“Tell My Teacher,” New Era, Apr. 2003, 34
Tell My Teacher
As Dennis lay dying, he had a message he just had to tell his seminary teacher.
A few days before my sophomore year of seminary began, Dwayne Wooley, one of my classmates, invited Dennis Murphy to attend seminary.
Dwayne’s invitation would change Dennis’s life. Dennis never came to church, and neither did his parents. But on the first day of seminary, Dennis was there. He told Dwayne he would try it but wasn’t interested in going all year. After that day, Dennis’s attitude changed, and he came again and again.
The Book of Mormon lessons in seminary required reading either in class or at home. At the beginning of the year, we were also challenged to gain a personal testimony of the gospel by taking the time not only to read the Book of Mormon but also earnestly pray about it.
Dennis was one of those who read regularly. I would often find Dennis after class talking to my mother, who was our teacher, about something he had read. He had never read the Book of Mormon before.
Seminary opened up a different life for Dennis, one that included new friends. It was not long after Dennis began attending seminary that he began coming to church. His mother started attending also. Several of us friendshipped Dennis. He was fun to be around, and we enjoyed including him. Our friendship seemed to mean a lot to him.
The school year quickly drew to a close. Dennis completed the year of seminary with perfect attendance. He also finished reading the entire Book of Mormon.
Dennis graduated from high school and soon after went on a trip with his friends to Washington. On the way home, the weather turned hot, and the river near the highway looked inviting. They stopped to go swimming. Dennis made the mistake of diving into the river. He dove into a rock and broke his neck. His friends pulled him from the water and rushed him to a hospital, but Dennis’s injuries were so severe that not much could be done. Dennis’s mother arrived at the hospital before Dennis died. In their last conversation Dennis said, “Tell my seminary teacher that I know the Book of Mormon is true.”
A year after his death, my mother and father drove Dennis’s mother to the Oakland California Temple, where, through proxy, Dennis received his temple endowments.
I had been among those Dennis looked to as an example. Yet as the year progressed, I began to see Dennis as the example. I observed his commitment to learn and the effect seminary had on his life. But, most importantly, I knew about Dennis’s final testimony. I will never forget him and how watching him gain a testimony helped me as I was searching for a testimony of my own.
Illustrated by Michael T. Malm