It is that time of year when LDS high school seniors are graduating from seminary, and when underclassmen are getting ready for summer and signing up for the upcoming school year.   We felt that it is a good time to remind ourselves “what we have going on here” with the seminary and institute program and to invite all the youth who read this post to ensure that you are enrolled in seminary and institute for the upcoming school year (or, if you are a parent or youth leader, to encourage your youth to do the same).  Here are some reasons why we should be involved in seminary and institute:

You will receive spiritual re-strengthening during the weekday

Just like how taking 1 day out of 7 to keep the Sabbath day holy rejuvenates our spirit, so does taking 1 class out of 7.  One of the great blessings of seminary and institute is the spiritual strengthening you receive during the weekday as you go about your day.  Some seminary students were asked to respond to the following question: “If you had to give one reason to someone (who is not taking seminary) for why they should enroll, what would you say?”  The answers were overwhelmingly Spirit based.  Read just a sample:

• 11^th grade girl-“As you keep attending seminary, your spirituality and faith will grow.  Seminary is a place where this is guaranteed to happen.”
• 10^th grade boy-“Seminary is peace and respite for the soul.  Nowhere else do I feel the Spirit as clearly and profoundly as in seminary.”
• 9^th grade girl-“Being in seminary and having the great lessons that we do gives you the Spirit to carry with you all day.”
• 11^th grade boy-“In the middle of our fight against sin, [seminary] is a pit stop. Seminary will…make you stronger, it will give you the courage to stand up, it will give you the Spirit to trust, it will give you the faith to believe.”

A Four year study of U.S. teens and religion at the University of North Carolina found that LDS teens were less likely to participate in behaviors such as pre-marital sex, smoking marijuana, or viewing pornography than their peers of other religions.  The researchers explained the difference by saying, “It probably has to do with daily religious training through [seminary]…Daily engagement with people of their own faith, that’s an amazing corrective to tip the balance.”(Source: “Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers”, Oxford University Press, 2005.  As quoted in the Deseret News on Tuesday, March 15, 2005).

Light cleaves to light

Another major reason for enrolling in seminary and institute has to do with the scripture: “For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light” (D&C 88: 40).  As you come into seminary and institute classes, you will be surrounded by other people who are seeking light and truth.  Their light will inspire and brighten your spiritual light.  Their desire to do good will strengthen your desire to do good.  Their love of truth enhances your love of truth.  Just like how the disciples who heard John the Baptist bear his testimony of the Savior were led to the Jesus (and helped others to do the same), hearing and seeing the faith of your peers will strengthen you in your faith and lead you to Christ.  Perhaps this “light cleaves to light” principle is why there are a higher percentage of seminary and institute graduates who marry in the temple.  President Packer said: “The percentage of temple marriages among the graduates of seminaries and institutes is more than double the Church average. Do you need any better endorsement than that?” (Elder Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, May 1990, p. 38).

You will gain skills to use the tool of the scriptures

Part of what happens in seminary and institute is that you are trained how to use the scriptures. Finding answers in the scriptures takes practice.  It takes coaching.  Just like the Ethiopian treasurer showed us in Acts 8:28-31: The Ethiopian prince “Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to [him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?”

In seminary there is a teacher there to guide you to understand, identify, and apply the scriptures.  These skills will become invaluable throughout the rest of your life as you teach and lead within your family and the Church.  Part of the reason why you will gain such an advantage in knowing how to find answers and direction in the scriptures over those who do not enroll in seminary is because it would take almost four years of attending Sunday school each week to equal the amount of time that can be dedicated to studying the gospel in nine months of seminary.

You will gain greater knowledge of the foundational doctrines of the gospel

Part of the emphasis in seminary and institute is to teach the youth the basic, or foundational, doctrines of the gospel.  Here are some sample questions from an actual basic doctrines exam that was developed by the seminary system and is starting to be given to some students.

What is the correct definition of immortality?

a. Living as an exalted being

b. Living forever

c. Living with God

d. Vulnerable to physical death

e. I don’t know

Why are the blessings of the temple essential for eternal life?

Because the temple is the only place __________.

a. you can find peace in this world

b. sacred enough to make covenants

c. you make endowment and sealing covenants

d. where you can truly feel the Spirit

e. all of the above

f. I don’t know

If you’re unsure of the answers to these questions, then go to seminary! J Actually, the answers are b and c.  As Elder L. Tom Perry said: “I know of no better place for the young people of the Church to gain a special knowledge of sacred things than in the institute and seminary programs of the Church” (Elder L. Tom Perry, Receive Truth, Ensign (CR), November 1997, p.60).

You will gain the skills to be able to explain, share, testify, and teach the gospel to others

Another part of the emphasis in seminary and institute is to get students to explain the gospel, share their personal experiences, and testify of what they know to be true to each other in class.  Why this emphasis?  Well, partly because when we verbally participate in class the truths we speak our confirmed in our own souls, but also because we need to have the skills of being able to articulate and explain the gospel to others in coherent ways.  Provo Missionary Training Center Director Richard Heaton explained how new missionaries, “come pouring into the missionary training center, and the first thing they get to do, virtually, is to sit down knee-to-knee with someone and tell that person about the scriptures and what they’ve learned. It’s amazing to see the challenge that it provides for some. They have great feelings in their hearts. They have testimonies. They have feelings, but when it’s time to express them, they stumble.  . . . While others come with a great comfortableness of opening their scriptures and saying, ‘That’s a question I’ve had too, and I want to share with you some passages that have helped me.’ They share the passage as if it were a part of what they have commonly done. That experience, that comfortableness [is] generated in seminary and institute classes as they talk about these things together. We can see it right away when they come into the MTC. (Teaching and Learning Panel. Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Broadcast, August 4^th, 2009, p.6).  See how good your ability to articulate the gospel in clear, concise, understandable ways is by doing this exercise with some of the basic doctrines of the Church:  Explain the following in FIVE WORDS or less in simple and clear terms:

Apostasy

Restoration

Priesthood

The Plan of Salvation

The Creation

The Atonement

Conclusion

If you are already participating in seminary and institute (and perhaps graduating in an upcoming weekend!), we congratulate you.  If you are not, we invite you to do so.  We do not hesitate to promise you that these programs will prove a blessing to your testimony and spirituality.  President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Our great program of Church education moves forward. The work of training students through the seminary and institute program is constantly being enlarged. … We urge all for whom it is available to take advantage of it. We do not hesitate to promise that your knowledge of the gospel will be increased, your faith will be strengthened, and you will develop wonderful associations and friendships” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, in Conference Report, Apr. 1984, 69; or Ensign, May 1984, 47).  We hope we know what we have in this program of seminary and institutes.  It is a miracle.

They also contain important doctrinal teachings that you can use for sharing the gospel. They answer questions like, “Why do we do baptisms for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:29) and “Why should I be baptized?” (John 3:5). They tell us how to receive revelation (D&C 8:2-3) and show us what to do when we are in sticky situations (Genesis 39:9).

There is power that comes when we deeply master scriptures. How can you do it? Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Use the tools at http://seminary.lds.org/scripture-mastery. There are some great activities that can be helpful.

2. Try some “scripture mastery songs.” At http://ldswhy.com you can link to some scripture mastery songs by clicking “stuff from the book” and clicking “scripture mastery” in the top right hand corner. There are other songs here.

3. Maybe the most important advice we could give is to really work at it. You probably spend hours each week doing homework — we can spend a few minutes each day or a half hour on Sunday learning scripture mastery. And if we’re consistent with it, it will bring great dividends.

So stop reading this post…go learn some scripture mastery verses!

We hope the title of this post pulled you in, but didn’t knock you over.   We aren’t talking about the kind of affair that includes lying, dishonesty, immorality, or family ruin.  No, this site is meant to help us live LDS standards, not break them.  Read the following quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley and you’ll see what kind of love affair we are talking about:

“I am grateful for emphasis on reading the scriptures. I hope that for you this will become something far more enjoyable than a duty; that, rather, it will become a love affair with the word of God. I promise you that as you read, your minds will be enlightened and your spirits will be lifted. At first it may seem tedious, but that will change into a wondrous experience with thoughts and words of things divine” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, The Light within You, Ensign (CR), May 1995, p.99; emphasis added).

As we begin the new year and set our goals for 2010, there perhaps is nothing more important we can do then to resolve to fall in love again with the scriptures.   Each of us would bless our lives to set the resolution of daily scripture study–a daily date with the word of God. Here are a few practical tips to maximizing our scripture study so that it can become something we fall in love with and can’t wait to be with each day:

Schedule a consistent time: We are creatures of habit.  If we simply try to “squeeze in” our scripture study when we have a few spare minutes, then we usually squeeze it out altogether.  It is better to set a specific time each day when we study and stick to that time, such as early in the morning when we eat breakfast, or at night just before we go to bed. Elder David A. Bednar said: “My experience suggests that a specific and scheduled time set aside each day and, as much as possible, a particular place for study greatly increase the effectiveness of our searching through the scriptures” (Elder David A. Bednar, “Understanding the importance of scripture study,” http://byui.edu/presentations). Treat your scripture study like a date you plan to pick up at the same time each day.

Study for TIME, not length: Often when we are trying to “get through” a certain number of pages or chapters, that is all we do–get through it.  But we don’t get much out of it.  Ever had the experience of reading an entire chapter and when you get done you can’t really remember anything it said? We have too.  This is usually because we were “reading” the scriptures, not “studying” them. President Howard W. Hunter said: “There are some who read to a schedule of a number of pages or a set number of chapters each day or week. This may be perfectly justifiable and may be enjoyable if one is reading for pleasure, but it does not constitute meaningful study. It is better to have a set amount of time to give scriptural study each day than to have a set amount of chapters to read. Sometimes we find that the study of a single verse will occupy the whole time (Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 64).

Have a private place to study where it can be quiet and you won’t be bothered. Elder Ballard said, “If possible, set a consistent time and place to study when you can be alone and undisturbed” (Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Be Strong in the Lord in the Power of the Lord” http://speeches.byu.edu).  This is why often scripture study early in the morning or late at night is best because it is quiet and we can be alone with the words of the Lord and the quiet whisperings of the Spirit.

Study at a desk or table: Although this might not sound as cozy as curling up in your soft bed with your scriptures, the problem with being really cozy is that it usually leads to only studying Lehi’s dream (zzzzzzzzzzzz……..).  If we sit up at a desk or table, we are more prone to “study,” we can write/take notes/mark more easily, and aren’t quite as susceptible to nodding off.   The missionary guide Preach My Gospel says, “Study at a desk or table where you can write (not lying down or sitting on your bed), organize your study materials, and remain alert” (Preach My Gospel, p. 22).

Write while we study: There are over fifty places in the scriptures where the Lord has commanded his children to write his words. For example, the Lord said, “I command all men…[to] write the words which I speak unto them” (2 Nephi 29:11).  We’ve found that when we study the scriptures with paper and pen in hand we receive direction and revelation more easily. Perhaps having a piece of paper and a pen ready sends a signal to the Lord that we expect to learn things worth being written down. Another form of writing as we learn is simply by marking our scriptures and writing impressions or appropriate thoughts in the margins of the scriptures.  Elder Richard G. Scott said, “[C]ommit to apply this principle:  I will seek to learn by what I hear, see, and feel.  I will write down the things I learn and I will do them….it is through the repeated process of feeling impressions, recording them, and obeying them that one learns to depend on the direction of the Spirit.”  (“Helping others to be spiritually led”, Address to Religious Educators, 11^th August 1998, p.1,3)

Ask questions and be ready to act/obey: Many of Joseph Smith’s revelations were the direct result of going to the scriptures with questions.  If we go into the scriptures with questions on our mind, we more easily find direction. President Henry B. Eyring said, “You will be taught more easily as you approach the scriptures if you search with a question and with a determination to act on the answer. We can receive what seems to us new truth when we go back to the same scripture with new questions” (Ensign, Jan. 2002, 32).

We hope that these suggestions will help us all fall deeper in love with the scriptures this year.  If you have not set the goal to have daily scripture study, we would invite you to do so right now.  We testify that through a continual study of the word of God, we can be more easily led by the Spirit, we can hear God’s voice speak to us,  we can receive answers and direction to the questions and problems in our individual lives, e will gain knowledge of God’s purposes and plan, and we will find greater power to resist temptation (see 1 Nephi 15:24).  That sounds like a great thing to have a love affair with in 2010.

It’s one of our favorite times of the year — General Conference! Sometimes teenagers (and adults!) look at General Conference as a vacation from regular church. But of course we know that General Conference is a time to listen to prophetic counsel (see this excerpt from a chapter from WHY?:  Why should I listen to the prophet?).

Here are a couple of ideas of how you can get more from General Conference (this obviously is not an exhaustive list):

1. Learn the names and faces of the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. Somehow it makes a big difference when we know and recognize them. We tend to pay more attention to people we know. Some flashcards are available here.

2. Learn about the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve.  Summaries of their lives and a compliation of their talks can be found here. This would make for great study in the days leading up to conference!

3. Go to all of the session of conference. This sounds basic, but we know of many youth (and adults) who make other plans instead of blocking out time for the Saturday sessions. Block out time to attend each session!

4. Go to conference with questions. One thing each of us can do to make General Conference more meaningful is to make a list of personal questions, struggles, and concerns we have, and then pray to the Lord asking that these issues will be addressed in Conference. As we listen to living prophets we will find answers to our questions.

5. Last, but not least, build some fun traditions around conference. One of mine is to bake “Conference Cake” — a few batches so there is enough for the whole weekend! (Recipe below). Happy General Conference weekend!

Conference Cake

For one 9×13 pan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan. Mix together:

1 egg
1 cup milk
¼ cup oil
2 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 TBS Baking Powder
1 TSP salt

Beat eggs, stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy.

Put onto pan. I’ve found it’s helpful to put lots of flour on your hands to smush it down so it doesn’t get all sticky. Then put on the topping. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the topping is crisp.

Topping

1.5 cups brown sugar (packed)
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1.5 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup butter or margine, soften.

Mix first four ingredients, then cut in butter until well mixed.

Now let’s dig a little deeper, so to speak. Was there something important that you missed in the first photo?

As you might have noticed underneath the towel in the first picture was a little girl. The purpose of these photos is to illustrate that when we look a little deeper we can find things that we would have otherwise missed. Likewise, in the scriptures there are many hidden treasures we can uncover.

Often we need to just dig a little deeper and we’ll find great spiritual insight. John Hilton III wrote the book Please Pass the Scriptures to teach how we can gain more from our study. A free copy of this book is currently available at http://deseretbook.com/free. Go grab your free copy today!

We love this quote from Elder Christofferson about what our scripture study should be like.

“You should care more about the amount of time you spend in the scriptures than about the amount you read in that time. I see you sometimes reading a few verses, stopping to ponder them, carefully reading the verses again, and as you think about what they mean, praying for understanding, asking questions in your mind, waiting for spiritual impressions, and writing down the impressions and insights that come so you can remember and learn more. Studying in this way, you may not read a lot of chapters or verses in a half hour, but you will be giving place in your heart for the word of God, and He will be speaking to you” (Ensign, May 2004, 11).

One specific technique that can help us focus in on our scripture study and “dig a little deeper” is to look for one-liners. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “The scriptures contain so many jewels over which we pass too lightly, especially some stunning one-liners” (“Unto this Very Purpose,” 5)
A great purpose you can have in your scripture study is to look for these one-liners. Consider the following:

“The battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47).
“Get thee hence” (Matthew 4:10).
“Ye ought to search the scriptures” (Alma 33:2).
“Ye must study it out” (Doctrine and Covenants 9:8).

Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy, in his excellent book Treasure up the Word, explained how to find one-liners. He said, “(1) Study, search, and examine words and phrases prayerfully and humbly…(2) ignore existing punctuation marks and verse and chapter breaks…(3) put periods in a sentence where there are none…(4) after you have isolated a phrase ask yourself whether those words express an idea much bigger than the words themselves” (95-96).

Searching for one-liners can be a fun way to dig a little deeper in your scripture study. The next time you study the scriptures remember the little girl under the towel. There are great scriptural nuggets that are buried a bit, waiting for us to dig in and find them!

Almost all of us have had times when scripture study has been difficult. Usually that is because we aren’t getting much out of it, so scripture study becomes more like a chore than a joy. We would recommend that you take a look at the following site that offers scripture study helps:

http://studyyourscriptures.com

We would also recommend that you read John Hilton III’s Please Pass the Scriptures for more ideas to make your scripture study more meaningful, and therefore more desirable on a daily basis (see here)

You can download a sample portion of John’s book at:

http://www.johnhiltoniii.com/downloads/