The seminary program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – In this day of MTV youth and a society moving away from religion in general, finding a group of youth who meet together every morning before school to study the scriptures can seem unusual to those outside the Church. In fact, even those inside the Church are often impressed with the faith and perseverance of these young students.
For those unfamiliar with seminary, it is an LDS Church-sponsored program of daily scripture study for youth in high school. The religious education that these youth receive could be compared to what youth of other faiths might get in their own private church-run schools. Those who choose to participate in such settings recognize that while secular knowledge is important to a student’s success in life, a religious education is equally if not more important to their success and well-being.
Those Latter-day Saint youth who live in Utah or other areas of high LDS population can take seminary classes during their regular school hours. Seminary buildings are located near high schools, and students arrange their schedules to include a seminary class. Others gather early in the morning on a daily basis to study the scriptures together. Still others complete daily lessons on a home-study basis.
Here are tidbits from an article that ran recently:
From the News-Press in North Fort Myers, Florida: Brothers Trey and Trevor Myers are both linebackers on the Riverdale High School football team. They also wake up at 4:45 every morning and attend seminary with their Latter-day Saint peers. “It’s real hard to get up that early, but it feels like you’re doing the right thing,” said Trevor, 15.
The article praises the brothers for their commitment to the football team and their hard work, both on and off the field. Their religion is a part of their lives, but it’s not the only thing.
“It’s all about balance,” said Trey, 17. “That’s part of why we like to play football. You can be a different person on the field. In real life, you definitely need all aspects to come together and make you a better person, but on the field you can get all of your aggression out.”
Another recent article from the Lebanon Daily News in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, “Sleepy students get wake-up call from God,” is unfortunately no longer available in the newspaper’s free archives.
