Hello again, everyone! In a landmark announcement, the First Presidency has noted changes to its' seminary program. Rather than following a traditional academic schedule (August to May), beginning in January 2020, seminary students will have the opportunity to have their "Come Follow Me" Church curriculum and home study additionally supported by following a similar study schedule (and focus on the same book of scripture) as will be studied each year with the "Come Follow Me" curriculum.
In addition to the First Presidency announcement, 3 members of the Church Board of Education addressed these adjustments in a broadcast this morning. Those 3 Board members included Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who is the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles assigned to oversee the work of the Church Educational System, Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, who, as Young Women General President, serves on that Board, and Elder Kim B. Clark, a General Authority Seventy who is currently serving as the Commissioner of Church Education. Joining these Board members was Brother Chad H. Webb, who has been involved with the CES program for a while, and who presently serves as the Seminary and Institutes of Religion administrator.
One thing that really struck me as I briefly skimmed the articles to which I linked above is what was said about the timing of this announcement. Knowing that the announcement was going to be forthcoming, although the Board members had some concerns about the logistics associated with these adjustments, they said that the Lord confirmed to them that the timing of the change was right, and that the logistics would work themselves out as they are implemented.
The faith evident in that expression is in line with John 7:17, wherein we read: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself." Some may feel more inclined to do the reverse: They want to know that something said or done is of God before they do anything as a result. But I was also reminded of 1 Nephi 4:6, in which Nephi says this: "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
More often than not, the Lord requires a small step into the darkness before He provides a light to help us see ahead. And that goes back to the Lord's statement elsewhere hat "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." I am grateful that the members of the Church Board of Education determined to follow this inspired decision now and worry about the logistics of doing so later,
I also wanted to note the significance behind Elder Holland's current service as the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the Church Board of Education. Elder Holland has long been involved with the Church Board of Education. He found his heart was in teaching, and he had a prestigious career as a professional educator, during which time he served on many national college boards. He also taught seminary and institute for a time.
In 1976, Elder Holland succeeded Elder Neal A. Maxwell as Commissioner of Church Education. Almost 4 years later, while serving in that capacity, he was helping lead the search for a new president of Brigham Young University, and he was surprised when the First Presidency called him to fill that same position himself. The end of his service at BYU in 1989 coincided with his call to serve as a General Authority Seventy.
And I am blessed to have some degree of familiarity with his long-term ties to the Church Educational System. My mom has worked as a freelance proofreader to varying degrees, and I recall her mentioning working on some projects for the Church Educational System during the same time Elder Holland was serving as the Commissioner of Church Education, and has shared fond memories of working for and with Elder Holland.
Sorry for that side-track on my part, but I thought some of you might be interested in those details. As soon as I read about the details of this change, I knew it was inspired. I continue to monitor any and all Church news and temple developments and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all as I receive it.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Friday, March 22, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: Changes Announced to Seminary Program
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
7 comments:
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Hello again, everyone! I am posting this comment to pass along temple updates which have been brought to my attention. First, the process of furnishing and refreshing buildings included in the Fortaleza Brazil Temple project has been completed, and that temple is now being prepared for its' public open house. Meanwhile, over 1,600 miles away in Rio de Janeiro, scaffolding has been removed from the tower of the temple in that city, while a majority of the exterior cladding of the temple has been completed, and interior work continues to make progress.
ReplyDeleteAnd in a development that is both surprising and welcome, it appears that full-scale construction efforts have begun for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple, where an electrical substation and underground lines are being installed to the temple site. It is wonderful to hear that such efforts were able to begin just over two months following the groundbreaking ceremony for this temple. Announced almost 8.5 years ago, this temple has been subject to numerous delays leading up to this point where construction can finally begin. It was wonderful to hear about that.
I do continue to monitor any and all such developments and will do my level best to pass word of those along to you all as I become aware of them. Thanks again, everyone!
This is a great thing! I think the best time to align is Jan 2020. With the change to the youth programs happening at the same time, the Old Testament second half not being as vital in our day as others and aligning to the Book of Mormon study unifies Sunday School, Family study and Seminary wil be extremely impactful.
ReplyDeletecoachodeeps, I first read your comment not long after it was posted, but was unable to reply before now. Thanks for taking time to share your thoughts. I agree that January 2020 is the best time to align this adjustment. Not sure what you mean in terms of your reference to "the Old Testament second half". It's my understanding that when school begins this year, seminary students will be studying the second half of the New Testament, to match up with the current "Come Follow Me" curriculum. Did I miss something I should have picked up on? Either way, I agree with everything you said above. What we have seen in the changes announced over the last 14 months during which time President Nelson has been our prophet is a concentrated effort to unify the worldwide Church, and I welcome this change as well.
DeleteI also think that starting this change with the Book of Mormon next year is a smart idea. When I first started Seminary (back in 9th Grade), our curriculum that year was the Book of Mormon. And the discussions we had in those classes were always edifying and instructive. This change will enable such classes to focus on personal responsibility. And I love the idea that the change will enable teachers to centralize their lessons on the most important material, rather than a sequential approach. It will be wonderful to see how these changes impact the overall effectiveness of the seminary program. Thanks again, coachodeeps, for taking time to comment.
When I read this announcement yesterday, it was a "duh!" moment - of COURSE it makes sense to do it like this. It seems obvious in retrospect, but definitely inspired. In fact my wife caught on to this section "President Nelson's direction allowed them to say, "We're going to do this, and then we'll figure out how to make it happen."" In other words, it's time, we need to do it now, even if we aren't completely ready for it.
ReplyDeleteMichael Richards, thank you for taking time to comment. Most of the changes we have seen announced within the last 14 months under President Nelson's prophetic guidance (some of which were surely deliberated for years before that time) inspired that kind of reaction for me. If we take President Nelson at his word that the progress of the Church over the next little while will be unprecedented in many ways, then clearly, providing a unification of programs and practices would need to be part of that.
DeleteI also see each of these changes as an opportunity for all of us to step up and take a lot more personal responsibility for our own gospel learning and application. I did wonder how this might affect things for seminary students during the summer months when school is not in session, but then I remembered that there is a recommended reading schedule in the new "Come Follow Me" manuals, and this will give those in seminary the opportunity to be personally responsible for their own learning during the summer months. And that could provide unprecedented spiritual growth. When I was in seminary, I would read the assigned reading from the designated book of scripture during the school year, then take 1 or 2 opportunities to again read the Book of Mormon during each summer.
I was struck by the same section and details that caught your wife's attention, which is why I shared some thoughts above about how their response mirrors the approach the Lord wants each of us to take. So many people seem to want to wait to do anything until they know it is right, whereas the Lord's instruction (which I paraphrase) is "do, and then you'll know." Is it a leap of faith? Of course. But taking such leaps goes back to what Nephi expressed in 1 Nephi 3:7, the idea that the Lord does not give any commandment (which, by extension, means the Church never enacts a change) without providing a way for such commandments and direction to be fulfilled.
I fully believe that the Lord will bless the CES Board for implementing the direction the Lord has provided to President Nelson, and that the logistics will work themselves out as the inspiration is followed. The Lord's promises remain sure and certain for all who adhere to and follow His counsel, and we are blessed to see that occurring here. Thank you, Michael Richards, for taking time to comment.
Hello again, everyone! A few additional Church News stories have been reported. First, while in Rome, the First Presidency sat down with a reporter representing an Italian newspaper. In a unique move, all were interviewed at the same time, but only one microphone was given to the interviewees, and President Eyring held it. The Church News notes that the Italian reporter did not publish the entire interview, and that President Eyring was asked most of the questions. Though I can't say for sure this is the case, I have a feeling that the interview was done that way by the reporter to perhaps see if he could trip President Eyring up by anything he said. I hope I'm wrong, but it feels like that might have been the case. You can read that interview at the address below:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-03-16/rome-italy-temple-how-presidents-nelson-oaks-and-eyring-explained-latter-day-saint-temple-work-to-an-italian-journalist-49252
The Church News has also continued their "What I know now" series with an article from the editor, Sarah Jane Weaver, in which she talks about how the Rome Italy Temple dedication taught a powerful lesson about unity:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-03-21/russell-m-nelson-jesus-christ-rome-italy-temple-pope-francis-vatican-russell-m-ballard-49310
And another interview done in Italy featured Sisters Nelson and Oaks answering questions about women and gender equality in the Church, which I thought was very well handled in both questions and answers:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-03-21/sister-nelson-sister-oaks-talk-to-italian-journalist-on-women-equality-within-church-49297
Another video was released about the apostles' unifying experience in Rome Italy, in the form of a video that explains how the nature of their calling is to represent the Lord through the priesthood keys they hold:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-03-17/video-apostles-explain-how-they-represent-the-lord-through-priesthood-keys-49260
And a photographer assigned to both the Church News and Deseret News shared his experience in being involved with the landmark photograph of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which is the first such group photo in about two decades:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-03-21/video-this-photographer-has-experienced-the-super-bowl-and-the-olympics-but-nothing-like-this-beautiful-photo-49276
Another article highlights an international art competition featuring the work of Latter-day Saints:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2019-03-13/stunning-work-by-new-latter-day-saint-artists-showcased-in-churchs-international-competition-49224
And a BYU student who is an All-American runner shared her story about how her initial reservations about being a mom while continuing to compete turned into insight about how that has made her a better athlete:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2019-03-19/this-all-american-runner-thought-being-a-mom-would-end-her-career-now-she-says-it-makes-her-a-better-byu-athlete-49274
Having wrapped up their West Africa tour, Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham and Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon talked about the faith they found in the members they met with:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-03-22/sister-bingham-sister-cordon-wrap-up-west-africa-tour-in-cote-divoire-49306
Another edition of "This Week on Social" (which was a shorter article this time) featured posts from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Sisters Bonnie H. Cordon and Michelle D. Craig (President and First Counselor respectively in the Young Women General Presidency) andLisa L. Harkness (First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency):
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-03-22/dieter-f-uchtdorf-this-week-on-social-3-videos-a-hug-from-sister-uchtdorf-and-remembering-our-self-worth-49320
The Church News is requesting feedback from any readers who would like to share how they prepare for General Conference. Anyone interested can fill out the following form:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-03-22/how-do-you-prepare-for-general-conference-let-us-know-here-49331
I do continue to monitor any and all Church News and temple developments and will do my level best to keep passing word of those along to you all as I receive it. My thanks again to you all.