Paintsville Branch Seminary - (606) 422-8912

Paintsville Branch Seminary

Religious education programs designed for secondary students are called “seminaries." These are programs of religious education for youths ages 14–18 that accompany the students' secular education. In areas with large concentrations of Latter-day Saints such as Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming in the United States, and in some places in Alberta, Canada, instruction is offered on a released time basis during the normal school day in meetinghouses, or facilities built specifically for seminary programs, adjacent to public schools. Released-time seminary classes are generally taught by full-time employees. In areas with smaller LDS populations early-morning or home-study seminary programs are offered. Early-morning seminary classes are held daily before the normal school day in private homes or in meetinghouses and are taught by volunteer teachers. Home-study seminary classes are offered where geographic dispersion of students is so great that it is not feasible to meet on a daily basis. Home study seminary students study daily, but meet only once a week as a class. Home study classes are usually held in connection with weekly youth fellowship activities on a weekday evening.

The seminary education system of the LDS Church provides extensive study of theology using as texts the "standard works" of the church (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants) throughout the school week, in addition to normal Sunday classes. The 4 courses are taught, 1 per year, on a rotating basis (the 2009-2010 curriculum follows the Book of Mormon). Seminary students are encouraged to study each scriptural text on their own time and to memorize a total of 100 scriptural passages or "scripture mastery" verses during their participation of the four-year program.

Unlike its use in other religious contexts, the word seminary, in a Latter-day Saint context, does not refer to a higher education program designed to train students that they may obtain a Church-based career.[2] LDS Seminary students do not get high school credit for their seminary studies.

Recently the LDS Church has undergone a pilot online seminary program to supplement or supplant the home-study program. This online pilot program has seen substantial success in helping to meet the needs of home-study students separated by distances that make meeting daily impractical. Through the Church’s online learning system Seminary teachers are able to incorporate student participation that includes sharing their own thoughts and ideas, as well as feelings and experiences they have had with the church. This helps provide a greater sense of community and connection as well as a chance to learn the Gospel in a similar way that students do in areas with a larger concentrations of LDS youth

Tags: Religious Organization