How
Scouting is Inspired and Specifically Designed to Lead Young Men to the Temple
and Beyond
Forward
Why this discussion?
It has been my privilege in life to have spent the majority
of it working with the youth of the Church.
To my great joy, this experience has been a direct fulfillment of the
Lord’s promised blessing I received from Him in my own youth. I have such excellent young friends.
I have been in many positions throughout the Church Youth
and BSA organizations, but none so special as that of Scoutmaster. Because of that, I have spent many years
trying to make Scouting work for me and my boys. Because I truly love my boys, and because
they really are my very excellent friends, I finally came to the realization,
although begrudgingly at first, that the best and only thing I could do for
them is to be the best trained leader I possibly could. Because of the things I have witnessed in
their lives and in my own life, I knew my training could no longer be just
another Saturday classroom experience.
I had been to years of Scout training and thought I knew it
all. I was lucky enough to make a new
friend in a new Ward and he became my Scouting Mentor. He talked me into going to Wood Badge and I
went, quietly kicking and screaming. And
then it happened. In an effort to
survive the week, I opened up to the experience and it literally changed my
life. It was the catalyst for me for all
this you are about to read.
I learned many practical leadership and team-building skills
at Wood Badge. The one, maybe intended
or not so intended, lesson I learned was that to be successful, to meet the
needs of these tremendous young men, I needed the Lord’s help. I needed His instruction. I was motivated and determined. I committed,
like a new convert, to pay the price to know His will. Because of this, I have come to know for
myself the truth of Scouting and its role in Heavenly Father’s Plan.
Now, I know many of you have done the same in your own
callings. I am not suggesting that my
experience is different than yours. I am
simply saying that I spent hard time on my knees to know the Lord’s will for me
in my Scouting Position. I hope and
believe you do the same in your callings.
Because I was willing and paid the price to know, He opened my mind to
understand the spiritual aspects of Scouting as part of His plan. And it is AWESOME!
When I understood the relationship between Scouting and the
Aaronic Priesthood, I realized the seriousness of the situation. I felt like I could no longer not act without
being held accountable. As a Stake
leader with the assignment over the Aaronic Priesthood, I realized that in
order to fulfill my own duty to God and magnify my priesthood responsibilities,
I needed to write this for those I had stewardship over and for anyone else
this might help. PLEASE understand this:
I am not presenting this as any kind of authority. Like a missionary, I am simply pointing and
asking you to find out for yourself. I
am merely a guy who believes he gets it, sharing with you what I see. So please, read this kindly and with an open
heart and mind, and ask the Lord for yourself.
Introduction
Through the now 100 years that the Church has embraced
Scouting, we have provided young men with the complete range of Scouting
experiences from excellent to poor. Of
any Chartered Organization providing this program to the youth of America, ours
should be the best. Our Scouting
programs should be the example other units follow. And yet, across the country, our reputation
is the opposite. Why?
Over the years I have worked with Stake and Ward Young Men’s
Presidencies and Scout Leaders at every level, both in and out of the Church. I have seen great leaders and those who are
still struggling in their Scouting roles, but worse, I have also seen those who
reject Scouting completely because they do not see its value. And today, with the challenges in the world
that the BSA face, I have seen long time Scouters doubt and I have others that
focus on the program and pay no attention to the media and the noise. Why does the Priesthood body have such a
differing attitude toward Scouting?
I believe the issue is vision. We talk of Scouting, we promote Scouting, we
raise funds for Scouting, participate in Scouting, and we urge our boys to
become Eagle Scouts. But as a priesthood
body, we do not share in a unifying vision of Scouting.
I believe if we understood scouting like the Prophet did,
like the Lord does, our vision would change and we would not only understand
why we are involved in the Scouting Program, we would dedicate our lives to
Scouting.
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate what I believe
is the Lord’s purpose for the Scouting program in the Aaronic Priesthood and to
show how it is specifically designed to lead young men to the temple and
beyond.
In doing so, my hope is that you will only be inspired to
find out for yourself the truth of Scouting and how it can help you and your
boys be better Latter-Days Saints.
Please let me provide you with this moment of
perspective.
This is what I wish every Latter-Day Saint understood about
Scouting:
The Plan
“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Moses 1:39
We cannot understand the Lord’s purpose for Scouting if we do not have
a working understanding of the Plan of Salvation. We need to briefly review that Plan from an
eternal perspective in order to see Heavenly Father’s logic played out at the
causal links that circumscribe all truth into one great whole.
The Plan of Salvation; the Plan of Happiness; the Plan of
Redemption. No matter what we call Heavenly
Father’s Plan, it is a plan of, and for, change. It is a celestial plan to maintain freedom of
choice and allow Heavenly Father’s spirit children the ability to progress to
becoming like Heavenly Father through righteous choices.
God has a plan for all His children to be successful in this
life. He would define success as being
qualified to return and live with Him after this earth life is over. This plan for success was laid out to all of
us in a pre-mortal grand counsel and we completely supported Heavenly Father
and His Plan. It is centered in the need
for a Savior and His atoning sacrifice; someone willing to take upon themselves
the debt and pain and suffering of all of mankind and then freely offer himself
as an atoning sacrifice.
9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably
perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost,
and must perish
except it be through the atonement which it is expedient
should be made.
10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last
sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of
any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it
must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.
One person was most qualified. He had led his life in such a perfect way
that he had become most like Heavenly Father.
And when the great Jehovah stepped forward and offered Himself, we all
shouted for joy.
Heavenly Father’s Plan requires of us to come into this
life, live by faith, seeking truth in all things, until we find God, and
understand His plan. Once we understand
His Plan, we are further required to enter into a series of Covenants with the
Lord. These start with baptism and
culminate in the full blessings of the Temple.
Then, as the scriptures say, there is nothing left but to endure.
It is a simple plan.
It is glorious plan. For us to
understand how Scouting plays a role in the plan, we need to look at some of
the details.
Grace
“….for we
labor diligently to write, to persuade our children,
and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for
we know that it is by grace that we are
saved, after all we can do.”
2 Nephi 25:23
Grace is important to the discussion because it plays a
specific role in the Plan. Understanding
it is the key to recognizing our purpose in life and the concept of enduring, which we will discuss below.
One could spend a worthy life studying and trying to
comprehend the Atonement and the Grace of Christ. For purposes of our discussion, I simply want
us to understand grace in its role of Heavenly Father’s Plan.
Grace seems to confuse people at times and understandably so. The concept of Grace is huge! Our understanding of how Christ could
actually perform such a monumental task and then turn and offer such a loving
and unselfish gift can fill one’s mind to overflowing. Grace is real. Jesus Christ understood the necessary
sacrificial requirements to take upon Himself the pain and penalty of every
conceivable sin for every single child of Heavenly Father, until He descended
below us all, and then triumphantly came forth; breaking the bonds of death for
all humanity, and fulfilling all that Heavenly Father instructed.
There is a great amount of talk about the saving Grace of
the Savior. Amongst all Christian churches,
even amongst the Saints, there can be some confusion. Are we simply saved by grace or are we only
saved after all we can do? If after all
we can do, what is all we can do? The direct
answer is: we are all saved by grace.
Period. Not by accepting Christ
as our Savior and not after all we can do.
The issue is actually very simple, Christ paid everything
for you. Not a little. Not a part.
Everything. The debt, the price, the
cost of your admission back into Heavenly Father’s presence is paid in
full. Referring to the confusion of “after all we can do,” Brad Wilcox of the
General Sunday School Board, eloquently said it like this: Jesus does not make up the difference.
Jesus makes all the difference.[1] (NOTE: Brother Wilcox’s talk on Grace given at
a BYU devotional in 2012 is worth your time, one of the clearest and best
discussions on the subject, it may change your life, and I highly recommend it.)
Jesus makes all the difference.
Please understand I am not fighting Nephi over the concept
of grace. He is my great hero. And he was a Prophet, so, of course he’s
correct in what he’s saying. In order to
go forward, we need to understand exactly what he meant. Please let me solicit the help of some others
to explain what he meant by “that it is by grace that we are saved, after all
we can do.”[2]
Referring to this doctrine, Brigham Young taught the
following:
“Every person who does not sin away the day of
grace, and become an angel to the Devil, will be brought forth to inherit
a kingdom of glory.”[3]
Referring specifically to President Young’s comments, Elder
Dallin H. Oaks stated the following:
This meaning of saved ennobles the
whole human race through the grace of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In this sense of the word, all should answer:
“Yes, I have been saved. Glory to God for the gospel and gift and grace
of His Son!”
Specifically, these brethren are speaking of physical
Salvation, of being saved from death.
From The Guide to the Scriptures
we read:
Salvation: To be saved from both physical and spiritual death. All
people will be saved from physical death by the grace of God, through the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each
individual can also be saved from spiritual death as well by the grace of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ. This
faith is manifested in a life of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the
gospel and service to Christ.[4]
Every member of the human family will be resurrected no
matter who you are or what you have done.
This is the free gift of the Atonement.
All will live again. All will
come forth on that great day of the resurrection. The issue is: What will you be resurrected
to?
And this is where all
we can do comes in.
Choices
“Decisions determine destiny.” President Thomas S. Monson
In Section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants we learn a
vitally important concept. We learn that
life is choices. I learned that as a
young man, and throughout my life, from my Dad.
Usually after I or someone else did something dumb, he would calmly say
with a slight sigh, “Life is choices.” I
used to think this was one of those parental adages we all heard growing up,
like the early bird gets the worm. I really don’t like worms and never
understood their relationship to seminary either. Then, in my college years, I really studied
Section 93 and discovered my Dad was a genius.
Life is REALLY about choices.
D&C 93:
20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fullness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.
20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fullness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.
Choices are in fact, the spiritual-cellular make
up of who we really are. In Section 93,
verses 12 through 14 we learn something we need to talk and focus on more and
that is this: it was choices that made Jehovah become the Christ, the Savior of
Mankind. His choices were so perfect
that He became like Heavenly Father before we came to earth. Line upon line, grace for grace, he made
choices that made Him a perfect reproduction of Heavenly Father. In doing so, He has shown us the way.
The vital lesson here is that He has demonstrated to us that
it can be done and we can do it too. Our
choices can make us like the Savior. If
our goal in this life is to return home to Heavenly Father, then all we can do is make choices that help
us to be like the Savior.
Covenants
“Wherefore, lift up thy heart and
rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.”
D&C 25:13
In the Gospel of Change, covenants are the catalyst for an
eternal and permanent transformation. In
God’s great wisdom, He understood that in fighting the effects of the Fall it
would be an overwhelming challenge to become individuals worthy of inheriting
His kingdom on our own. To aid us in our
quest, He gave us the greatest tool He could to help us overcome this
condition. These expressly designed covenants
were created to mold us into those worthy children.
In taking upon one’s self a covenant with God, an individual
enters into a pact with Heavenly Father.
You promise Him that you will do certain things and in return He
promises, if you do your part, he will do certain things in return.
D&C 82:
9 ….I give unto you directions how you may act before
me, that it may turn to
you for your salvation.
A bond is set. A link
created. You are actively participating
as a team with the God of the Universe to accomplish a goal. And the crazy thing is, it’s really
one-sided. Sure it’s a two sided
promise, but it is really all about you.
Heavenly Father’s reward out of this arrangement is the happiness He
will feel in seeing you succeed. You may
feel like you have sacrificed and struggled, but truly, this is all for your
own good and benefit. Compare struggling
and sacrifice on your own to having God on your side. I think we can agree that we can all benefit
in this life by having God as a partner.
Covenants are vital to us.
They are the key to our success in this life. They take us from wishful thinking to
committed disciples. They mark us as
worthy. They keep us safe in every
condition. Ultimately, when the time
comes, if we have polished and kept our covenants bright, they are the key to
the front gate of Heavenly Fathers Estate.
Throughout all of our life, making and keeping the specific
covenants that the Lord has laid out for us is the precise activity the Lord
would have us engaged in.
Enduring
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be
saved.” Matthew 24:13
What does it mean to
endure? Is it a blind tolerance of seen
and unseen persecution or is it something else entirely, something specific?
Enduring is a big part of Heavenly Father’s Plan. It is absolutely something
specific. Not discounting the Atonement
in anyway, enduring is the active, on-going, and most important part of the
Plan of Salvation. Enduring is the
doctrine and practice of change. It is
through enduring that we exercise faith.
Enduring keeps us in a repentant frame of mind. Enduring is KEEPING our covenants.
But if enduring is specific,
something easily focused on, what is it?
The Prophet Nephi said this
about enduring:
2 Nephi 31:
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea,
the words of
my Beloved are
16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that
unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son
of the living God, he cannot be saved.
We must endure.
Enduring is the most important thing we need to learn about and do in
this life. In the previous scripture,
Nephi defines enduring very
clearly. Enduring is “following the
example of the Son of the Living God.”
Now, I would never presume to augment in any way, Nephi’s
definition, but I will expound on it a little here. Because enduring is such an important part of
the Plan, as Heavenly Father states above, and Nephi tells us that it is a
specific activity, I suggest to you this understanding or definition:
Enduring is actively practicing being like Jesus.
Practicing being like Jesus is the purpose of life.
Being like Jesus is a tall order. He said:
Mathew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect.
The example our Father in Heaven set is the example He
strove for and achieved. That is the
example we need to follow. But is it
possible, and if so, how can we achieve such a mentally overwhelming
thing? Christ-like, God-like, perfection. We know the answer is yes, it is possible and
we can. We talked about it in the
discussion on choices. Choices are the
essence and enduring is the process that have the power to make us like
Christ. The question is: how do we focus
our choices and our enduring on becoming like Christ? Please consider the Savior’s answer to what
is really most important in life. The
two greatest commandments:
Mathew 22:
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The Savior says we should love the Lord in a fully committed
way. Sound familiar? How do we show our love for the Lord in a
fully committed way? We make and keep
His covenants.
He then tells us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. How can we love our neighbor in the same way
we love ourselves? I suggest He is
saying: Do for your neighbor what you would do for yourself. We understand the Plan. We are trying to work the Plan. We need to love others by helping them understand
and work the Plan too.
In other words, we need to help others understand what The
Lord has helped us to understand. We
need to do temple work for those that cannot do it for themselves and help our
living friends to see the value of temple covenants. This is enduring. This is what Jesus did. This is what He has asked of us. This is the practicing I was talking
about. This is how we become like Him.
I hope you are starting to see a pattern here. All the things we talk about in being a
disciple of Christ are really circumscribed here in this one concept.
There is one last thing we need to talk about to have a full
foundation for discussion about Scouting.
We need to talk about the purpose and promise of the Aaronic Priesthood.
The Purpose of the Aaronic Priesthood
“It is indeed correct to call the
Aaronic Priesthood the preparatory priesthood.” Boyd K. Packer[5]
So what is the preparatory purpose of the Aaronic Priesthood? Did you say Temple work? That’s right.
It is Temple work. Just to make
sure we are all on the same page, let’s look at the doctrine.
Temple work is exactly what John the Baptist was thinking
about when he laid his hands on Joseph and Oliver. Read carefully what he said:
D&C 13:
1 Upon you
my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the
Priesthood
of Aaron, which holds the keys of
the ministering of angels,
and of the gospel of repentance,
and of baptism
by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again
from the earth, until the sons of Levi
do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
So we understand it holds specific keys to the gospel and
the ministering of angles. But what is
this Sons of Levi offering thing? Who
are these Levites and what offering are they going to make in
righteousness? For that we need to look
at two other scriptures. First, the Oath
and Covenant of the Priesthood:
D&C 84:
33 For whoso is faithful unto
the obtaining these two priesthoods
of which I have spoken, and the magnifying
their calling, are sanctified
by the Spirit unto the renewing of
their bodies.
34 They become
the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham,
and the church and kingdom, and the elect of
God.
In taking upon us the Priesthood we become the sons of Moses
and of Aaron. We are Sons of Moses. Moses and Aaron are Levites. That makes us Levites. Not just Levities, we are those Levities John
was talking about. If we are, and we
are, what is this righteous offering we will offer? Joseph Smith explained all:
D&C 128:
24…and he shall purify the sons
of Levi,
and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering
in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as
a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an
offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is
finished, a book containing the records of
our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.
The Lord has clearly provided the Aaronic Priesthood covenanted
protection, and power to prepare to enter the temple and aid in the preparation
of a righteous offering to the Lord. This
is key to our discussion because it shows the Lord’s intent and Plan for our
youth to be temple worthy and ready.
This is enduring for boys.
This is practicing being like Jesus.
In a nut shell
So, in summary, Heavenly Father’s Plan is: The Savior’s
Atonement and His saving grace, choice and accountability, covenants, and
enduring to the end. In a very broad
stroke, that is the core of the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Let me use Brother Wilcox again to aid us with this eternal
perspective.
“If Christ did not require faith and repentance, there would be no DESIRE to change,” he says.[6] He asks us to consider those we know who have chosen to live without faith and repentance. He asks us to observe that these people are not looking to change. “They are not abandoning sin to be comfortable with God, but rather they are abandoning God to be comfortable with sin.”[7]
“If Jesus did not require covenants
and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be no WAY to
change. We would forever be left with
WILL power and have no access to HIS power.”[8]
He also explains that without the process of endurance, the
covenants we make with God remain superficial.
This is a very important concept.
If you make a promise and then forget about it, never act on it, never
remind yourself of the obligation you have put yourself under, it does you no
good and you receive no benefit, no reward.
Enduring is the process whereby we exercise our covenants until they are
incorporated deep into our souls and become part of us.
This is the Lord’s Plan to help us return home. If you are sometimes overwhelmed with all the
things you think you need to do to be a good Latter-Day Saint, stop. The Gospel is really this simple: practice being like Jesus. Practice. Focus on this and everything else will work
itself out.
God’s Plan for Boys
“And I did join my two thousand sons, (for they are worthy to be called
sons)” Alma 56:10
If you were a loving Father that deeply cared about the
salvation of his sons, particularly during their impressionable younger years,
and wanted to give them the best possible program that would cover such things
as teaching boys to make good choices, teaching boys to make and keep
covenants, teaching boys to help others do the same, and teaching boys the
attributes of Jesus, what would that look like?
It would look exactly like, in fact, it would be, Scouting.
The Church News reported the following on President Benson
speaking to newly called General Authorities:
Regional Representatives were
encouraged to see that the Scouting program is functioning in their
regions. President Ezra Taft Benson
said: “This is not an optional program. … Scouting is no longer on trial. …It is an inspired program for a demanding
time. This is that time! I would to God that every boy of Scouting age
could have the benefits and blessings of this great program”[1]
President Benson understands that Scouting is a divinely
inspired program specifically designed to lead boys to the temple and beyond.
Scouting and the Genius of Heavenly Father
“Now they never had fought, yet they
did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea,
they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God
would deliver them.” Alma 56:47
Even in today’s climate, President Monson believes in
Scouting. I should say it as President
Benson would. ESPECIALLY in today’s
climate, President Monson believes in Scouting.
Everybody knows it. He was very
much the lead in the Church’s presentation at May’s national BSA
Convention. That is because he
understands the saving power of the Scouting Program. A quote attributed to Mark E. Peterson of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, says it this way:
"If Scouting would not make
better Latter‑Day Saints, we would not have Scouting in the Church. But because Scouting does make boys better
Latter‑Day Saints, we take it into the Church.
You cannot divorce Church work
from Scouting. When you are building
Scouting in your boys, you are building the work of God and helping to
establish the kingdom on the earth."[10]
If every Prophet since Joseph F. Smith has spoken of,
supported and promoted Scouting, why would any priesthood holder treat Scouting
poorly? Let me say that a different
way. Why do we see Wards in the Church
that have great Scouting programs and others with very poor Scouting
programs? That answer is simple to me. First, as I said earlier, I believe we have
an issue of vision. In some places the
Priesthood Leadership do not have the vision of the power of the Scouting
program. Second, I think you can agree
with me that if the supposition is true that Scouting is part of Heavenly
Fathers Plan, opposition must exist. In
fact, I submit to you that the existence of opposition is an element of proof
of its inspired nature. Consider for
yourself the position of Scouting in the Church and in the nation today and see
what you believe the case to be.
Regardless, as the Church delivers the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, so does the National BSA deliver the Scouting Program. It is the Program of Scouting that we are talking
about and not its delivery system. It is
the Program that is inspired and if we, as a Church and Priesthood, become the
delivery system, it is only our faith and accomplishment that we need worry
about. The good news for us, as stated
by Elder Andersen during a World-wide Broadcast[11],
is “if we do our best, God will not let us fail.” I believe that is exactly true. And remember, any truth is always connected
to another truth. That is how they
become one great whole. Scouting is part
of the same great whole as the gospel.
Heavenly Father is a Genius.
It is a poor word to describe His intellect, because He is an awesome
genius times eternity! OK, that was poor
too. But I think when I get done here, meaning
I BELIEVE when WE get done, you will see a glimpse of just how wonderful, how
beautiful, how completely awesome His understanding truly is. After all, He inspired a program for His
young sons to anchor them to the complete Gospel of Jesus Christ and hid it
from those not looking in a national curriculum of Camping, Hiking and High
Adventure. That…is sheer genius.
I have promised to show you the rationale for exactly this,
the premise of how Scouting is a divinely inspired program specifically
designed to lead boys to the Temple and beyond.
I want to point out some things about Scouting that you may or may not
have considered in this particular light.
There is no need in this discussion to make any large stretch to make a
point. There are some very specific
things, when viewed through an eternal gospel eye that will make a great deal
of sense to us all. Now that we have the
foundation laid, let me begin to lay the facts before you and make the case.
Baden-Powell
“For those who
have eyes to see and ears to hear, the forest is at once a laboratory, a club
and a temple.”[12]
Robert Baden-Powell, Founder of Scouting
You might be asking, if the Lord inspired Scouting, why
didn’t he have some Latter-Day Saint create it?
Simple, because that was not the Lord’s plan. Lord Robert Stevenson Smyth Baden Powell (BP,
as his Scouting friends call him) was the perfect guy for the job. Reading his story truly brings out how his
whole life was prepared to bring about Scouting. He was a national hero that became a global
treasure. I know just enough of the
Lord’s work to know that BP was reared and raised to this great and important
work of the Lord.
Robert Baden Powell said:
“The Scout, in his promise,
undertakes to do his duty to King and country only in the second place. His first duty is to God.
There is no religious side to the
movement. The whole of it is based on
religion. That is, on the realization
and service of God.”
Teaching boys their duty to God was Baden Powell’s first
concern in developing the Scouting Program.
Finally, I submit for your consideration this thought: if
the Lord had called some inspired Quorum Advisor from the past, what would
Scouting be today? Scouting would never
have had the global impact on boys that it has had. It would have remained a Mormon thing that
others outside the church would not have participated in. As evidence, I submit for your evaluation the
Relief Society. The largest, oldest, and
most noble of Woman’s organizations. How
many non-Latter-Day Saints are regular members?
Outside the Church, how many people do you think even know it exists?
I submit Baden-Powell as my first evidence that Scouting is
part of the Lord’s Plan. Please ponder
on that and come to your own conclusion.
The Saving Power of Scouting
“Next to my father and my pastor, my
Scoutmasters and other Scout leaders were the most influential male role models
in my life—and they literally may have saved my life.”[13] Mike Fossum, NASA Astronaut
No, Heavenly Father knew exactly what to do when it came to
His Plan. Having Scouting as an outside
organization with an inspired program became a globally powerful tool respected
by everyone. The reason Scouting is so
powerful is its ability to reach boys. President
Tanner put it this way:
Scouters, through the Scout
program, can go out and reach boys that cannot be reached otherwise. The President of the Church recognizes that. That is one of the reasons the program was
officially recognized and accepted as a part of the Church program. And when we realize that, brethren, let us go
out and save those boys" N. Eldon Tanner, June 1968
I have seen too many times the effectiveness of Scouting in
the moist eyes of grown men as they have told me how Scouting saved their
lives. How it pulled them off the
streets; how it pulled them out of gangs; how it pulled them from a life of
drugs, alcohol, prison and worse; how it helped them find God when nothing else
did. This saving power is real. It is impossible to see its effects and not
recognize the Lord’s hand in it.
The Mission of Scouting
The mission of the Boy Scouts of America
is to prepare young people to make ethical choices over their lifetimes by
instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. (BSA Mission Statement)
The Boys Scouts of America recognize that life is
choices. As it plainly states here in
their Mission Statement, their mission is to provide a moral code for boys to
be used as a foundation for making good choices throughout their lifetime. Now, in case you are suspicious here, I did
not give the BSA my talk on Choices. I
came to that on my own with the help of the Lord. So I make the conclusion that the Lord had
some help in this too.
Truth is truth and the Gospel is the Gospel no matter where
it is found.
The Aims of Scouting
Character, Citizenship, and Fitness
In every Scouting program (Cubs, Boy Scouts, Varsity, and
Venturing), the BSA has three specific aims.
Here they are with their explanations or descriptions:
CHARACTER
Boy Scouting works toward three
aims. One is growth in moral strength and character. Character can be defined
as the collection of core values by an individual that leads to moral
commitment and action, and encompasses a boy’s personal qualities, values, and
outlook.
CITIZENSHIP
A second aim is participating
citizenship. Used broadly, citizenship
means the boy’s relationship to others.
He comes to learn of his obligations to other people, to the society he
lives in, and to the government that presides over that society.
FITNESS
A third aim of Boy Scouting is
development of physical, mental, and emotional fitness. Fitness includes the body (well-tuned and
healthy), the mind (able to think and solve problems), and the emotions (self-control,
courage, and self-respect).[14]
You may or may not have read these before. I am sure you would agree that these are
noble and worthy Aims for any youth
program. But where are they coming
from? What is the driver?
Now I have made the claim that the Lord inspired the
Scouting program and I think here, in the Aims of Scouting, we find some of the
most compelling evidence to make that case.
A very excellent friend of mine, who I suspect was born a
Scoutmaster, enlightened me to this very interesting and specific corollary. I suspect this insight came to him in all
those years he was both Branch President and Scoutmaster. He asked the question: What do we know about the Savior’s mortal
years from twelve to eighteen? We have one
line. Only one line in the New Testament
talks about these years in His life and it reads like this:
It is not very much, but we can easily see three specific
things about the growth of the Savior through His teenage years. He grew in 1) Wisdom, 2) Stature, and 3) Favor
with God and man.
Now look closely at the correlation of the Aims of Scouting
and Luke 2:52.
The Lord’s Youth: Wisdom, Stature, and Favor with God
and Man
Aims of Scouting: Character, Fitness, and Citizenship
They are the same. Look
these over again. I am not stretching
here. They are the same. The Aims of Scouting, by definition, are to teach
boys to be like Jesus.
Each program in the Scouting umbrella is designed to help
boys to make good choices and practice doing the things the Savior would do.
The Perfect Vessel
“We've remained strong and firm in
our support of this great movement for boys and the Oath and Law which are at
its center."[15] President Thomas S. Monson quoting President Spenser
W. Kimball
All the effectiveness of the Lord’s purpose in Scouting
hinges on two things: The Scout Oath and The Scout Law. These two things give direction for scouts
and leaders for every aspect of behavior and interaction at all times. In becoming a Scout, a boy makes a new
covenant. It is THE Promise that he
makes on his honor.
Scout Oath (or Promise)
On my honor I will do my best, to
do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all
times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.[16]
Scout Law
A Scout is trustworthy, loyal,
helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean,
and reverent.[17]
As a young boy grows up in the Church he begins to hit those
important milestones we talked about earlier.
At eight he is baptized and takes upon himself his first very important
covenant. He covenants to be like
Jesus. Every week he renews that
covenant by partaking of the Sacrament.
But then something else happens with this boy that we need
to understand and pay more attention to, because here is where the Lord’s Plan
extends. We send him to join the Cub
Pack and the first thing we do is teach him to make the Cub Scout Sign and take
upon himself a new oath. He makes a new
covenant that he will do his duty to God and to his Country. And like a Sacrament, he renews this oath each
week at Cub meetings.
When this boy turns twelve, he takes upon himself the Oath
and Covenant of the Priesthood and begins to learn and perform his duty to God
in the priesthood. In Scouts, he has
become a Boy Scout and has taken upon himself a new oath and covenant. We have taught him to raise his arm to the
square and to promise to continue to do his duty to God and Country and also
now to live the Scout Law.
Like the covenant of baptism with its renewal through the
sacrament, nothing is more important in Scouting than this Oath and the
opportunity to renew it every week. In
this is the genius of the Lord. Leaders
continue to ask what can be done to help and encourage young men to go on
missions. The answer is simple. Help young men understand their
covenants. No young man who understands
his duty to God would ever fail to serve a mission.
If you run a true Scouting program in a ward that focuses on
the Scout Oath and Law, where boys every week renew that covenant, boys will
serve missions. We cannot expect our
young men to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind,
obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent, when we have treated
these things lightly and have not engrained in them these values. Would you expect the Saints to have the same
level of commitment if after they are baptized their contact with the Church
was sporadic and they were never given the opportunity to renew their baptismal
covenants through the Sacrament? Or go
to the Temple once and never come back? Yet
in many Wards this is what we do to the young men and then we wonder why some
don’t go on missions. We must help boys
to understand their covenants. We must
help the Scout Oath and Law get down into their souls. This is the Lord’s purpose in Scouting. They must practice being like Jesus, not just
basketball. It is the Scout Oath and Law
that will put boys in the Temple, in the mission field, sealed on return, and
endure this mortal life with success.
The important thing to understand here is the power of this
covenant. When a twelve year old boy
promises that he will, on his honor, do his best, to do his duty to God and
Country and to be obedient to the Scout Law, and does so, something special
happens. He becomes the perfect vessel for the priesthood. This is exactly what Heavenly Father wants
from any man as qualifications for holding the priesthood. What parent wouldn’t want their son to live
by such a code and have these kinds of attributes?
Now pay attention to this, notice that this is a SCOUTING
thing and not a Church requirement.
Heavenly Father is delivering this through Scouting, designed for
regular and consistent reinforcement to help young men through their critical
years become anchored to God, and not as a requirement for ordination. Sometimes these things get blurred, and
rightly so, but I think it’s important to understand the Lord is delivering His
message to His boys how they best understand.
We need to recognize that.
Conclusion
I believe in Scouting.
I do because I have witnessed first-hand its astounding saving
power. I have seen it work on boys that
could be reached in no other way. I have
seen it reclaim good and active young men in the Church who started to
stray. I have seen it hold strong, good
boys beyond the time they became great young men to become returned
missionaries, Fathers and Scout Leaders.
And I have seen it change the lives of adult leaders from all kinds of
different life experiences. Even after
my mission and years of working in the temple, some of my favorite and most
powerful spiritual experiences have been in a church meeting, sitting in a
quiet mountain wood, overlooking a beautiful lake, feeling the spirit so
strongly it was like Heavenly Father Himself had wrapped His arms around
me. Have you ever sat in a church built
by the majesty of the Savior’s great design, the pitch of night wearing away as
the sun lazily stretches over the outline of the mountains and it begins to
lightly snow on you? I recommend it if
you get the chance.
Scouting builds great men because, like committed temple
goers, Scouting has the saving ability to help Scouts become the kind of fully
committed priesthood holders the Lord expects of His Saints. Knowing their duty to Him comes first. Understanding this, it becomes very important
that we pay attention to the Lord’s will.
He has guided the Prophets to embrace Scouting. I am suggesting there is reason for
that. A reason beyond hiking and
camping. And by focusing on Scouting as
a hiking and camping program we run the risk of failing the Lord is His
designs.
Scouting is the Lord’s Plan for His young sons. Scouting is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord’s purpose for Scouting is to teach
young men to make and keep covenants.
Embedded in the program of Scouting is the Gospel of Change that, if
embraced, will help anyone become like the Savior. Scouting, and not any other program, is
designed to take young men to the temple and put them in the mission field.
Moroni 7:
16 For behold, the Spirit of
Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I
show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and
to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ;
wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
The purpose of the Gospel is to help us change, to grow to
be like the Savior. Scouting has this
same purpose designed specifically for God’s young sons. If you want to help young men grow to become
temple-going returned missionaries, the best thing you could do is embrace
Scouting, become a fully trained Scout Leader and dedicate your life to
Scouting as part of the Gospel by helping these young men understand and
exercise their covenants. As Latter Day
Saints, we should have the best programs in America. We should be leading the way. We need to provide the best Scouting program
we can to help these great young men focus on practicing being like Christ.
Moroni 7:
48
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the
Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love,
which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his
Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall
appear we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as
he is pure. Amen.
It is my testimony that these things are true. I know it only because I spent the time on my
knees to know it. My only purpose here
is to help open your mind and heart to these things so you can find out for
yourself if they are not true. Whatever
your feelings are on this subject, I ask you for the sake of this rising
generation of sons the Lord has held for these days, to prayerfully consider
this message. I don’t want you to
believe me on all of this, I want you to listen to the Lord’s position.
Lastly, here, I realize that in regards to this topic, my
stewardship extends to all my callings, including that of Father. The most poignant example of the power of
Scouting in my life has been that of my only son. I had the good fortune to be Christian’s
Scoutmaster. I am not sure if he taught
me or I taught him in those days, I only know that he is my hero. His life, his choices, will be an example to
me forever. He taught me the meaning of
Duty to God and Country and living the Scout Law. Christian does not just get scouting, he
personifies its ideals.
After serving a very successful mission to Peru, he came
home, married the sweetest little girl, and joined the Navy. He is at this time a Navy Corpsman going to
school at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.
In the days just prior to Boot Camp, Christian worked on the National
BSA Staff, attended Wood Badge and completed his ticket. First day in Church in San Antonio…they
called him to be Scoutmaster. That was a
good day for me.
I dedicate this little writing to him and all my grandsons
forever. May this help you understand
the true nature of Scouting, may you love it, and may its saving power change
your life to be like Jesus Christ, the Savior of us all.
And to you, my Friends everywhere, Scouts, Scouters, and Non-Scouters
alike, I pray God’s blessings upon you all.
That we may come to know His plan for us as we all strive in this life
to be His worthy children.
Life is short and tenuous. If we want to make it home, we need to
practice every day.
Let’s get going.
Scott
Scott
[1] His Grace is
Sufficient, Brad Wilcox, Member of the General Sunday School Board,
07/12/11 BYU Devotional Address
[2] 2 Nephi 25:23
[3] Teaching of the Prophet Brigham Young, [1997], 288
[4] https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/salvation?lang=eng
[4] https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/salvation?lang=eng
[5] The Aaronic Priesthood, Boyd K. Packer, General Conference, October, 1981.
[6] His Grace is Sufficient, Brad Wilcox, Member of the General Sunday School Board, 07/12/11 BYU Devotional Address
[7] same
[8] same
[9] http://www.lds.org/ensign/1978/05/news-of-the-church?lang=eng, Church News, May 1978
[11] Andersen, Elder Neil L. “Hastening the Work Of Salvation.” World-wide Broadcast for the Marriott Center, Provo, UT. June 23, 2013. http://www.lds.org/training/wwlt/2013/hastening/special-broadcast?lang=eng#media=elder-neil-l-andersen
[12] Baden-Powell, Lord Robert. “Quotes from Baden–Powell.” World Scout Bureau. June 2013. June 20, 2013. http://www.scout.org/en/node_64/facts_figures/baden_powell/b_ps_quotes
[14] The Aims and Methods of Boy Scouting, Boy Scouts of America, English/Spanish, Brochure 543-042, Printed 2011
[15] Kimball, Spenser W. “As quoted by Thomas S. Monson.” General Priesthood Session, October 5, 1991.
No comments:
Post a Comment