My Seminary Teacher - Laurel

I have to say, I feel very fortunate to have had Mom as my seminary teacher for 3 of my 4 years of seminary. I could not have asked for a better teacher! Mom had a way of making the scriptures come alive! From the little tire spoke she gave us to represent the iron rod to the fishing hook bracelet to remind us to be "fishers of men"...those years were very special for me!
I loved the time Mom had us look through magazines to find a picture of a baby to put in our scriptures to go along with the "...out of the mouth of babes" scripture! My baby was so cute, and I remember thinking that I was going to have a baby that looked just like that baby someday!
I still have the heart Mom had us make to go with the scripture "...and make you a new heart and a new spirit," with my list of things I had to do to make a new heart and a new spirit on the back! I love seeing it in my scriptures when I flip though them!
I will never forget the day we were studying 1 Nephi 19:7, which talks about how some people "...trample under their feet" things of great worth, "... Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet." Mom took a picture of the Savior and placed it on the ground and was about to step all over it when everyone in the room gasped! It was such a strong visual and I will never forget the feelings it stirred in me that day!
I remember around Christmas time one year Mom had us watch "The Mailbox." It made us all cry! I saw it on Netflix the other day and we watched it as a family! I forgot how depressing that movie is!!!
Mom often had us sing "Scripture Power," and we would raise our scriptures proudly throughout the chorus! "Armies of Helaman" was another one of her favorites!
The day we made our own "Title of Liberty" was another one of my favorites!
I won't ever forget one Christmas when Mom had us draw names and do a "gift of the heart" exchange! I drew Kyle Thomas' name, and that in and of itself made it really hard for me! You all know how much I LOVED Kyle! :) I remember being in my room one afternoon, looking around at all my things, trying to think of what I could give away. My eyes stopped on my picture of the angles helping the pioneers push their handcarts through the snow. I LOVED this picture, and my first thought was, "No way! There is NO WAY I'm giving that up!" But I felt the prompting and knew it was the gift I needed to give to Kyle! I know what I felt that day...the sacrifice that it was to give up something I loved and cherished to someone else...was exactly what Mom wanted us to feel!
My all time favorite memory, though, is when Mom had us write our testimony on a chain link and she mailed the chain to Pres. Eyring! I think even Mom was surprised that Pres. Eyring wrote back and told us how much he enjoyed out "testimony chain" and that he sat and read each of our testimonies with his family! What neat ideas Mom had!
As a mom now myself, I don't know how you did it Mom! I can barely get up at 6:50 to make my boys' lunches! Yet, you got up early every morning to share your love of the scriptures with a bunch of tired teenagers! And then you would go home to a house full of toddlers all day! I often recall walking in from school and seeing you asleep on the couch with your scriptures and seminary manual open on your lap! I know it must have taken a toll on you, but I dearly appreciate the sacrifice you made to teach! Like I said before, I could not have asked for a better teacher! I truly believe that! You helped strengthen my testimony of the scriptures so much during those years, Mom! I still have the letter you wrote me one year at Christmas time! I keep it in my journal and often pull it out and read it when I need to be uplifted! You were and are so in tune with the spirit, Mom! You knew just how to make each of your students feel loved and special! Thank you for being my teacher!