At either the beginning or end of every school day, high school students flock to the Latter-Day Saint (LDS) Monument building, neighboring Monument Academy. To many, it may seem that they are missing class, but in reality, they are attending an off-campus class called Seminary.

Seminary is an optional religious course for Latter-Day Saint high schoolers, who are commonly known as LDS or Mormons. Students can choose to meet at 1st, 4th, 5th or 8th periods, and discuss topics from the Bible and other religious texts.

However, since most Seminary students meet during school hours, they must choose to give up a class credit, resulting in possibly being behind their senior year, or needing to take an extra class online.  According to the students, it is worth it in the end.

Brigham Young University (BYU), is the plan for many students after high school. BYU is a college campus in Utah created specifically for Mormon students. As part of the acceptance process, BYU reviews seminary attendance, along with the standard GPA, ACT score and other components.

“Seminary is required to get into BYU,” Brooke Taylor, 11, said. “It is also a good place to go for spiritual enlightening.”

Students also attend seminary for religious improvement, and for a better understanding of their faith. When a class of 30 students were asked if they would rather be taking an extra class at school, most answered “yes.”

“Release-time seminary is fantastic. I love coming every other day to learn more about my faith,” Kate Clawson, 10, said.

There are other options for Seminary, if a student does not want to give up a class credit. One of them is the early-morning option, which meets at 6:00 a.m. every morning. This is one of the less popular options, as it is extremely difficult to do. Some wake up as early as 4:45 every day.

One of the other options is the online option. The student does a 45 minute independent study each day, then they meet as a group once a week. This is also one of the less popular options, since you are giving up time and group learning and interaction.
The choice to go to Seminary is one that is very difficult for LDS high schoolers to make. The student would have to give something up any way they take it, whether it be sleep, time and group interaction, or a school credit.  However, when the BYU letter arrives in the mail, all the sacrifices will make for a worthy experience.