To Scout or not to Scout, that is the question.

I have so many tools that I have to store them in two different places. I have auto mechanic tools, construction tools, mining tools, and specialty tools. With my tools I could rebuild and restore a car, build a house, dig a tunnel, or any of a number of other activities. I have tools I’ve never used and tools that are well past being worn out. There are any number of activities I could approach from different aspects using a number of different tools. Right now, the tool the Lord has instructed us to use to help our young men grow into self-sufficient missionaries, temple-going husbands, dedicated fathers, and responsible citizens is the Boy Scouts of America. Despite all that is going on in the political climate, the Lord has not yet retracted that guidance. During a recent troop committee meeting, one of our committee members, a man I hold deep respect for, made it very clear that whether the church decides to stay with the BSA or not, if the recent vote by the BSA to allow homosexual leaders stands, he will no longer participate. I understand his viewpoint and don’t hold it against him. As we prepared for our upcoming annual planning meetings I reflected on how to approach this. It occurred to me that it is irrelevant which organization we call ourselves, it is the activities that the youth need to develop that are important and we’ll be doing those activities whether in BSA uniforms or in homemade activity shirts as a Deacons quorum. So this is the statement I read at the beginning of our planning meeting: There are a lot of questions going on right now about the future of the relationship of the church and the BSA. Before we start planning our year let’s take a moment and think about what we’re really doing. We are NOT planning a BSA event; we are planning the activities that we hope will help the young men in our quorum become better priesthood holders, better missionaries, better fathers, and better citizens. The BSA is only the tool we are using to accomplish that. We know that activities that we are planning will, like the Mormon Battalion experience of the early church, prepare these youth for great things. I propose that whether the church stays with or separates from the BSA is irrelevant; we’ll still be holding these activities. It’s the experience that is important, not the organization. So let’s do our best to plan thoroughly and with due diligence. I encourage you to keep the big picture in mind when you approach this delicate subject. Pray for direction and remember the Lord’s most recent counsel. Until He gives us new guidance, carry on as if nothing has or will change. firebirdlvuer

Ward Campout

This weekend was our ward campout, during which I ended up in conversations with more than one family about the future of Scouting in the Church. It is difficult not to speculate about what might happen, but it was interesting to hear different thoughts, and I found a common thread running through every conversation. In the end, no matter what our Church leaders announce, we can be assured it is the best answer to the situation. What a blessing it is to have living prophets who can tell us exactly what the Lord wants for us. What a blessing, also, that we have the opportunity to pray about it for ourselves as well and receive our own witness. No matter what happens, we will always have that.