Seminary Changes Course of Student’s Life
Contributed By Seminary.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
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Through seminary attendance, a young student was able to assimilate into life in a new country, while learning more about the gospel.
Article Highlights
- Because of faithful seminary attendance, Michaela was able to graduate from seminary and chose to be baptized.
“Our purpose is to help youth and young adults understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families, and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven. —Seminary website
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Michaela Cinkaisova was just 15 years old and didn’t speak any English when her family decided to move from the Czech Republic to Las Vegas, Nevada. Michaela knew that life would be different after the move, but she had no idea how different until she met some new friends—who happened to be Latter-day Saints—at her new school.
One of Michaela’s new friends invited her to attend seminary for the first time during her sophomore year. She didn’t really know what to expect but decided to give it a try. She immediately noticed that on the days she attended seminary, she was a lot happier and things seemed to go better, which was enough to spark Michaela’s interest. Unfortunately, Michaela’s mother was not as excited about the gospel as Michaela was and struggled to accept Michaela’s desire to learn more about the restored gospel.
By Michaela’s junior year, her mother allowed her to enroll in seminary, and she didn’t waste any time in learning everything she could.
“I love going to seminary!” Michaela said. “I hate when I miss because I’m grumpy, and my friends can tell.”
Michaela loved seminary so much that she did extra work to make up for the two years she missed as a freshman and sophomore, allowing her to graduate from seminary and possibly attend Church schools for college.
So what is it about seminary that makes Michaela grumpy when she can’t go? Besides learning new things and feeling the Spirit, Michaela loves the opportunity to invite her non-LDS friends and to answer their questions about the gospel.
“Because of seminary I know how to answer their questions,” she explained, and as the only Church member in her family, she has plenty of opportunities to use her seminary knowledge.
Although living in a different country with new people, new surroundings, and a new language was a difficult transition for Michaela, she knows that she traveled there to find something that was worth all the difficulties—the restored gospel. Thanks largely to her involvement in seminary, she was baptized on July 25, 2012.
Stated on the seminary website is the purpose of the program: “Our purpose is to help youth and young adults understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families, and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven.
Michaela is one of many young people whose life has been changed through attending seminary.
