Report Card Week

Thank you for your participation in the no-warning-Testimonies-on-Demand on the Strength for Youth booklet last week. I don't know how many of ours will be chosen for the Church website. I was impressed with the depth and quality of your thoughts and feelings you shared. What an amazing group of students!

I went ahead and emailed in your testimonies and pictures I had taken or found from facebook sources...Over the next weeks I will include one or two on this blog so you can see what I thought represented you well (out of the choices I had! We need to take more class photos!).

Parents will receive seminary report cards by the end of this week. We are trying to keep it synchronized with the school terms.

To be up-to-date on your scripture reading: 2 Nephi chapter 29 on Monday. Starting Jacob this week.

Keep reading 5-10 minutes every day in the scriptures! If you have finished the Book of Mormon already this school year, start over! Read by subject, or underline all the EMOTION words in one color. Try looking for repeated themes, do a character study of each prophet writer, try to find all the times Christ is mentioned and use another color for prophecies about Him...There are lots of ways to read the scriptures and learn new things each time you go through them.

I want feedback on the 3/3 seminary activity last Wednesday. First thing Monday morning there will be a form to fill out, telling your teacher what you liked about the activity.
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President Stewart devotional assignment: (to be announced as soon as he gets home from the dance, or he will tell you in Church).

Only 2 1/2 weeks to Thanksgiving. How many blessings have you listed in your Tiny Plates? Is it getting easier or harder to come up with new ones every day? Hopefully being grateful will be an easy talent for you. Look for the little things that add up in your life.

Today I am thankful for baptism. The newest member in our ward had a huge smile on his face Saturday night as he came up out of the water. He glowed! I was asked to speak about the Holy Ghost. I was impressed with this quote by the Prophet Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith said: “You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost” (History of the Church, 5:499).

There is always more to learn about Church History and modern revelation. It put into perspective for me how important the confirmation part is. Think baptism and confirmation in the same sentence.

You have that great gift of the Holy Ghost. Do you take it for granted? Have you felt the gift of the Holy Ghost recently in your life? Do you feel it in class? I will make a better effort at pointing out when I feel the Spirit testifying in seminary.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true! You will be blessed for coming to daily early morning seminary! Next week is a full, long 5 day week, with some great doctrine. Please go to bed early enough that waking up isn't too painful. Come on time so you feel the full benefit of participating in the devotional. 5:55 AM