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| The LDS seminary building, pretty much adjacent to the public high school |
I attended the high school seminary this morning in Kaysville, Utah. This is the building, literally right next door to Davis (Public) High School where my friend Angie teaches. She called the seminary and asked if it was okay for me to attend some classes there. At first, I think they were a little wary, perhaps worrying that I would leap up and start denouncing them, but she assured them that I am a religion teacher, and would only be there to learn. So bright and early, I went in and introduced myself to the principal. I ended up being able to sit in (and actually participate, because you can't really stop me from participating) on three different seminary lessons on the Book of Mormon, and let me tell you I learned a ton.
Seminary teachers are called "Brother" and "Sister" instead of Mr. and Mrs. or Ms. I didn't see any female teachers, but I was assured that they do exist. The purpose of the LDS Seminary is, according to the website, "to help youth understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families, and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven."
Students get "release time" from their normal high school day and walk over to the seminary building that is conveniently located right next door. Is this a violation of the separation of church and state? It seems not, since the public high school allows it. Of course, this means the high school gets to have 400 fewer students in every class period, which means their resources are not as stretched as they would be. In essence, the LDS Seminary provides additional teachers and classrooms for these students every day at no extra charge to the state. So who's gonna complain? Now what happens to the non-Mormon kids? They get to take electives during that time period, for which they earn actual credit. Seminary classes do not count for high school credit, which means the Seminary kids may take longer to graduate. It is supposedly completely voluntary, although there are clearly some kids whose families are pressuring them to go. Most of the kids I observed seemed incredibly motivated and engaged, despite the lack of credit and grades. I did see one girl who spent the entire time just reading quietly on her Kindle, just minding her own business and letting the other students and the teacher get on with the class. I really wanted to talk to her and ask her story, but I kept a respectful distance and besides, there was too much to learn from the actual classes.
So what if, I asked, some Jewish or Muslim kids wanted to have a release period and go take Hebrew School or Qur'an classes? I was told that they could definitely do that, but they have never tried. Of course, there is about one Muslim kid in the whole school of 2500. I did see a Jewish teacher. I said to her, "I didn't know there were any Jews in Utah." (I was very naive when I got here; I thought there would be no beer, no coffee, no strip clubs either) She said, "Oh yeah, there are a lot. You should come to synagogue with me in Park City on Friday. Our rabbi snowboards." I told her I had to leave for Moab tomorrow, otherwise I would come up with her.
The LDS Seminary follows a four-year rotating curriculum, in which students read and learn the various holy scriptures. In addition to the "Old" and "New" Testaments, which take up a year each, the two other years are spent reading the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, which are the inspired writings of the Prophet, Joseph Smith. I happened to luck out and be visiting while they were in a Book of Mormon year. Each year, students have 25 verses to memorize, so that they can then refer to them later in life, whether on a mission or just explaining their faith. The idea is to have 25 scriptures a year, for a total of 100. I downloaded one of the free "Scripture Mastery" apps onto my phone, so that I could learn and practice along with the kids today. Each class I saw spent some time on studying and quizzing themselves on these verses.
Each class began with a hymn and a prayer, led by the kids. They had a mixture of Mormon and traditional hymns. The kids were also encouraged to give "testimony," which is a really important part of Mormon spirituality. This is where they share an experience they had applying the spiritual principles of their faith to actual events in their lives. For instance, "Well, I went to this party, and my friend wanted me to try some alcohol, but I remembered such-and-such a teaching and I prayed and was able to choose the right course of action. I felt a lot better about myself the next day than I would have if I had given in to peer pressure." (example was totally fabricated by me).
In my first class, we played a "Book of Alma War Game." This was a really fun game that helped us to learn the story of the extremely violent war that took place between the Lamanites (bad guys who don't believe in the Truth and who run around with very few clothes on) and the Nephites (good guys), and the heroism of the greatest hero of the Nephites, Moroni. I learned a lot about these ancient people and their prophet, Alma, who didn't die, but was taken up to heaven by God, sort of like Elijah. You had to examine your own life in the role-play, and do things like "add 50 extra soldiers if you prayed before leaving the house this morning" or "get 25 extra defensive weapons if you read Scripture this week." I had fun, and generally was able to do pretty well in the game.
In my second class, which was taught by the principal of the Seminary (he teaches one class a day, sort of the Glen Sterr type guy), who was absolutely a master teacher. We were studying the book of Helaman, which comes right after the book of Alma. The students did a "jigsaw," where they worked in groups to read and analyze a couple of verses each, and then they had to present to the rest of the class, using an if-then statement, a physical object from the classroom and a testimony from their own lives. All the kids were really engaged. I got to work with a group that explained the salvation of Jesus Christ by using hand sanitizer. It was a really clever way to explain atonement for sin, and again, I learned a ton.
My third class was taught by a teacher who was only in his second year of teaching, but he was great as well. We continued studying the book of Helaman, which told the story of how there was a problem of succession among the sons of one of the rulers. The group of Nephites selected the next ruler by voting (!) and various things happened to the other sons. There was a lot of contention within the group, and they posted fewer guards around, which allowed the evil Lamanites (remember them?) to attack. We learned a lesson about trying to not be contentious within our own groups.
I had read the Book of Mormon earlier, and found it extremely difficult to understand and impossible to take seriously. The language is so convoluted (Mark Twain said if you cut out all the times it says "and it came to pass" the book would be much shortened, which is true) and weird that it is really tough to read. But, like the Bible or the Qur'an, if you have a good teacher to take you through it, you really get a lot more out of it. I told the principal at the end that I found it impossible to believe it literally but that I absolutely believe it is divinely inspired, and as full of spiritual truth as any convoluted, obscure holy scripture. I particularly appreciated the "testimony" aspect; I hope that my job as a teacher is also, at its best, to help students apply their own spiritual principles (courtesy and common sense, social justice, stewardship for the environment, human rights) to practical situations in their own lives. What else is teaching about?
And just in case you all think I have gone bananas and am about to become Mormon, don't worry. I am simply attempting to keep an open mind, and see the best sides of the LDS. I believe that with the willingness and openness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit that they seem to strive for, great things may be in store. See below for just one example:
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