Seminary

I'm in a Seminary Teaching class here at BYU and part of the class involves teaching a seminary class for two weeks. I just started my teaching this past Tuesday in Spanish Fork (about 15 minutes south of Provo), and I am LOVING it!

I teach a freshman class every day. There are about 18 of them. They are pretty energetic but do a great job in the learning process. I love teaching and I love the youth, so this has been a very rewarding experience for me. It's pretty humbling at the same time, though. I've been treating this experience a lot like the mission. These kids are in the forefront of my prayers and thoughts throughout the day. It's a wonderful feeling to have this type of care and concern toward people.

I really think teaching the youth in this generation is a very sacred calling. These kids are going through and will be going through more trying times and temptations than we did, and their children will definitely be going through must worse situations. That is why it is so vital that they become solid in the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ at such a young age, that they set for themselves high standards and maintain them, and that they develop strong, righteous habits. It will take a very firm foundation of solid parents to be those examples and anchors those children will need upon which to build their lives. Those future parents are the youth of today. And in order for them to be able to lay that foundation for their children, they need to know how to do that through the examples of their parents, their leaders, and their teachers. So you see, it's a pretty humbling knowledge of what is hanging on your testimony, example, and influence on others.

There's my two cents on seminary and the importance of teaching. There's more on the subject of teaching - it's a very passionate subject to me - but I think I'll save that for another time, perhaps if you ask me about it. In the mean time, I just wanted to share my excitement about seminary teaching. It rocks!

Summer Plans 2008


So I have this dilemma. I'm trying to figure out what to do this summer. Right now, I'm set up to head out to Philadelphia to sell security systems; however, the more I think about it, the more I want to stay here in Provo. So I've been trying to separate what I want to do from what I need to do; that's been hard for me.

So last night before I headed off to bed (it was pretty late) I saw my Book of Mormon and realized I hadn't read my scriptures at all that day. So I picked it up to read a few verses before going to sleep. I flipped it open to a random spot and started reading in Alma 36. It was the part where Alma shared his conversion story with his son, Helaman. I had two verses marked from long ago, which caught my eye. They were verses 24 and 25. They read, "Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors."

When I read those verses, the thought came to me to consider which summer option would offer greater opportunities to serve others and bring people closer to Christ; up to that point I had neglected to include those things in my decision-making process. I compared and contrasted the past two summers. While selling in Chicago I had some fun missionary opportunities, where I was able to share the restored gospel in a few homes. I really enjoyed and still cherish those moments. Yet, those were but a few moments over the course of the entire summer. My calling was in the music council, in which I participated Sundays only. I didn't get my home teaching assignments until mid-way through the summer. So Church service was minimal. On top of that, there really wasn't any time to serve in the community either.

Looking at the summer before, I served almost on a daily basis with my Church calling. If I stayed here, I know I would be much more involved with the community, as well as a couple of groups on campus. I have also gotten some ideas of other things I could do while here in Provo that could potentially benefit others, and I would have time to do those things.

Of course, I can't just do things for free. I still need finances to live and save up for school. I think that's where selling would have an advantage. This summer I have the potential of making $20,000+! I could technically become a manager the following summer, making $100,000+! Here, the only thing I can think of that could give me $15,000+ (if I really kick it in gear and hire people to help me out) would be mowing lawns on top of working at another job.

So, if I were able to have around $15,000 sitting in my account at the end of the summer, I would probably be quite content with my finances, to be quite honest. That being the case, staying here during the summer is actually my number one choice. I think the only things keeping me from making a decision now are three-fold: 1) loyalty to my friend from last summer, 2) if I stay in Provo, will I suck it up and mow those lawns, and 3) I haven't yet received any confirmations or assurances from Heavenly Father (that I've been looking for, anyway) of which choice I should make.

So, wish me luck!