Victor Woodruff of the Saint John New Brunswick Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints finds balance between faith and football. In the fall of 2024, he was named the 2024 New Brunswick High School Football League Defensive Lineman of the Year and a New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association All-star. Woodruff’s success on the field is matched by his commitment to his faith.
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Early Morning Seminary
“As my coach says, you have to excel in school, not just on the field,” said Woodruff. “Part of that is scheduling my time right to do everything I need to.” For Woodruff, part of school is early morning seminary, so he is up at 5 a.m. to get ready for his day.
Seminary is a worldwide, four-year religious educational program for youth ages 14 through 18. Although the Church operates it, seminary is open to teenagers of all faiths. The curriculum concentrates on a different volume of scripture each year, rotating among the following four courses: (1) Old Testament, (2) New Testament, (3) Book of Mormon and (4) Doctrine and Covenants and Church History. By the time a student graduates from seminary, he or she will have completed the study of all the standard works of scripture.
“Seminary helps me to reset my mind before I start each day,” said Woodruff. “I can get worked up or be really serious about football the night before, and seminary helps me to reset, remind me what's most important and be a motivation for the day. It’s a huge testimony builder and has helped me to grow my faith.”
To accommodate students throughout the world, seminary programs are offered in a variety of class formats. Daily classes of approximately one hour are organized where students can meet each weekday morning, afternoon or evening. Classes are generally held in a local Church meetinghouse or a home. Students are often taught by volunteer teachers from the local Church congregation.
After seminary, Woodruff rushes to catch his bus to school. His high school football season starts in mid-August, before his school starts in early September, and lasts until early November. Over those months, he has practice every day except Saturdays and Sundays and plays games on Friday nights. Since he plays on both offence and defence, he has football meetings almost every day at lunchtime for film study and other off-field game preparation. “When it’s football season, it takes up to 90 per cent of my time,” Woodruff said. “When I get home late, I go right to bed so I can get up and do it again.”
Defending Faith
Woodruff’s friends all know about his faith because he tells them about it. “I’m very up-front about it. Everyone knows it and can see it in how I act,” he said. “[My friends] help me follow my faith when I’m with them because of the standard they hold me to.”
Wilford Woodruff, former president of the Church, is Victor’s great-great-great-great-grandfather. “I don't do a ton of family history,” he said, “but I do love to go over all of President Woodruff’s teachings. I find them very interesting.”
Woodruff is also a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood, so he arrives at church early on Sundays to prepare the sacrament and seek out people to help him administer it each week. “It’s good to do my responsibility and feel like I’m serving my ward,” he said.
Invitation to Attend Seminary
In November 2023, Church President Russell M. Nelson offered a personal invitation to youth to regularly attend and participate in seminary. President Nelson promised this invitation would help them solve problems in their lives, make decisions and find answers to their questions. It will also help them feel a sense of belonging, increase their faith in Jesus Christ and find guidance and direction from the Holy Ghost.