Imagine a small building. It sits across from Granite High School. This is the story of LDS Seminary. It began in Salt Lake City. The year was 1912. Religious education seemed pushed aside. The Granite Stake presidency saw a need. They wanted to teach young people about scriptures. This led to the first official LDS Seminary.
Seventy students enrolled initially. They were allowed to leave school. They attended LDS Seminary during study hour. Guy C. Wilson was the first full-time teacher. He was an interesting speaker. Discussions were intriguing. Even non-LDS students wanted to attend.
The idea spread quickly. Soon, other small LDS Seminary buildings appeared. They were near public schools. This became released-time LDS Seminary. Students got permission. They attended class during the day. Where the LDS population was smaller, early-morning LDS Seminary started. Some wondered about the early hour. But it proved successful.
In 1950, early-morning LDS Seminary began. It spread rapidly. Home-study LDS Seminary was also added. Now, LDS Seminary classes are worldwide. They are in 144 countries and territories. Nearly 380000 students are enrolled.
Joseph F. Merrill played a key role. He wanted religious education. It should work alongside public education. He got the idea. Build a separate structure near a public school. Students could attend religion classes there. It would be during their regular school day.
Thomas J. Yates was the first LDS Seminary teacher. He was a member of the Granite Stake high council. He had no specific expertise in religion. He had no career as educator. He was working as an engineer. He oversaw the construction of a power plant.
The first LDS Seminary building had three rooms. There was an office. There was a cloak room. There was a classroom. The classroom had a blackboard. It had armrest seats. It had a furnace for heat. There were no lights. The only textbooks were the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The LDS Seminary’s entire library was one Bible dictionary. It belonged to Brother Yates. Students made their own maps. They drew the Holy Land. They drew North America. They drew Mesopotamia. They drew Arabia.
The first class had about 70 students. The building wasn’t finished right away. Thomas Yates taught for only one year. He recommended Guy C. Wilson as his replacement. Wilson was a professional educator.
Mildred Bennion attended that first class. She was 16 years old. Thirty-one years later, she became the mother of Henry B. Eyring. That one LDS Seminary teacher blessed many. He taught just one girl in a crowd of 70.
Granite remained the only LDS Seminary until 1915. Then, the Box Elder LDS Seminary opened. By the end of the decade, there were 20 LDS Seminaries. In January 1916, the Utah State Board of Education approved high school credit. It was for Old and New Testament studies in the LDS Seminaries. LDS Seminaries offered a way. They taught scriptures to the youth. It was less expensive. It could reach more students than the Church academies.