lds-nha.org/mattress.php> http://lds-nha.org/mattress.php

 

Seminary! What other event in your life allows you to hear the lyrical
tweeting of a songbird, as your feet crunch on the driveway, so early in the
morning? Or on a daily basis to deeply smell the musky scent of the dew on
the grasses and trees, so invigorating and refreshing! Or see the sun rise
on the dawning of another new and glorious day? What other activity in your
life will allow you to roll over and hit the snooze button with so much
aplomb, and yet you'll not truly be able to go back to sleep, because you
know what awaits you in those tender, early hours of the morning? Seminary,
oh seminary, we love thee so! 

As an early morning seminary teacher for the past three years, I can testify
of the spiritual invigoration that comes from exercising our spiritual
muscles, those strong and mighty muscles of faith that push the weary from
their wistful dreams of sleep, and powerfully overcome the gravitational
pull of the mattress each morning. To "rise and shout" early each morning
(spiritually speaking, of course), along with the saints across the world,
in pursuit of excellence, spiritual growth and development, and further
light and knowledge from the deep well of the waters of life through
participation in seminary is truly a great privilege and an honor. 

Of infinite worth

There is no other activity that will so broaden the soul, so enlighten the
mind, than to drink deeply at the font of all life, the Word of the Living
Lord, of the inspired counsel, guidance, and warnings that we have been
given and which we call the scriptures. These are of infinite worth to us
and to our everlasting souls, if we only realized it. If we only acted upon
what we truly know, upon those things which we know and have come to us
through the power of revelation and the Spirit of the Lord, we would
approach more closely the answer to the question given by Christ to the
Nephites: "What manner of men ought ye to be?" [The answer: "Verily I say
unto you, Even as I am" see 3 Nephi 27:27]. 

The Prophets have counseled us repeatedly to stay with seminary, to stay the
course. Their counsel tells us that the times are getting worse and that we
will not have the blessing of their getting any better before the Lord
comes. Indeed, no one would be surprised to hear that the world is on a
downward spiral, ever downward. What can we do to counter-act this troubling
and disconcerting tilting toward Gomorrah with which we seem to find
ourselves surrounded? A simple child's song will teach us the way: "Follow
the Prophet." In this there is safety, in this there is peace. Never let it
be said in Zion that there is a mother or a father who will not build the
bridge necessary to ford the stream of unrighteousness in behalf of their
precious children. Oh! You ask me how it can be so easy! Well, I for one
have had my morning problems. Not liking at the end of the day to put away
my paintbrush, or my sewing, or my books, I am reluctant to lay my head on
the pillow. I will stretch out the day to its fullest before I will commit
myself to resignedly admitting that there are things left undone that will
still be undone in the morning, but I really must get some sleep! And you
know, I suppose those things are hereditary, because about half of my
children are the same way. 

All of that is well and good, since we are on a homeschool (homegrown)
schedule. But then seminary comes along, and really threatens to rock the
boat. Get up! Why, I only went to bed a few hours ago! But, sigh, 'tis a
fact that one will have to get up when the seminary alarm goes off, else we
are "slouching toward Gomorrah," as you well know, and the only way of
safety is to stay on the path toward the pursuit of the answer to our
question: "What manner of men ought ye to be?" Our Heavenly Father cannot do
it for us, he can only beckon and encourage. It will be up to us, in this,
our second estate, to will win the battle of the mattress - and doing so
will bless ours and our children's lives forever! 

Motivation

What are our motivators as we struggle along each day, knowing that we must
try to match our biological clock to the alarm clock to truly "follow the
prophet?" One motivator is being able to enjoy those luscious sounds,
sights, and smells I mentioned earlier. The peace and quiet of the morning
are truly indescribable - but you know what I am talking about, don't you?
That peaceful, quiet feeling is sometimes known as the hour of refreshment
and revelation (and you can quote me on that). 

What is another motivator, then? Well, I'll tell you. It is that feeling
that you will have on the morning when you stand before your son and
tearfully tell him goodbye because he is leaving (on a jet plane) for a
mission in some part of the world, to preach the gospel to Abraham's people,
to be an emissary for peace and goodwill in the world. You will know that
part of what got him there were those early, quiet, spirit-filled, crunchy
morning hours devoted to the sleepy but heartfelt study of the Word of the
Lord. There can be no greater blessing that can come from participation in
seminary than the great endowment of faith bestowed upon one who is faithful
(unto the receiving of these two priesthoods). 

Motivation? You want motivation? Think of your precious daughter, clothed in
white, beautiful and radiant, her conscience clear and unsullied, her mind
clear and fresh, able to comprehend the right from the wrong, willing and
strong to go forth in her role as the shaper of another generation, as a
helpmeet to a worthy priesthood holder. What could be greater motivation
than to see your daughter so happy and so fulfilled? 

What motivation could you possibly have for wanting to stay at home while
those seminary hours are wiled away in some aimless pursuit like sleeping,
washing the floors, or studying for the day's exams? Motivation? What
motivation indeed. What causes that sometime feeling of apathy, of complete
and total disregard to prophetic counsel? I don't know. I do know that if we
truly saw as we are seen, and could glimpse into that great unknown future,
that we would shudder if we could see what some of our so-called
self-informed choices would lead to - and away from. 

No, I don't want to make you shudder, so I will switch gears now, and deal
with the subject in quite another manner. 

Where shall I begin? Shall I tell you about the promises of Joel, as
recorded in the second chapter and as expounded upon for our time by Elder
Henry B. Eyring at Brigham Young University on Aug. 14, 2001, during a
Church Educational System conference? Yes, let's start there. 

Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I
pour out my spirit. 

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire,
and pillars of smoke. 

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before
the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be delivered. 

Elder Eyring said: "The world in which students of today choose spiritual
life or death is changing." Hey - wait a minute here. I thought we were just
talking about the problem of sleeping in today! We weren't talking about a
life or death situation here, were we? Well, let's see, the topic of his
talk from which I am quoting is, um, it is: "Inspiring Students to Stand
Strong amid Torrents of Temptation." Now, just what is a "torrent?" Well, a
torrent is something that sometimes carries people off, like if they were in
a flood, and sweeps them to their death. Wait, oh no, there's that word
again! Is it really a battle for spiritual life or death? What about the
deep promises that our "sons and daughters shall prophesy," and our young
men "shall see visions," and that the spirit of the Lord will be poured out
upon us? Are we worthy of those blessings? Have we done our part? 

Imagine for a moment

Imagine for a moment, if you will, that you or I were swept away in raging
waters - perhaps from a flood caused by a hurricane, or a tsunami, or by the
breaking of a dam - there we are, in the swirling waters - spinning,
helpless, terrified, grasping for life. What if someone were to throw us a
lifesaver? Or come to us in a raft? Or even a life-saving yacht? Or call to
us from shore, and extend to us a life-saving olive branch, plucked from the
Tree of Life? Would we reach out and grab on? Would we take courage, and
extend our hand (or, in our analogy, would we "win" the battle of the
mattress?) Could we? Dare we drown rather than take the proffered help? 

Elder Eyring continues: "To them, missions and the temple are far distant,
in some time when the joys of youth have flown away. Those goals are distant
enough that too many, way too many, say to themselves: 'Well, I know I may
have to repent some day . . . but I can always take care of that when the
time comes. . . . I'll see the bishop when it's time and I'll make the
changes later. I'm only young once. For now, I'll go with the flow." 

Elder Boyd K. Packer tells of the time when seminary teachers were armed
with very little in the way of media or other resources, but now they have
the use of a yacht for support of their teaching. He wrote: "When I first
taught seminary, we had three textbooks-one each for Old Testament, New
Testament, and Church history. [Later] we added a class in the Book of
Mormon. The Old Testament textbook was out of print and very hard to find.
We had a record player that played fourteen-inch Bible stories. We did not
have a projector in the class. Now [we] have course outlines, visual aids,
equipment, and buildings. All are superior to anything before available. The
curriculum is the same-the scriptures: the Old Testament, the New Testament,
the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price.
Other sources come from the living Prophets and Apostles. We are told in the
revelation, when inspired by the Holy Ghost, their words take on the stature
of scripture (see D&C 1:38)." (Address to CES Religious Educators on 6
February 2004) 

(Well, I don't know about you, but if I were in the swirling water, I'd just
as soon be rescued by a yacht or a spiffy sailing boat [i.e., well-developed
curriculum resources and dedicated teachers of the gospel] as drown,
wouldn't you?) 

Elder Packer continues: "These are days of great spiritual danger for this
people. The world is spiraling downward at an ever-quickening pace. I am
sorry to tell you that it will not get better. It is my purpose to charge
each of you with the responsibility - to put you on alert. These are days of
great spiritual danger for our youth. I know of nothing in the history of
the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present
circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in
wickedness and depravity that which surrounds us now. Words of profanity,
vulgarity, and blasphemy are heard everywhere. Unspeakable wickedness and
perversion were once hidden in dark places; now they are in the open, even
accorded legal protection. At Sodom and Gomorrah these things were
localized. Now they are spread across the world, and they are among us. I
need not - I will not - identify each evil that threatens our youth. It is
difficult for man to get away from it... Surely you can see what the
adversary is about." (Address to CES Religious Educators on 6 February 2004)


It's those swirling waters we were talking about - they are all around us!
Even more sobering, they are all about our youth. Let us not leave our
precious children in the chilling dark water. Let us drag them out by
whatever power is in us to motivate them, teach them, guide them, and yes,
once in a while shake them loose from the gravitational power of the bed
when they can't quite seem to do so themselves in those frosty winter
mornings. 

For more information about seminary, see  <http://ldsces.org/>
http://ldsces.org. 

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About the Author

Marjorie Meyer is the founder of the School of Abraham website and a former
Board member of the National LDS Homeschool Association. She graduated from
Brigham Young University with a B.S. degree in Psychology. As the mother of
eight children, Marji is currently enrolled in Life's University, where she
finds the coursework to be the most challenging she has encountered. The key
to successful family education, she believes, is "having a brain, a heart,
and courage!" and understanding that 'There's no place like home.'