Editor's note: With the upcoming 100-year celebration of the LDS Church's seminary program, Mormon Times is sharing experiences and blessings from those who participated in the program.
He wasn’t a “wow” teacher.
He wasn’t the popular teacher with students lining up to take his class. He didn’t use dramatic stories, dramatic poses, or draw fantastic life-size murals on the walls. His classes weren’t always exciting and he didn’t always have our attention.
But that freshman seminary teacher showed me that WE had HIS attention.
With the “wow” teachers, I felt like just another face in the crowd. When they shook my hand it was usually brief and then a gentle tug to the side to get to the next hand. They were popular and busy. I understood that. But with this seminary teacher, we were more than just a face in the crowd. He taught me that the gospel was much more than doctrine. It was love.
I lived in southeastern Idaho with release time for the seminary program and full-time teachers. The hour I took seminary already had a small class size, but there were still several occasions when attendance was very low. One such day, we found ourselves with only three students and the teacher. We decided to meet in his office off the classroom and have an informal class.
I will never forget that day. I don’t remember much of what we talked about but I remember the feeling. We were allowed to ask any question, talk about anything we wanted and we laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. I’m sure I thought I was the wittiest and most clever girl on the planet when in reality my jokes were so incredibly lame. Nonetheless, our teacher freely laughed. He was always quick to smile, and when he shook my hand, I felt he could really see me. I was truly welcome.
Unfortunately, he left after that year, discouraged over low class attendance and what I’m sure he (erroneously) considered were poor teaching abilities. I heard rumors he had taken a job in the mines in another state.
I wrote to him several times during my high school years, always to a general post office address. I confided in him about problems with family and friends, sharing heartaches and victories, asking questions I didn’t dare to verbalize. I considered him a treasured confidant, but I never knew if he ever read a single letter.
He taught me that the gospel was something more than what you studied; it was how you could live, feel and treat other people. To me, he embodied the true gospel.
I took seminary every year of high school after that and finished with a four-year certificate. That freshman seminary teacher may never have felt popular, but he gave me a “wow” experience that helped me develop a testimony about how God sees — and loves — the individual.
Ramona Siddoway is a freelance writer who has published articles in Belgium, Angola, and the United States. She lives with her husband in Houston. Her website is ramonasiddoway.com