Growing up, I lived very close to my elementary school, so every weekday I found myself walking to school. My mom told me it was good for me, but I was not a fan. I walked to and from school every day, head down, feet moving as quickly as possible.This was my routine for many […]
29 Replies 
One of the best lessons of Scouting is performing service for others. Usually service projects go pretty smoothly. But on those occasions when it doesn’t, I think the lesson is even better from a bumpy service project. As adults, how often do we have projects of our own that go perfectly smoothly? Almost never. […]
Coaches Attention: Every boy deserves a trained leader and you can get yours and other updates at the University of Scouting this February 18th at UVU. Participants can choose all seven courses designed for Varsity Scouting to help team leaders improve unit operations and programs. These sessions can apply to earning Scouting degrees. Each session is led by experienced Scouters […]
The first semester of Freshman year is over–and everything’s getting way too crazy. Your math teacher started writing letters across the board (when did math become a language?). You’re having a hard time telling apart the teachers and the seniors. And, why are you stuck on the JV sports teams for the next two years? […]
This is part 7 of a 12-part blog series that explores mentoring skills and principles for adults serving teacher and priest-age boys (14-18): Principle #1: Know the Youth and Care About Them Principle #2: Check your Ethics Principle #3: Prepare To Be A Mentor Principle #4: Provide a Model of Leadership Principle #5: Form A […]
This is part 6 of a 12-part blog series that explores mentoring skills and principles for adults serving teacher and priest-age boys (14-18): Principle #1: Know the Youth and Care About Them Principle #2: Check your Ethics Principle #3: Prepare To Be A Mentor Principle #4: Provide a Model of Leadership Principle #5: Form A […]
This is part 5 of a 12-part blog series that explores mentoring skills and principles for adults serving teacher and priest-age boys (14-18): Principle #1: Know the Youth and Care About Them Principle #2: Check your Ethics Principle #3: Prepare To Be A Mentor Principle #4: Provide a Model of Leadership Principle #5: Form A […]
This is an open call to Bishops and other leaders of young men. When President Monson announced that 18 year-old young men could serve missions, did this raise your anxiety about how to best help these young men prepare? Having served as a Bishop, I suspect that it did. For many of you, I’m fairly sure, […]
This is part 4 of a 12-part blog series that explores mentoring skills and principles for adults serving teacher and priest-age boys (14-18): Principle #1: Know the Youth and Care About Them Principle #2: Check your Ethics Principle #3: Prepare To Be A Mentor Principle #4: Provide a Model of Leadership Principle #5: Form A […]
2015 was an exciting year for The Boy Scout. We had more subscribers, more views, more comments, and more shares than ever before. We loved sharing stories and learning from you last year, and hope 2016 will bring more inspiration, helpful tips, teaching tools, and insights for all of us. We want to take a moment to […]
For the past several years, Labor Day weekend has found me in Wyoming for the Fort Bridger Mountain Man Rendezvous. I’ve been fascinated by mountain men ever since learning about the vital role they played in Utah’s history as a fourth grader. Now, my husband and I and anyone else we can convince to come along spend […]
“Leading Varsity Scouting in LDS Teams,” a conference session held at Philmont Training Center July 12-18, proved to be a remarkable experience for 28 participants as they were immersed in the principles and activities of Varsity Scouting, strongly under girded by attention to Priesthood purposes. In fact, probably the most unique aspect of the conference […]
While preparing my previous article about how Varsity Scouting teaches the Council form of governing, I came across this quote from M Russell Ballard’s book, Counseling with our Councils. “Wise presidents and bishops will recognize and appreciate such diversities of gifts. They will seek to enlarge the capacity of their presidencies, bishoprics, and other councils by […]
Varsity Scouting is planned by your youth, executed by your youth, and experienced by your youth. If they don’t care about advancement – guess what? It’s not up to any adult to try and force them. Scouts advance at their own pace, as they set their own goals. Why in the world would any parent […]
“Who” is Varsity? The common question in some minds is, “What is Varsity Scouting?” One might also ask, “Who is Varsity Scouting?” The answer is: a lot of people, and each of them needs to do a certain job, contributing their part to make a Varsity team work. Let’s look at the Varsity Scouting stakeholders. […]
I still catch on fire when getting to explain the beauty of the Varsity Scout Program to other leaders. It’s fun to see their eyes get wide with understanding as they see how it can all fit together with anything they do as a team or quorum. It is truly an inspired program! I see […]
On June 5 -7 an excited group of Varsity Scouts and their leaders converged on Beaver High Adventure Base ready for participation in the 4th annual WAHOO Encampment. Thursday, June 5, started out with a Service Project of helping sand and stain wooden toys for Tiny Tim’s Toy Factory. More than one hundred cars were […]