By Brenya Smith
Teaching seminary and institute full time comes with its challenges, but some teachers say the rewards outweigh the trials.
Larry Miner, a seminary teacher from Boise, Idaho, worked for Hewlett Packard before switching over to teach seminary eight years ago. “I do enjoy it. I will say this, I have never done anything harder at Hewlett Packer than I am doing now,” Miner said.
“It”s not a cake walk. Everyday you have to come in with a good lesson – it”s almost like you are on stage for a little bit,” he said. After eight years, Miner said he loves his job. He especially enjoys the wholesome atmosphere that comes with working for the Church Educational System.
“Just focusing on the gospel certainly is a great thing. I”m not around bad language or dirty jokes and things like that. It”s much nicer to hang around people with the same values,” he said.
Arthur Crane, a retired seminary teacher from Tremonton, Box Elder County, said he agreed. “You never work with anything but good people,” he said.
Crane taught seminary and institute for almost 23 years as well as serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints setting up institutes around the world.
“(CES) are the greatest employers around. There is a lot of security in your retirement with them,” Crane said. Crane and Miner said they agreed that CES takes care of its teachers. It is supportive of the teachers” family”s needs before the job, they said.
Of course the greatest rewards are when the students” lives are touched and changed for the better.
During Minor”s first year of teaching, he had an experience while cleaning out his students” notebooks that he would not forget.
“I didn”t know whose it was, but a page in there said, ”Today Brother Miner has influenced my testimony more than anyone in my life. It made me feel like, gosh, I am making a difference,” Miner said.
Adam Anderson, 22, a junior from Boise, Idaho, majoring in mechanical engineering is one of Miner”s former students.
“I look back on seminary now and realize how good of teachers they were. I just realized how good of a job they did,” Anderson said.
“It”s not as easy as it looks to get someone to feel the spirit,” Anderson said.
He said seminary teachers were always an example for him. He remembers their smiles and their desire to help students understand the gospel.
