In my article for Mother’s Day, I was fortunate to pay tribute to my Scouting Mom. Reflecting over the impact she had in my life was such a beautiful experience. This month, I have the opportunity to pay homage to my father, a man who has helped shape my life. Some of the most valuable […]
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The breakfast began with showing the Duty to God video produced by the Church. I was struck once again by the quotes from Baden-Powell: King and Country, only in the second place. His first duty is to God and his statement, “There is no religious side to the movement. The whole of it is based […]
The Utah National Parks Council has recently published a pledge outlining the things Scouting programs in the area will do for youth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This pledge includes promises to teach boys to recognize the hand of God in their lives, to create ‘mountaintop’ spiritual experiences, to prepare them […]
The Scout motto is “Be Prepared.” Our Scouts will hear this command hundreds, perhaps thousands of times during troop meetings, pow-wows, and camps. Yet the phrase has no meaning until we answer the question, “What must they be prepared for?” Otherwise, the motto becomes a trite, boring tidbit that our young men must recite before […]
Last Saturday morning, during the first weekend of our Woodbadge course, I had a singular spiritual experience at Tifie Scout Camp’s outdoor chapel. There among the reddening maples and in the crisp morning air, our Wood Badge staff presented these words from our founder, Baden Powell, in a Scout’s Own Worship Service: FOR an open Troop, or for Troops […]
This article explains how Duty to God works in Cub Scouting. For information on Duty to God in all four program areas, check out our article here. The faith adventures in the Cub Scout program are clearly designed to be carried out in the family with the assistance of their faith group leaders. The new program, […]
Doing one’s duty to God is central to Scouting. The Scout Oath begins with duty to God; the Scout Law ends with reverence. Duty to God, then, is the Scout’s first duty and his last. It is further affirmed in the Declaration of Religious Principle in the window to the left. His is a personal quest, […]
Our founder, Baden Powell, had strong views on religion and one’s Duty to God. Listed here are a few statements he left us to consider: “Scouting is nothing less than applied Christianity” – (Scouting & Christianity, 1917) “The religion of a man is not the creed he professes but his life – what he acts […]
There is nothing I hate more than inconsistency. Like a toaster that never toasts my bread perfectly the first time, I hate when I can’t get what I expect. Especially when it comes to organizations. So, July 10 when the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Executive Committee unanimously adopted a resolution amending the adult leadership […]
When it comes to Venturing, doing hard things makes the boy a man (or the girl a woman). The LDS stakeventuring.com website hosted at UtahScouts.org has this list of fifteen thing any teen could do to grow up stronger: Here are 15 “hard things” that you, as a young man, can choose do in order […]
“A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommendation to his new employer. It reads simply, ‘He sleeps in a storm.’ The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man. Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful storm rips through the valley. Awakened […]
Scouts have the opportunity to earn the Liahona Compass Award at summer Scout camp this year and in 2016. Recalling the “round ball of curious workmanship” given to Lehi and his family by God to direct them in the wilderness, the Liahona Compass Award directs Scouts to ponder on the decisions they make today that […]
You new Scouts probably learned tonight that our troop neckerchief has other uses besides looking good and showing our troop’s colors. You found that it can be used in first aid, too. Over the next few months, you’ll find that the neckerchief has other uses, too. There’s one use, though, that you may not think […]
I believe that one of the primary things we should focus on in Scouting should be our Duty to God. In fact Lord Baden Powell (BP) said “Our objective in the Scouting movement is to give such help as we can in bringing about God’s Kingdom on earth by including among youth the spirit and […]
Our efforts as Young Men advisers and Scout leaders can have eternal consequences. When I was a mission president, one particular zone was having a lot of success. I asked one of the zone leaders, “Elder, what’s going on here?” He said, “President, in high school I ran cross- country with a handful of friends. We trained hard and competed together. For four […]
As part of Duty to God, I subscribe to newsletters of several faiths. Ministry Matters reminded me that today is the first Advent Sunday. My first exposure to Advent was in Germany more than 40 years ago; it was a rewarding experience. As Scouts, celebrating Advent seems like an appropriate way do our Duty to God […]
In a world of moral drifting, it often is wise to look for bedrock—something so secure that it doesn’t move an inch over time. In Boy Scouts, the Utah National Parks Council has done just that by “Putting the First Duty First”—and the first duty of Scouting is the duty to God. The program the […]
Part of a speech given by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the Boy Scouts of America national annual meeting on 23 May 2013. Now that’s the essence of what we do—giving boys an understanding of the words duty to God. That means we must teach them, translate for […]
Part of a speech given by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the Boy Scouts of America national annual meeting on 23 May 2013. So here is the lesson for us. Duty to God is a new concept for young minds. Scouts need the understanding that goes […]
Part of a speech given by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson, Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the Boy Scouts of America national annual meeting on 23 May 2013. Sometimes we forget that we are part of a like-minded faith-based society — that the precepts embodied in the scout oath, are generally […]