Jenna was asked to speak at our Stake's Seminary Graduation.
Here is her talk:
Brother L called
and asked me if I would speak at Seminary Graduation on what I learned in my
four years of Seminary. When I asked him
how long I needed to talk, he told me thirty minutes.
I have a
sense of humor too.
What I
learned from attending early morning seminary.
I learned
how to hit the snooze button and eventually I learned to ignore my alarm
completely. My sister and my Dad can
attest to that.
I learned
how to sleep with my eyes opened – like the bishopric does on Sunday.
I counted
the tiles on the ceiling. I never made
it past 15.
Seriously,
all humor set aside, I really did learn and grow during the last four years.
What did I
learn?
I learned about dedication in Seminary.
I saw this in my teachers who were like superman and superwoman. They have a day job – like Clark Kent. They also save our day and start it off right
when they come and teach our classes. I
see dedication in my sister, Jaley. She
is always ready to go 20 minutes before we need to leave. There is Jaley standard time, Mormon Standard
Time and Jenna Standard Time (my teachers will know what that is).
I learned
that Seminary is a Holy Place, a holy moment.
Sis. Ann Dibb gave a talk at the recent General Young Women’s Conference
about not only creating a holy place, but holy moments. Holy moments were created each morning that
started and ended with a prayer. It was
up to us as student to be a part of the holy moment. I felt this holy place many times last year
after being a passenger in a serious car accident. I was in a wheelchair for three months. In the seminary room I felt loved, welcomed
and accepted as I dealt with maneuvering a wheelchair and recovering from
multiple surgeries. I was in a Holy Place
and lifted up and prepared to face difficult days during this time.
I learned
that Angels do watch over us. I know our
Heavenly Father watches and protects us.
He knows the desires of our hearts.
He guides and protects us. OK - Mom
and Dad, cover your ears. There were
several occasions that the only way we arrived to seminary in one piece is
because we were watched over and protected as we drove on hazardous roads
during the winter.
Seminary
prepared me to share the gospel. In
Seminary, I had daily reminders of who I am and who I represent. I had friends ask me why I was at school
early (or on time). I've had the
opportunity to have gospel discussions with several friends. I currently have a friend constantly asking
me questions about my beliefs. I’m
grateful for the teachings I've had in my home, at church and seminary. It has given me the confidence to answer
their questions.
Because of
Seminary I learned that I can do hard things.
Waking up early is hard. Studies
have shown that teenagers need their sleep.
Teenagers also need to study. Teenagers
also need to socialize – and eat. All of
this has to be done in a 24 hour period.
When we really try, we find the strength to do it all. This past fall when I was finally able to
walk and return to normal activity, I had to work extra hard to get back into shape
for high school swimming. I started out
swimming 1 hour after school and built up to 2 ½ hours. I then started getting up at 4:00 in the
morning to swim for an hour and a half before seminary. I still did my 2 ½ hours afternoon work outs. I learned I can do hard things. So can you.
I learned
that Seminary is preparing me for college.
My older sister, Julia, noticed that she was able to attend 8:00 in the
morning classes compared to other students who did not do early morning
seminary. It has taught me that this
daily morning ritual of feeling the spirit needs to carry over into the next
phase of my life.
I learned
that I have a second family in Seminary.
Our senior class was not an easy group.
The freshmen class acted older than we did. At the beginning of the year, my seminary
class had many cliques. Thanks to my
amazing seminary teacher, Sis. S, she dissolved these cliques and created
an amazing tight knit family. She did
this by including everyone in class discussions, having us prepare daily
devotionals, not giving up on us and by teaching with the spirit. She saw something in us that we didn’t. She worked hard to break down what we were
and created something that will last forever.
She created our Seminary Family.
So – to the
Freshman. You survived. 1 down.
3 to go.
To the
Sophomores. You are half way through.
To the
Juniors – act older than the freshmen.
To my
parents – you survived 6 years so far.
Here’s to 11 more.
To the
Seniors – we did it! But it’s not
over. I’ll see you in institute this
summer. Thankfully they meet at night.
I say these
things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Posts
