Weekly Update

Did you ever wonder what the fruit of the tree in Lehi's vision was like? Lehi described it as "most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted," "white to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen," and it filled his soul "with exceedingly great joy." When my brothers and I were kids, we had quite the discussion about this fruit and what it must have been like. Based on what Lehi said, we decided the fruit must be Twinkies. Can you guess what "fruit" was hanging on our Seminary tree?

Monday and Tuesday were spent focused on Nephi's vision, which included the interpretation of his father's vision and so much more. Wednesday was all about the Liahona. We talked about how it provided direction based on obedience and what provides direction to us when we are obedient. These personal Liahonas, according to the students, might include parents, teachers, leaders, scriptures, General Conference and patriarchal blessings. Thursday we spent our time with a fellowshipping activity so that when we played cut-throat Halloween bingo on Friday we could still all be friends in the end.

Looking ahead, there are quite a few days off in November: Friday the 6th (teacher work day), Wednesday the 11th through Friday the 13th (Veteran's Day and parent-teacher conferences), and Wednesday the 24th through Friday the 27th (Thanksgiving break). Enjoy sleeping in!

Thanks for supporting Seminary!

Love,

Sister Mann

Weekly Update

Haven't the leaves been just lovely this week? Such beautiful colors -- red, gold, bronze, yellow and even purple. Out in nature and even in Seminary, it's been a good week for trees.

On Monday, Bishop Garrison shared with us the history of Jerusalem and the culture of Lehi's day. It's important to know why the kingdom divided, how the tribes got lost, and to understand how Lehi's family came to be in Jerusalem in the first place. Tuesday was a video lesson that reviewed some of the same information and introduced the rugged, sandy, and dangerous Arabian peninsula. It's not a place conducive to an extended family camping trip. Speaking of extended family, Ishmael's family has now joined in the fun. It's funny how Laman and Lemuel grouse about going back for the brass plates, but not a single murmur about going back for girls...hmm... This week, Lehi saw a tree and it was white with delicious fruit hanging from it's branches. Come and see the white tree in Seminary, but there's no fruit yet. That happens next week. On Friday, Sister Pope was in charge of the lesson and Sister Weitzel subbed for me as the shepherd because I was at a meeting in Bend.

Thanks for a great week in Seminary, and seriously, come see the tree. Plug it in for the full bright white experience. :o)

Love,

Sister Mann

Weekly Update

One more was added to our Seminary flock this week. Welcome Sister Pope! Tag-Team-Teaching has now officially arrived!

After four weeks of Seminary, we have just now met Nephi and his family. We learned that Lehi was a Jerusalem home-boy, prayed sincerely, had a vision, preached to his neighbors, and was determined to be obedient to the Lord. We learned that Nephi was born of goodly parents, educated, big for his age, and determined to be obedient to the Lord. We learned about murmuring and sibling relationships. We learned it's better to go and do rather than sit and stew. We learned about the value of personal histories and scriptures. We learned a lot this week!

Housekeeping is the pits, but there are a couple of things we need to 'clean up' as far as Seminary is concerned. It can be hard, but being on time is important. Please remember the start time is 6:25. Again, it can be hard, but being in class is important. Please don't sign in as present and then disappear because that's an absence. Please get class materials out of the cupboard and use them in class. The scriptures can't be learned and applied if they are not opened and read.

Cold and flu season seems to have arrived. Yuk. Would someone please donate a box or two of kleenex and a big bottle of hand sanitizer? It is better that germs should perish than a whole class should dwindle and suffer in misery.

How about another donation item? The Seminary CD player went on a walk-about last year and ended up in the library without a cord. Does anyone have a CD player the class could use? Or better yet, does anyone know where the missing cord is? That would be the ideal solution because it's just too expensive to buy all those batteries just for prelude music.

Thanks for your housekeeping help, germ-busting supplies, and early-morning music!

Love,

Sister Mann

Weekly Update

Wasn't General Conference wonderful? Wow! When it comes out in the Ensign, there will be some serious hi-lighting going on.

Speaking of hi-lighting, we spent Monday going over Conference highlights. It was so interesting to hear what touched our hearts and inspired us as individuals. We all heard the same words, but the meanings were different for each of us. However, we all were very impressed with Elder Holland's testimony of the Book of Mormon. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in the company of Ether. As the final prophet to the Jaredites, he witnessed their utter destruction and shared his testimony of God's justice and His love. Thursday was our first Seminary Game Day of the year, and it was long overdue. Tic Tac Toe x 4 is a favorite, but really wild, game. It can get a little physical and sometimes blood is shed. No blood this time, but there probably was a concussion. Hopefully, the popsicles afterwards were just what the doctor ordered. Friday was Scripture Mastery Day, focused on the two SMs in Ether. Those who participated had the opportunity to win a piece of 'One Mann's Junk' (something from my junk drawer). The sparkly disco Christmas ornament was the first thing to go followed by the Russian stacking dolls and the big foam mushroom. 'One Mann's Junk' did become another man's treasure!

Thanks for a great week!

Love,

Sister Mann

Weekly Update

Another busy week has come and gone, leaving a tuckered-out Seminary teacher in it's wake. I'm not the only one who's tired, though. There were a few droopy eyelids in class this morning...

So what did we learn this week? On Monday, we learned all about flag words in the scriptures. You know, words like "therefore" and "yea" and "behold" that mean "sit up and pay attention to this next part." We also learned that "and it came to pass" is Nephite punctuation, not a grammatical mistake. Tuesday was Gold Plates Day. Were the plates made from real gold? How much did the plates weight? What were the binding rings like? Wednesday was More Gold Plates Day -- specifically the ones found by King Limhi's people. Yep, the Jaredite record we know as the Book of Ether. So our actual study of the Book of Mormon began in the Old Testament with the Tower of Babel and two brothers. So Thursday was all about barges and miraculous light bulbs. We had a great discussion about how the Lord touched and brought light to the stones one at a time, just like how He touches (inspires) us and brings us light (knowledge) one at a time. Friday was King Day. Why is it that the people always wanted kings? As for me, the only king I like is the burger kind...

The September attendance roll was sent it, and as soon as the statistic sheet comes back from SHQ (Seminary Headquarters) the students will know if they need to do any make-up work. Seniors will also know if they need to do any make-up work for past years in order to graduate. Make-up work this year is a little different. No more worksheets and no more workbooks. Time spent in the service of others will be the make-up work because King Benjamin taught that "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17). But to validate the service, there is a tiny itsy-bitsy worksheet to fill out...

Thanks everyone for another good week! Enjoy General Conference!

Love,

Sister Mann