14 Years of CES

Tonight Brittney was asked to speak about her experiences in institute at seminary graduation and encourage the graduates to register for institute. Seminary provides religious classes for high school students. Institute classes are religious classes available for college students. Both fall under the Church Educational System (CES).

My first year in seminary was at Farmington Junior High in Utah; my teacher was Brother Taylor. I just finished my 10th and final year in institute at the University of Illnois, and Brother Taylor was my teacher again. When we first moved to Illnois, I saw on the internet that the institute director here was Rick Taylor. I remembered that was my seminary teacher's name, but it said Rick Taylor had been teaching for fourteen years, and I figured it couldn't be the same guy, because my 9th grade seminary teacher was new. Later I realized it had been then long since I was in 9th grade.

With the completion of my final year in institute, I wrote Brother Taylor a letter and thought you might enjoy reading it:


Dear Brother Taylor,

Since this is my fourteenth and final year as a student in CES as I will be turning 30 and finishing my PhD this year, I have been reflecting on the experiences I’ve had in seminary and institute and thought it would be appropriate to share some of them with you as you have been my teacher at the beginning and at the end.

I remember volunteering to play the piano our very first day of seminary and selecting “We Thank Thee O’ God for a Prophet”. You said that was one of the favorites to sing in seminary. That first day, you challenged us to read the scriptures every day, and I accepted that challenge. The decision I made that day to read the scriptures every day has made me the man I am today and will bless me and my family forever.

That year was a difficult time for your family and you were required to miss class several times. I remember one substitute, Brother Greaves, taught us about Alma 13. He told us that God knew who we were before we were born and that we had not been randomly placed in a family where the gospel would be taught, but had been placed there because God had chosen us to become leaders in His church. That truth burned inside of me and helped me as our family moved from Farmington to Tooele. I figured that if God had directed that I be born into the right family, then He would also direct where I went in life. That truth still comforts me today as I begin looking for employment in various places across the country.

Another substitute teacher asked us to share our most embarrassing stories. I decided to share a story I had only shared once before at scout camp. The story is as follows: When I was 8 years old, I went with my family down to Cove Fort, Utah for its dedication as the church opened it up for visitors. President Hinckley was coming to dedicate it. Before his speech, my 3 year old brother had to go to the restroom, and I was asked to take him. The restroom consisted of two toilets separated from the rest of the room by yellow curtains. Both were closed when we got inside the restroom, so I walked up to the first one and opened it. To my surprise and embarrassment, President Hinckley was on the other side. I quickly closed the curtain and ran inside the other stall (fortunately it was empty). My brother and I stayed in that stall until President Hinckley left the restroom.
I became famous at Farmington Junior High after that story got out.

My senior year of seminary we studied the Doctrine and Covenants. When we covered the martyrdom of the prophet, Joseph Smith, our teacher, Brother Norby, set the classroom up to resemble the room in Carthage Jail. He asked a few of us to role play the events of the martyrdom. I was asked to be John Taylor. I’ll never forget lying under the table that was acting as the bed and thinking about the sacrifice made by Joseph Smith. I knew he was called of God to be the prophet.

My freshman year at Utah State I took a Book of Mormon and a mission prep class; further preparing me for my mission. I took with me on my mission a well marked set of scriptures, the ones I had marked in all of my seminary classes.

About a week into my sophomore year at USU following my mission, my roommate’s brother invited us to come to an opening social for the Institute Men’s Association (IMA). He told us there was no commitment or pressure involved, to just come and see if we liked it. He was right that there was no pressure, however no commitment doesn’t seem the right word to describe my weekly attendance at the meetings the rest of that year, serving as a counselor in the Kolob Chapter presidency the second semester, as president of the Kolob Chapter the next year, as a counselor and then president (the former president became otherwise “engaged”) in the inter-chapter presidency my senior year, and then president of the Mahonri Moriancumr chapter the first year of my masters degree.

I loved being in the IMA! My favorite activity was the Jell-o slide held every year on the quad. We filled a tub full of Jell-o, rolled around in it, and then slid down a sheet of plastic. It was so fun! The annual turkey bowl was also a highlight as the chapters challenged each other in a football tournament. Non-IMA teams were invited to play as well and usually ended up winning the tournament. Afterwards we would enjoy a full Thanksgiving dinner, but not before each team contributed the items to provide a meal for a family in need in the area. My senior year, there were a couple of girls that asked if they could play on our team. I was impressed with their lack of being intimidated by a bunch of guys and thought one was kind of cute. Little did I know I had just met my future wife (though our first date wasn’t until a year later). One of the great things about IMA are the chapter advisors. Brother Thomas was the Kolob chapter advisor and later the inter-chapter advisor. He was an institute teacher who had just finished serving as area director in Georgia. I learned a great deal from him and he became my dad in Logan. I asked him for help with my car, dating, presiding, anything for which I needed someone who was close.

Spring semester of my senior year I took preparing for Celestial marriage. A girl I had been dating regularly, Caron took it with me. I really wanted to get married; however it just didn’t feel right at the time. Then one day the teacher, Brother Williams said, “Sometimes a boy has to tell the girl he is dating that even though there is nothing wrong with her, it just isn’t right.” At that moment I knew he had described the situation I was in. I knew what I had to do; breaking up with Caron was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I’m glad I did it. That fall as I started the first year of my master’s degree, I moved in next door to the cute girl who had played football with us. She happened to be serving as president of the IWA Esther chapter which met on Wednesday nights, the same night the Mahonri Moricancumr chapter met. Our chapters did exchanges together, and our first date was an IMA date night. We ate the leftovers from the Turkey Bowl, which the cute girl played in again, and then played mini-golf. The cute girl tells me that she learned on that date that I wasn’t always serious and quiet. Seven months later when we got engaged, we didn’t want our roommates overhearing us call our parents to tell them, so we went to the institute. Owing to the relationship I had through IMA with Brother Blake, I knew where he kept a spare key to his office. We used that key to let ourselves in to use his office phone to call our parents.

When we moved from Logan, the cute girl and I had graduated from institute, and received special certificates for advanced studies. Realizing that we would be spending 4 years at the University of Illinois, we figured out that if we took an institute class each semester we would meet the requirements to graduate again and made this our goal. It amazed me (and still does) how much I could learn from the scriptures and class, even after all those years of seminary and institute. The Spirit I feel gives me the boost I need to cope with the stresses of being a graduate student.

As you can tell, seminary and institute have been an integral part of my life the last 16 years. How grateful I am to have enjoyed its influence during these years of critical decision making. I finish my time as a student knowing that I am going to miss it, but with the assurance that at some point in the future I may be asked to teach an early morning seminary class, or have the opportunity to be a volunteer institute teacher. Whatever the Lord has in mind for me, I hope to be an instrument in his hands to help others develop their testimonies by choosing to open their hearts to the truths the Holy Ghost will carry to it through daily study of the scriptures.

Sincerely,


Bruce Richards