“What Do the New Seminary Changes Mean for Me?” New Era, July 2019, 6–7.
What Do the New Seminary Changes Mean for Me?
Seminary is going to be a bit different next year!
Illustration from Getty Images
Starting in January 2020, the seminary curriculum will change to align with the Come, Follow Me curriculum. It’s an exciting change for you and your family.
In a video announcing the changes, Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women General President, read a letter from a mother explaining her 14-year-old daughter’s busy schedule and confusion over what she should be studying.
“I don’t know what to do,” the young woman told her mom. “You asked us to read from the New Testament. I have to read the Doctrine and Covenants for seminary and I’m trying to finish the Book of Mormon to get my Young Women Medallion. I don’t know what to do and what not to do.”
As a youth, you can probably relate. Simplification is one obvious blessing that will come from aligning the Come, Follow Me and seminary curriculum. You will be studying the same book of scripture at seminary, at church, and at home with your family. That should help you answer the question “what should I study?” It will also give you a chance to dive deeper into the doctrine and learn even more about applying the principles to your life.
Here a few common questions youth have, along with some brief answers.
1. What will we be studying this year in seminary?
Seminary will shift from a school-year calendar to an annual calendar to align with the Come, Follow Me curriculum. When the 2019–2020 school year starts, seminary classes will study the first four gospels of the New Testament. But starting in January 2020, they will switch over to studying the Book of Mormon.
2. Besides timing, how else will seminary change?
Seminary studies will continue to be based in the scriptures, but the new curriculum will be more doctrinally based. Doctrinal Mastery will be more fully integrated into the seminary curriculum in a way it hasn’t before. And instead of focusing on covering material, the main objective will be to give students the opportunity to really dive deep and understand the doctrines and the gospel.
3. How can these changes help me strengthen my family?
Now that the seminary and the Come, Follow Me curriculum are aligned, the door for you to share your seminary experiences has opened even wider. You can now take what you are learning in seminary and share it with your family in your home studies. You could teach your family about doctrinal mastery. Or talk to them about seminary homework or preparation assignments.
It’s definitely an exciting time to be a seminary student!