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Seminary
Essentials
The Objective of Seminaries &
Institutes of Religion
Our purpose is to help youth and
young adults deepen their
conversion to Jesus Christ and
His restored gospel, qualify for
the blessings of the temple, and
prepare themselves, their
families, and others for eternal
life with their Father in Heaven.
Live
We live the gospel of Jesus Christ and strive for
the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Our
conduct and relationships are exemplary in the
home, in the classroom, and in the community.
We continually seek to improve our performance,
knowledge, attitude, and character. We listen
carefully to God’s living prophets and follow their
inspired teachings and direction.
Teach
We center each learning experience on Jesus
Christ and His example, attributes, and redeeming
power. We help students learn the restored gospel
of Jesus Christ as found in the scriptures and the
words of the prophets. We help students fulfill
their role in learning for themselves. We strive to
invite the Holy Ghost to fulfill His role in each
learning experience.
Lead
We pattern our leadership after the example of
Jesus Christ. We invite and encourage all youth
and young adults to participate in seminary and
institute. We seek to strengthen those we lead,
effectively administer the work, and build unity
with others. Our efforts assist and support
individuals, families, and priesthood leaders.
Your main point of contact will be your Stake Supervisor. He or she
is there to assist you with just about anything seminary-related. If
your supervisor doesn’t know the answer, he or she will try and find
the answer.
Bridgeland: Natalie Griffiths 801-652-8888
griffiths_natalie@hotmail.com
Cypress: Lisa Williams 281-753-9230
Lisawilliams.cypress@gmail.com
Klein: Jan Meehan 832-928-4384
janlmeehan@gmail.com
Tomball: Rachel Schulmire 832-576-2010
rschulmire@gmail.com
West: Shauna Squire 832-474-8908
shaunasquire@gmail.com
Seminaries and Institutes
Houston West Coordinator
Ric Moon
602-349-0811
MoonRB@ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Administrative Assistant
Diana Reed
281-667-4590
ReedDJ@churchofjesuschrist.org
Teaching in the Savior’s Way
Message from the First Presidency
Beloved brothers and sisters,
What a glorious opportunity you have to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Whether or not you have a specific calling to teach, you are a teacher. As a
disciple of the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, you have opportunities to
share His light wherever you go—in the home, at church, as you minister
to others, and among your friends. To teach the gospel is a sacred trust. It
is an essential part of the Lord’s work, and it works best when we do it in
His way.
We invite you to learn more about Jesus Christ and how He taught the
gospel. Prayerfully study His words, His actions, and His attributes, and
strive to follow Him more closely. Teaching in the Savior’s Way can be your
guide.
The First Presidency
Click (Ctrl + Click) here
to access the manual
(Also available in the Gospel Library app)
Focus on
Jesus
Christ
Love
Those
You
Teach
Teach by
the
Spirit
Teach
the
Doctrine
Invite
Diligent
Learning
Teaching in the Savior’s Way Checklist
Brother Moon will meet with you one-on-one
through Zoom once per semester. Sign up here
for a meeting with Brother Moon
https://calendly.com/moon-richard/seminary-
teacher-helps
There will also be inservices throughout the
year.
As part of your calling, you are expected to
participate in the one-on-one meetings with
Brother Moon and the face-to-face inservices.
One-on-One Meeting
January – Klein and Tomball Stakes
February – Bridgeland, Cypress, and West Stakes
March – Klein and Tomball Stakes
April – Bridgeland, Cypress, and West Stakes
May – Seminary Graduation / No Inservice
June – Summer Inservices plus *New Teacher Orientation*
July – Summer Inservice
August – Tomball and Klein Stakes
September – Bridgeland, Cypress, and West Stakes
October – Tomball and Klein Stakes
November – Bridgeland, Cypress, and West Stakes
December – First Presidency Christmas Devotional
YouTube Training Channel
You are important! The work you will do in the classroom
is invaluable. Because of your responsibility to the youth
of the church, we have created a YouTube training
channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@houstonseminaryinstitute
On this channel you will find:
•Messages from Brother Strader
•Diana’s tutorials
•Important messages from S&I
Click (Ctrl + Click) here to visit our
YouTube channel
Work to build and strengthen relationships with
the students on your rolls, attend their sporting
events or other events that they are involved in,
call them when they miss class, chat with them
when they fall behind in their reading, help
motivate them to do make-up work.
Also get to know those on your rolls that aren’t
attending your class—your potential students.
Contact them regularly about registering for
seminary or simply attending church or mutual.
Taking another seminary student with you to
visit them is a great help. You can also take a
YW or YM leader with you to visit them.
Jesus Christ is our greatest
example. He was surrounded by
multitudes and spoke to
thousands, yet He always had
concern for the one.
…We must be concerned for the
one.”
(Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Concern for the One,” Ensign or
Liahona, May 2008, 18)
Click (Ctrl + Click) here for a video
on “See the One”
1st Semester =
Book of
Mormon(2)
2nd Semester =
Doctrine and
Covenants(1)
You will receive some supplies for your students. These will generally be given out at our in-service training meeting
held before the start of school.
Please return any extra supplies to your Supervisor so they can be used by someone else.
Hardcopies of the Seminary Teacher Manuals are no longer available for purchase. You will need to use the online
versions. The links are below, or you can find them in the Gospel Library app.
Remember to make arrangements for your building keys, classroom tables and chairs, and access to audiovisual
equipment and a copy machine.
Access these
manuals online by
clicking on them
The Pacing Guides are calendars that show you what lessons
should be covered each week.
There may be more lessons on the Pacing Guide than you have
days to teach. Prayerfully decide which lessons will be covered.
Working with the calendars of many school districts can be quite
challenging. Start dates, end dates, and vacation dates can vary
considerably. If you have any questions about your Pacing Guide
please contact your Stake Supervisor.
The Pacing Guide will be provided for you by your Stake
Supervisor
The Worldwide Institute and Seminary Enrollment
system 2 (WISE 2) is a web-based program for S&I.
It is used to set up classes, enroll students, track
attendance, process graduation, and many other
tasks.
You will use it throughout the school year to
mark the attendance of your students and to
mark final grading results at the end of each
semester.
You may access WISE 2 using a browser
(Chrome and Firefox work best) on your
computer or mobile device.
Go to http://WISE2.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
and log in with your church account username
and password.
Click (Ctrl + Click)
here for tutorial
on WISE 2
The requirements for passing or receiving credit for seminary
classes: having at least 75 percent attendance for each term,
reading the selected scripture passages, and participating in a
Collaborative Learning Assessment Experience.
Home Study and Online students have the attendance part of their
grade made up of their attendance in face-to-face meetings and at-
home work.
Make-up work for absences, excessive tardiness, and reading is
encouraged. Your Stake Board of Education will give you guidelines
on acceptable make-up work. Please contact your Stake
Supervisor if you have any questions.
Students must read the selected scripture passages. Students are
also encouraged to set a personal reading goal. Students should
mark their reading on MySeminary.churchofjesuschrist.org.
The Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Policy Manual instructs:
“It is expected that students will attend seminary each day it is held.
Teachers and leaders should teach principles and blessings associated
with attendance in seminary. Teachers are to ensure that a student’s
attendance is properly recorded by taking roll each day. Seminary teachers
are required to keep an accurate attendance roll for each class. The
attendance, academic performance, and conduct of each student should
be tracked on the roll. (This is all achieved through WISE 2).”
While accurate records are used for determining graduation eligibility,
there is also a greater principle at work. Accurate records help teachers,
parents, and Priesthood leaders help students fulfill the purpose of
seminary. While the gospel of Jesus Christ has never been just “about
numbers,” numbers represent people and help us better serve those
people that the numbers represent.
For Example…
It isn’t uncommon for a teacher to get so wrapped up in the daily
activities of teaching that he or she doesn’t realize a student has been
consistently missing class every Monday or has begun arriving late on a
regular basis. Accurate records help us detect trends and trends help us
detect habits. After the “missed class on Monday” trend is discovered, a
teacher could ask the student about the circumstance and discuss a
possible resolution. 21
Attendance
“Tardiness is not to be equated with absences.
Seminary credit may be withheld, however, for
excessive tardiness. Parents should be made
aware of tardiness problems and must be given
ample opportunity to help correct the problem
before credit is withheld. In some cases, the
parents or teacher may wish to ask for the
bishop’s involvement. In each case, sensitivity to
the student’s continued enrollment and success in
seminary should be the foremost concern.”
Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Policy Manual
•Tardy: Please ask your Stake Supervisor about
your Stake Tardy Policy
•Excessive Tardiness: Determined by your
Stake Board of Education
•Absent: Missing class completely, even if in the
building.
Students will read specific scripture passages
each semester.
The required reading for each semester
includes roughly 30 pages from each half of
the book of scripture. These pages
have been carefully selected because of their
doctrinal depth and richness.
The purpose of the scripture reading requirement is to emphasize for
each student the importance of the word of God as they regularly
strive to deepen their conversion to Jesus Christ and His restored
gospel. To help students achieve this purpose in their daily reading,
teachers should encourage and help each student to set a personal
scripture study goal. While setting and achieving a personal study
goal is not tied to earning semester credit, having a scripture study
goal will bring focus and purpose to the students’ scripture reading
experience every day.
Click (Ctrl + Click)
here to
download a copy
of the Seminary
Scripture
Passages
Students are required to participate in a Collaborative Doctrinal
Mastery Learning Assessment Experience
•Teachers lead the Learning Assessment experience in class
using the Learning Assessment Reviews in the appendix of the
Teacher Manual
•A Study Guide for students is available in the appendix of the
Teacher Manual
Students who miss the in-class collaborative Doctrinal Mastery
Learning Assessment experience will need to make it up
•Students may take the Learning Assessment in written form
•Students may participate in a collaborative experience with their
teachers, or with a smaller group of students using the Learning
Assessment
Doctrinal Mastery is an inspired
initiative intended to help seminary
students follow the Lord’s pattern for
discovering truth and finding answers
to their questions. Doctrinal Mastery
helps students “deepen their
understanding of true doctrine, learn
associated scripture references, and
practice using those verses and the
doctrine they teach to apply the gospel
and to learn how to think about and
answer their questions” (Chad H
Webb). Doctrinal Mastery builds upon
and replaces previous initiatives, such
as Scripture Mastery, Basic Doctrines,
and Seek Truth.
Watch a
Doctrinal
Mastery
video here
(Ctrl + Click)
Watch a
Doctrinal
Mastery
overview
video here
(Ctrl + Click)
Download the app!
Journals are a great tool to use in your classroom. The S&I student journals
now include the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document which is essential in
teaching Doctrinal Mastery. You will be provided a journal for each student
in your student supplies each year.
Be sure to let your students know that you will never read their journals and
be sure to lock the journals up whenever others will be using your
classroom. The students need to know that their private writings will stay
private.
Allowing students to formulate their thoughts on a topic or question in their
journals before a discussion may help to give more students the opportunity
to join the discussion instead of just having “the usual” students do all the
talking.
Provide a variety of colored pencils, markers, etc. for those who want to be
creative - or invite them to bring their own.
27
Class Officer* welcomes the class and
conducts until they turn the time over to
the teacher for the day’s lesson
Opening song
Opening prayer
Lesson
Closing prayer
*Class Officers are optional. A seminary teacher may
appoint a class president, one or more vice presidents, and
a secretary. Before making these appointments, the
teacher contacts the bishop for approval. The teacher
considers all worthy students for class officers, including
those who have disabilities. The teacher announces
officers in class, but they are not sustained or set apart.
These officers assist the teacher as needed
S&I Policy Manual
MESSAGING:
WISE is set up so that you may send messages to the parents of your
students. You may message by class or by student. Stake Supervisors
may message by program. The message will be sent by email or text if
the parent’s appropriate information is on the student record in WISE.
Seminary students may also receive messages through WISE if they
have entered their contact information in the S&I app or on the
MySeminary website. Teachers cannot see students’ contact
information, only the parent contact information.
TEXTING:
Teachers are not allowed to text students from their
personal phones unless your stake policy allows. You are
required to include another teacher or parent in any text to a
student. You may use a secure app like GroupMe to set up a
message system, if your stake approves. Please contact your
Stake Supervisor with questions.
Teachers may be reimbursed for up to
$50.00 per school year for supplies
they purchase for their seminary class.
(Some things are NOT eligible for
reimbursement—please contact Sister
Reed for details.)
Your coordinator has also given each
class $1.50 per student per semester
($3.00 per student per year) to
reimburse for food, approved activities,
etc.
PLEASE CONTACT SISTER REED FOR REIMBURSEMENT FORMS AND DETAILS
Click (Ctrl + Click)
here to watch a
video on
submitting a
reimbursement
Data
Privacy
As a seminary teacher, you will have access to student
information that must be treated confidentially. Please
do not share student information with anyone other
than your team-teacher, stake supervisor, or the
student’s priesthood leader.
As a seminary teacher, your information can be
accessed by your coordinator, the administrative
assistant, and the region and area offices. Your personal
information is treated with the same careful regard as
students’ information.
Please read the church’s Personal Data Protection
Policy and contact your coordinator if you have any
questions:
Link to Personal Data Privacy Policy
Safety Training is to be completed by the teacher and class one time eachsemester.
Below is a link for the S&I Emergency Response Guide. Please read through it;there are some useful tips!
The Global Incident Report Quick Start is also below. You may want to become familiar with it in case you have an
emergency during Seminary.
Click (Ctrl + Click) here for Emergency Response Guide
Click (Ctrl + Click) here for Global Incident Report Quick Start
Safety Training
If you have questions, please contact:
•Your Stake Supervisor
•The S&I Coordinator, Brother Moon
•The S&I Administrative Assistant, Diana Reed
