Seminary Lesson
1. On Monday, we talked about the influence that people can have on our lives, and then I gave each one a Thank You card with the instructions that they were to write a thank you letter to someone who had made a positive impact on their lives. They were instructed to deliver the letter, too. I also wrote on the board a favorite quote of mine, by anonymous, that says, "Gratitude unexpressed is like a gift unopened."
2. For Tuesday's lesson, each student was to bring their favorite scripture and be prepared to share it with the class, telling why they liked it best. When I came in, purposely a couple of minutes after everyone else, I was carrying a big grocery bag. I started talking about how I was really looking forward to the Thanksgiving Feast. As I talked, I pulled out of the bag items for the "feast," saying how much I loved each one: Some potatoes in the mesh bag they come in from the store [Oh, I just love mashed potatoes], a bag of cranberries and an orange [Cranberry relish is so great!], a box of hot roll mix [the whole house smells wonderful when the rolls are baking], a packet of turkey gravy mix [you HAVE to have gravy for the mashed potatoes], a can of yams [my mom always baked them with marshmallows on top], canned pumpkin [it just isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie], and anything else I could think of to represent part of the feast.
When I had all of the items on the table, I said, "All this food is making me hungry! We have everything we need, so why don't we just go ahead! Let's not wait for Thursday, let's eat right now!" Of course by now the expressions on their faces said plainly that they thought I had gone off the deep end, and my one never-afraid-to-speak-up student said right out, "You can't eat it, it isn't prepared!" Then the point of the lesson: Just as you can't feast on this Thanksgiving 'dinner,' YOU CAN'T FEAST ON THE SCRIPTURES UNTIL YOU PREPARE. Real quickly we listed how you prepare to feast on the word: If music is playing, it needs to be appropriate-- not Rock and Roll; prayer invites the Holy Ghost; we need to be alert and thinking, not half asleep; and so on.
I turned on my CD player with hymns (music only) playing softly so there wouldn't be any silences, and shared my favorite scripture with them. Then I told them that when they felt ready, they could stand and share their favorite scripture. Unlike Testimony meeting, there were no long silences. All 17 of them shared and it was so wonderful. The Spirit was very strong, and it was truly a "Feast Upon the Word."
Margret Harris
Kirtland Ohio Ward Early Morning Seminary Teacher
(used by permission)