Donny Osmond is a good looking fella

Tonight I went to the last night of institute for the school year here in Charon, even though I’ve been at BYU all year and haven’t gone to any of the other meetings.  We watched Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, had some lovely refreshments provided by Sister Walgren and various students, and then had a little testimony/discussion time at the end where everyone shared their thoughts on the past year of institute.  It was soooo touching, the Spirit was so strong!  People went around sharing how they had learned and grown and been helped this past year and it was all so inspiring, even coming from the mouths of strangers.  I just had to sit quietly and firmly tell myself “Gina, you are NOT going to cry at an institute meeting about a year you weren’t even here for, especially in front of a group of people you just met a week ago.”  The internal chastising only sort of worked though.  What got me the most was when Sister Walgren talked about how much she has learned from her students.  This was her first year as the institute instructor; the past three years she had been teaching seminary.

I don’t think there is a girl on this planet that misses early-morning seminary more than I do.  I remember those mornings, from 6 to 7am every school day, sitting at the cluttered seminary table across from Sister Walgren; Some days there were three students, sometimes two, and sometimes I was the only one, but I loved every minute of it.  Those meetings filled my pockets up with sunshine that kept me going throughout the day.

Tonight just reminded me of those days, and how personal the Gospel is.  The big lecture halls full of eager students, the devotionals broadcast to thousands of people, and the giant wards with 4 Sunday school classes are great, but they aren’t everything. We have to study and put in some effort ourselves.  We have to gain our own personal testimony of what the truth is, and counsel with the Lord for help in our individual situations.  We learn the most when we are learning for ourselves.

Or maybe that’s just me...