A Seminary Bribe Built His Testimony of Jesus Christ (with Dave Lindsay)

It was the first day of sophomore-year seminary, and the kid in the back of the room had no intention of being there past the bell. He had dodged the class his entire freshman year. The only reason he was sitting in the seat that morning was because his mom had asked him to. The teacher, his mom's cousin, looked at his attendance record and made him an offer that sounded like a back-alley deal: skip every class, just promise to read the Book of Mormon, and the passing grade was his. The kid took the bribe to dodge a year of seminary. He didn't expect to find a testimony of Christ.

That kid was Dave Lindsay. Today, he's a filmmaker, president of Avalanche Studios, and a bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has spent more than 25 years telling other people's faith stories on film, including Front Man: The Alex Boyé Story and four seasons of Come Follow Up on BYUtv. But the testimony that anchors his work began with that seminary bribe. By the time he got to Alma, he was rushing home from school to read more.

In this episode of the Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sits with Dave to trace the page-by-page foundation of his witness of Christ. Their conversation covers the South Dakota mission that humbled a cocky young elder, a quiet 1992 decision about a movie that shaped his marriage, the family-event conversation that launched his filmmaking career, and what producing four seasons of scripture commentary on BYUtv taught him about the gospel as a spiritual map.

How a Sophomore Seminary Deal Built His Faith

Dave was raised in the Church but didn't grow up loving scripture study. He was the fourth of six kids, and by the time he reached high school, his parents had given up enforcing seminary. He had heard seminary was optional and locked it in his head. Ninth grade came and went without him sitting in a single class.

Sophomore year was different only because his mom's cousin took the teaching role that fall. Family pressure brought Dave to the first day. The teacher offered him a way out: skip every class, just promise to read the Book of Mormon, and the passing grade was his. Dave signed on immediately.

Something he didn't expect happened next. He hated reading. He had never finished a book like the Book of Mormon. But as he started reading, the stories pulled him in. By the time he reached the book of Alma, he was rushing home from school to find out what happened next. He was not satisfying a teacher anymore. He was feeling the Spirit. The bribe was over the moment the book caught him.

What the South Dakota Mission Field Taught Him

Dave was 16 when he graduated high school and 16 when he started at the University of Utah. When his mission call came to Rapid City, South Dakota, he had two years of college and an attitude to match. He figured he would be one of the best missionaries the field had seen. He had dated. He had been around the block. He felt seasoned.

The Lord did not agree. Dave watched companions who had never sat in a college class or finished the Book of Mormon outwork him spiritually, day after day. He saw conversions happen that he had not earned through preparation or talent. Missionary work, he learned the hard way, has very little to do with the missionary's resume and everything to do with willingness to be useful.

Halfway through his service, Dave figured out what the Lord had been teaching him. Humility is not a strategy for a mission. It is the only way to walk with God through anything. It is a lesson he kept long after he came home, through building a business, raising a family, and answering every difficult calling since.

The 1992 Decision That Shaped a Marriage

Dave got married in the temple in 1992. A few weeks into newlywed life, he and his wife planned a date night and decided to see a movie everyone was talking about. They were halfway out the door when they checked the rating. It was R. The prophet at the time had been clear about R-rated movies. Dave and his wife stood there with a decision they had not planned to make in a hurry.

The conversation did not take long. Were they going to see this movie and the next one and the one after, treating prophetic counsel as a guideline they could ignore? Or were they going to set the pattern of their marriage on what the Lord asked of them? They turned around. They did not see the movie.

Dave does not remember what film it was. He remembers what they decided. He calls it a quiet, almost invisible moment, and he sees it now as the foundation of their marriage. The blessings that have followed, including the children, the years of faithful service, and the steadiness of their home, trace back at least in part to one small decision to listen.

The Tender Mercies Behind Avalanche Studios

When Dave graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism, he had produced exactly one video. He met his wife's uncle at a family event shortly after. The uncle asked what he was doing. Dave mentioned the one video. The uncle hired him on the spot to make another for his business. Avalanche Studios was born of that conversation.

The Lord's hand was on what came next. Dave's second client was the owner of a small accounting school who hired him to film a 30-day bookkeeping class. Dave filled out the workbook between camera setups. By the end of the month, he had a free education in how to run a small business, exactly what a new filmmaker needed. That client became a lifelong mentor.

Over the next 25 years, Dave's company has produced documentaries, commercials, and faith content seen by millions. He filmed Front Man: The Alex Boyé Story. He produced four seasons of Come Follow Up. He directed Dog Valley. Through every project, he says, the Lord placed the right people in his path at the right moment. Tender mercies, he calls them.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ as a Spiritual Map

Ask Dave what Jesus Christ has done for him and he will start with the Atonement and then reach for a map. Dave loves maps. He loves knowing where he is, where he is going, and how to get there. He says the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important map of his life.

The map shows a premortal existence, an earthly probation, and a return to the presence of Heavenly Father. When Dave faces a question or a trial, he holds it up against the map and asks where he is on the journey and what he needs to do next. The map gives him direction, focus, and the assurance that he is not wandering aimlessly. He has an end goal. And Jesus Christ, he says, is the compass and the guide, the One who made it possible to get there.

That map has held under pressure. Through every season of Dave's life, the conviction remains the same: a testimony of Christ is earned page by page. It cannot be inherited from parents or borrowed from a spouse. Each disciple has to read the book, do the work, keep the covenants, and let the Lord build the foundation one stone at a time. That is what the seminary deal taught him as a sophomore. That is what every chapter of his life has confirmed since.

Key Takeaways

1. Inherited testimony cannot stand alone. Every disciple of Christ earns his own witness, page by page.

2. A personal witness of the Book of Mormon is foundation enough to hold a lifetime of faith.

3. Conversion is the Lord's work, not the missionary's. Pride cannot do what humility makes possible.

4. Small decisions to follow the prophet build a zone of peace around a marriage and family.

5. The Lord places mentors and tender mercies along the path for those watching for His hand.

Thank you for reading this week's blog post inspired by the Why We Believe show. If you are interested in more stories like this, you can check out our other blog posts and episodes at Why We Believe.com.

Visit WhyWeBelieve.com to download Your FREE guide on 13 Strategies to Increase Faith in Jesus Christ, to support you as you strengthen your own testimony of Jesus Christ.

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