As high school students in the United States return from winter break, many LDS students return to LDS seminary classes. For those outside of the jello belt where full-time, salaried teachers may teach seminary, these early-morning classes are taught by unpaid volunteers (through church “callings”). Guest writer Jenny Smith has shared that many teachers have to self-fund classroom supplies and treats, causing great discrepancies between the “haves” and “have-nots.” Smith is the admin of a large facebook group of seminary teachers and conducted a survey that revealed how much budget woes impact teachers and classroom experience. Smith also wrote about the issue for By Common Consent: “A Seminary Teacher’s Dirty Little Secret.”
Recently, Tamarra Kemsley at the Salt Lake Tribune wrote about the issue and Smith’s survey for the Salt Lake Tribune’s Mormon Land coverage. Check out her article, “LDS Church has billions of dollars. So why are some seminary teachers paying for their own printer paper?“
What do you think about seminary teachers having to pay out of pocket for supplies to teach as volunteers?

4 Responses
Early morning seminary is my absolute favorite calling. And it’s also confusing. You have a church employee who does training and supervises you. But you also answer to the stake presidency. So its hard to know who to go to with questions or for approval. There is a different reimbursement process and a very small budget to draw from. It’s also very specific what you are allowed to be reimbursed for. If you teach at a church, you can use library supplies. But some places get grumpy about sharing their ward supplies with seminary. I wish the church treated early morning seminary mor like they treat release time seminary. (I attended and now sub in release time seminary, so I’ve experienced both)
To complicate it even more, I taught early-morning for six years in Utah at a church by a private school. The school wanted nothing to do with the program, and the students came from several different counties/stakes. So seminary was overseen by a stake president from a different stake building than it was held in, and for students he did not have in his stake (with teachers who did not attend church in the stake the building was at either). The S&I employees wanted us called teachers to attend their frequent employee meetings (for which they got paid) at another high school.. It was such a complex chain of command, that things just got bumped around and then Covid hit to make it worse (virtual school, different rules for the private school and church etc). The carpets would be getting cleaned, or the copier was broken, and we had no one to tell us since we didn’t attend that stake the building was in either, to know anyone to reach at 6 am. It was an amazing calling but super complicated and frustrating at times, and I did spend a lot of personal money and never could get anything reimbursed….
This is a huge problem, I would love to see it addressed. Both my mom and grandma taught early morning seminary out of their homes and spent a lot of personal money and so much time.
I feel like this should and could easily be addressed by providing budgets and making it easy to get reimbursed through CES.
Not to detract, but Just a plug that there is a lot of pressure in other callings – particularly working with children and youth – to pay out of pocket for things. I am really appalled at the way my current ward handles reimbursements. The Bishopric are so controlling and micromanaging that pretty much every woman in our ward has given up trying to get reimbursed. It’s a major issue.
I’m just so tired of fighting. I recently asked to be released from my calling. Reimbursements were only one straw of many… I do think my bishopric and other leaders view people’s time, talents and resources as something that has been covenanted to the church and therefore to them. I disagree and have huge issues with the wording change in the temple. I always felt like I covenants with the Lord, and it was between me and Him..
But the new wording makes it very clear it is for the church and I’m not ok with that.. too many leaders that have no respect for the limitations of volunteers…
I loved teaching early morning seminary for 9 years. The kids were fabulous and we had some great times. I didn’t a fortune in photocopying, making resources abd feeding sleepy teenagers plus travelling miles.. this was 25 years ago and inwas unaware of the church’s wealth. It would be so easy, a sign of gratitude abd respect for the teacher and the kids but mostly just the right thing omdo to give seminary teachers a budget for supplies from pens to food..