Students who want a seat at the BYU 1st Stake institute should plan to get to class early, or settle for a video broadcast of the class upstairs.

The institute class draws a crowd every week as its teacher, Jared Halverson, gets on his hands and knees to teach the gospel.

"One time he was telling us how a prophet would get on his knees to play with any child he saw," said Kambria Erickson, a UVSC student from Danville, Calif. "He didn't just tell us; he got on his knees and pretended to be playing with a child. It happened in a split second, and then he was back on his feet and just kept teaching."

Each week 400 young adults flock to the Manavu Chapel on 600 north in Provo. Since the beginning of May, 700 people have signed the roll at least once.

"Other teachers are good, but Brother Halverson packs them in here every summer," said David Clements, an institute supervisor. Halverson teaches seminary in American Fork during the school year, but teaches institute each summer.

On some nights the chapel starts to fill up at 7 p.m. for Halverson's class, which starts at 7:30 p.m.

"There are so many of us in there," said Tim Larsen, a sophomore majoring in psychology from Elkhorn, Neb. "When the roll gets to me, I have to flip through like 15 pages before I can find my name."

One night, when the kinks were still being worked out of the system, Halverson taught the lesson while holding two microphones in one hand. One microphone gave sound to the chapel he taught from, and the other carried sound to students in overflow seating upstairs.

The students come from all over, giving up other activities to make time for Halverson's class.

Erickson, who regularly attends Halverson's institute class, used to gather groups of friends on Tuesday nights to take advantage of 50 cent night at Movies 8.

"After going to Institute, I gave up 50 cent night forever, and when my 21st birthday fell on a Tuesday, I took my loved ones with me to institute to celebrate," Erickson said.

Not all the students who attend Halverson's class are in the BYU 1st stake. Many students hear about Brother Halverson and then come to try the class out.

"They find what they are looking for and they come back," said Rebekah Olsen, the class president.

This year, the course curriculum is Teachings of the Living Prophets, but that is not all the students learn from Halverson.

"After class I just want to share the gospel," said Lynn Welty, a senior from Paso Robles, Calif., majoring in speech language pathology. "I just want to just run down the street screaming that the gospel is true."

Erickson said Halverson has taught her to read the scriptures with constancy and intensity.

"You can't just read intensely once a month," she said. "It's got to be every day."

Halverson was steered toward a career with the Church Educational System while serving a mission in Puerto Rico. During his mission, he decided he would teach the gospel for the rest of his life.

"So many missionaries come home with a desire to teach the gospel," Halverson said. "If they could combine that with an incredible love for the students, then CES would be great for them. The students come before the scriptures."

Welty said she has seen the love Halverson has for his students.

"During the opening hymn, I could see his bright eyes just scanning the audience," Welty said. "I just knew he was thinking about who we are and what we needed to hear that night."

Halverson said he isn't what draws the Tuesday night crowd.

When he showed up for his first day of teaching institute, he expected to find a relief society room with half a dozen students. Instead, he found a chapel filled with young people who had flocked to hear the gospel.

"It makes the teacher's job so easy when the students are sponges," Halverson said. "Sometimes the students make you feel limited in what you can teach and sometimes you feel empowered. And this class gives you wings."

His students say Halverson's energy never stops flowing when he teaches.

"The first time I got there, the teacher was repeating this nonsense sentence real fast over and over again, making us repeat it over and over again," Larsen said. "At first I thought he was crazy, but then I realized he had just taught me a mnemonic device to learn the order of the apostles."

After teaching his mnemonic device, Halverson gave 15 students each a framed picture of an apostle. The students ran around on the stand until they got themselves in order from President Hinckley to Elder Eyring in less than a minute.

"People our age appreciate humor," Welty said. "He's not doing a comedy act, but he is just a good speaker. The whole time you're just on the edge of your seat.

"But when it comes down to why everyone really shows up, it is because he is a man of God, and he has the ability to bring the spirit into our lives and into that room."

Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Aug 2002