Centered on the Savior

by Holly Bosil

It can be hard to keep focused on Jesus, but seminary is a great help.

I’ve learned the most about the Savior by attending seminary.

Our seminary class is made up of seven students—one freshman, four sophomores, one junior, and one senior. We attend four different high schools in the Los Angeles, California, area. None of us come from well-to-do families.

The junior, who attends year-round school, continues to come every day, even when he is on his six-week vacation. He rises every morning at 4:00 A.M., so he can ride his bike approximately four miles to seminary. His school is an additional seven miles away.

My seminary teacher is a struggling student at UCLA with a wife and two young children to support. He doesn’t have a car, so he walks everywhere. Though he is poor in material things, he is a spiritual millionaire. He brings a beautiful spirit into our classroom and is teaching me about our Savior.

Of the Savior’s teachings given in the New Testament, the ones that have influenced me most are his quiet example to others and the way he encouraged people to be the best they could be. He was never negative. I want to become like him. Right now, it’s really a challenge for me as a teenager, especially at school.

The Savior’s example has taught me that if I center my life on men and their philosophies, I may not be able to endure. But if I center my life on Jesus and his teachings, when the rains of discouragement, ridicule, hard times, unpopularity, and rejection enter my life, I will have the strength to deal with them.

Engraving by Gustave Doré