I Broke Free Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 My twin brother called me a couple of days ago just to catch up and say hello. I feel very fortunate to still have him in my life. We grew up side by side for eighteen years and even though our lives went in polar opposite directions (he became a Mormon and I came out as gay) we have always stayed on friendly terms and take an interest in each other’s lives. I adore his wife and kids and they have always been kind and friendly to both me and my partner. I was actually a Mormon during the last two years of high school but I left when I accepted myself as gay, so I know quite a bit about Mormonism and what kind of demands they put on their members. My brother joined the Mormon faith at the age of 20 while he was in the Air Force. During our conversation he told me that he was made the seminary teacher for the several wards (church districts) that make up his area. I was shocked! Mormon seminary classes are held every school day from six to seven in the morning and are comprised of high school kids from the church. In addition to getting up every school day at 5:00am to teach the class (in his home), he has lesson plans to make. After the class in over my sister-in-law drives the six kids to the three different schools they attend! What I want to know is this; Is he getting paid for this? I don’t remember from my own days in seminary (if I could I would have those memories surgically removed) if the instructor was getting paid. I don’t know why this bothers me so much. It’s his life, but I just want to shake some sense into him! My brother and his wife already pay ten-percent of their gross income to these people and to think they are taking on a part-time job for no pay just really seems ludicrous! IBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ nivek ♦ Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 No pay for services rendered IBF. Part of servicing your "calling" within the Churches hierarchy. You get called, picked, on to take this job, you simply do it. No shit. kL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Far as I know, Kevin's right. I believe some seminary instructors who choose/manage to make a career of it do get paid, but in the case of your brother's being called to the position, I'd be surprised to learn it's not understood by himself and the Higher Ups to be pro bono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Broke Free Posted December 4, 2007 Author Share Posted December 4, 2007 Thank you both for your input on my question. I am still just dumbfounded that anyone would take on such a burden without being compensated for it. I suppose in my brother’s eyes this is just one more rung on his way to the Celestial Kingdom. Part of our telephone conversation dealt with the subject matter of his class. For those of you not familiar with Mormon Seminary Classes, they cycle annually through four subjects so that no matter when your start, four years later you will have covered the 1)Old Testament 2) New Testament 3) The Book of Mormon and finally 4) Church History. This year my brother is teaching the Old Testament and I found it a bit amusing that he was so unfamiliar with it. He commented that no matter what he read he had hard time grasping why God would do what He did? Perhaps teaching this class will open his eyes and brain enough for me to have a decent conversation about Christianity in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstarter Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Perhaps teaching this class will open his eyes and brain enough for me to have a decent conversation about Christianity in general. We see it over and over in people's deconversion testimonies that when they got a chance, or were placed in a position to really study the bible, they saw what a crock it was. Here's hoping your brother is able to see the light. Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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