A Scout leader is...

I recently attended the BSA's Trainer's EDGE course. The whole course was very good, but the part that left the biggest impression on me was the very end. They presented ways to apply the Scout Law to being a trainer. Having never been a Boy Scout or a Boy Scout leader, I had never thought much about the Scout Law before. But really, the Scout Law is where we get the Ideals of the program, and I understand now how it is at the core of Scouting, and it applies to all Scouters, no matter what level of the program we are at.

A Scout trainer is helpful. A Scout trainer is friendly.

These were reminders that a trainer is not there for himself. He is there to serve the people he is training. He needs to consider their needs and how he can best help them. This idea applies whether you work with youth or adults. I have been pondering ever since the training ways that I, in my capacity as pack trainer, can better help leaders of our multi-pack fulfill their callings.

The fourth lesson in Teaching: No Greater Call is about “Seeking the Gift of Charity.” I think sometimes it is easy, no matter what capacity we serve in, to lose sight of this aspect. The lesson reminds us, “If you have Christ-like love, you will be better prepared to teach the gospel.”

The first step is to pray to be filled with love. I think for some of us, this step is a hard one – to have a desire and pray to love, truly love as Christ does, those boys (or adults) under our stewardship. “You may not feel the pure love of Christ immediately or all at once in answer to your prayers. But as you live righteously and continue to pray sincerely and humbly for this blessing, you will receive it.”

The next step is service: “When we set aside our own interests for the good of another in the pattern set by the Savior, we become more receptive to the Spirit.” For me, this makes a big difference. When I shift my focus from, “Why aren't they doing what I want?” to, “How can I better serve them?” and remind myself of the purposes we are trying to accomplish, I find I accomplish a lot more.

The final step is to look for the good in others. “As you discover the good qualities in others, you will grow in your understanding of them as children of God.” No matter who we are trying to teach, this is a vital part. It is also a vital part of our own growth as we try to become more like our Father in Heaven.

Strive to use these steps with your boys, the leaders you serve with, and your own children, and I know you will meet with success.

A Scout trainer is Trustworthy. A Scout trainer is Loyal.

These were reminders that we are representing the BSA and we should not deviate from the policies and guidelines they have given us. As a trainer, it is my duty to present the material I have been given and to teach the guidelines outlined by the BSA.

As LDS Scouters, we have two obligations. We not only represent the BSA, “In all our teachings, we represent the Lord and are appointed to teach His gospel.” (Bruce R. McConkie) Baden-Powell himself said, “I have clearly stated that our objective in the Scout movement is to give such help as we can in bringing about God's Kingdom on earth.”

I realized recently that we often overlook the fourth of Elder Featherstone's Four T's: Testimony. Even in Scouting we should act as those who have taken on themselves the name of Christ. After all, Cub Scout leaders are training future priesthood holders. Boy Scout leaders are training future missionaries and priesthood leaders.

“Your commission, your authorization, the thing you have been ordained to do is teach my gospel, not any private views, not the philosophies of the world, but my everlasting gospel, and to do it by the power of my Spirit, all in harmony with the commandment I have heretofore given: 'If ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.'” (Teaching: No Greater Call, Chapter 3: The Teacher's Divine Commission)

Nephi told us that he “did like all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.” As his family wandered in the wilderness and he put up with the constant murmuring, I imagine Nephi found great comfort in the stories of Moses' time in the wilderness dealing with the murmurings of the Israelites. I have a feeling there are Scout leaders who can also relate to stories of wilderness wanderings and murmurings.

I really like this post at Adventures and Accidents that is all about how and why we should be working on our own testimonies to benefit the boys.

I am going to tack one more onto the end here: A Scout trainer is Thrifty.

It was pointed out to us that “thrifty” can apply to time as well as money. Miriam-Webster defines thrifty as, "given to or marked by economy and good management." Those under our care are giving us their valuable time, and we need to make the most of that. We should always be asking ourselves, “What is the best way I can make use of the hour or two I have been given this week?” And teach the boys to ask themselves the same question. Being thrifty with time is something most of them don't fully grasp yet and will need to be trained in, but if you believe it and live it, they will be more likely to as well.

Nourishing

(This is a continuation of an earlier post on Lesson 2 in Teaching: No Greater Call)

"Teaching that stimulates the intellect without speaking to the spirit cannot nourish."

I believe this is not just a message for Sunday school teachers. I believe it is something we should be trying to apply in everything, including as parents and in working with the Scouts. I have come to see more and more that Scouting in the Church is meant to be about more than just camping and fun activities. Used well, it is an effective vessel for serving the gospel to boys and teaching them their priesthood responsibilities. Like the priesthood, the ideal Scouting program will merge temporal and spiritual in a seamless unit. (Notice I said "ideal." See former post about taking steps "line upon line.")

"Teaching that is nourishing to the soul uplifts others, builds their faith, and gives them confidence to meet life's challenges. It motivates them to forsake sin and to come to Christ, call on His name, obey His commandments, and abide in His love."

One of my training handouts I keep on hand is a checklist titled, "How do I rate as an effective leader?" While there is nothing wrong with the handout, I think this quote can give us a simpler and more useful yardstick to measure our effectiveness. Ask yourself, "Does my teaching accomplish these things? Am I building their faith, giving them the confidence to meet life's challenges and motivating them to forsake sin?" (Is is just me, or does that sound a lot like the Aims of Scouting with a gospel slant?)

However, in trying to accomplish this, especially with teenage boys, you might relate to this statement:

"Some people may not seem interested in hearing the principles of the gospel. You should prayerfully search for a way to teach them those principles anyway."

I think the key words here are "prayerfully search." Maybe sneaking some gospel teaching into a camp out or hike is one way to accomplish it. Remember, we can't always tell when they are listening or what they get out of something. I like the story from a mom about their family's struggle to have family scripture study:

"...we were often frustrated when one son complained and had to be coaxed out of bed. When he finally came, he would often put his head down on the table. Years later, while serving his mission, he wrote home in a letter: 'Thank you for teaching me the scriptures. I want you to know that all those times I acted like I was sleeping, I was really listening with my eyes closed.'"

Please remember to teach with a purpose, even if you need to let them "listen with their eyes closed" sometimes. Pray about your boys and let the Spirit guide you.

Line Upon Line

I was reading in Teaching: No Greater Call this past week (oh, how I love the Gospel Library app), and Lesson 2: Nourishing the Soul really spoke to me. It was the stories, especially, that struck me, because they reminded me so much of our primary class and the things we have learned from teaching them. Here are quotes from two different stories:

"Admittedly, what happened was unusual. But it showed what really mattered to the nine-year-olds I was teaching. Without realizing what they were doing, they took over the class discussion on their own."

"Such a shift took time, but more important, it took trust that the students really needed and wanted the nourishment of the gospel and that the presentation of the food through the scriptures and the Spirit really was what would sustain them. Over the next few months a gradual change took place wherin the students began to bring their scriptures regularly, began to discuss the gospel more freely and willingly, and began to sense the wonder of the message."

People ask how I can "handle" 14 kids in one primary class with so few problems. We love our primary class and have had some great gospel discussions. We even have weeks where they want to stay in class instead of going to sharing time. However, it wasn't something that just happened because we are such great teachers. It took time to get to this point. We have an unusual advantage, in that this is the third year he have taught many of the children in our class (the Valiant 11's). The first year we taught them, they were eight years old. At the time the class consisted of eight boys and had a reputation for being a "difficult" class to teach. Some couldn't read very well, and most didn't bring their scriptures to church.

The second year we taught them was last year, when they were ten-year-olds, combined with the eleven-year-olds (that was the third year we taught that group, which had also become an all boy class). They had already improved a great deal. They knew to bring their scriptures, and they were used to reading aloud in class. We were able to do more straight from the scriptures than we could that first year. We noticed it made a big difference to both groups of boys to be together in a situation where the older boys set the example for the younger ones.

This year our "younger" boys are now the older ones, setting an example for the new children in the class. I have noticed that it didn't take long at all for the newer students to fall into place. One girl, who was so difficult the first week I didn't know what we were going to do with her, is now one of our most enthusiastic learners. She loves learning about the gospel.

This is an advantage I think you have built into priesthood quorums, especially where you have an established program and leaders and teachers with tenure. When things are running smoothly, the younger boys will fall into place, following the example of the older boys, and the older boys will benefit from being an example.

You can even get a little of this in the Cub Scout program, because of the way it is set up in the Church. I know we often complain about how the boys advance on their birthdays instead of at the same time, like in other packs, which can make keeping track of everything tricky. However, you can take advantage of the fact that you have older boys who can set the example as new boys enter your den, just like in the priesthood quorums. You can increase their opportunities to lead each other by making use of the denner program, and if you can arrange for a den chief, that will give them yet another boy to look up to.

What if you don't have an established program and/or your leaders are all new? It can be hard to start from scratch, especially when you see someone else's program that is running smoothly. Maybe you know of, or have been in before, a great boy-led troop, and you don't see how your ward can ever get to that point. Sometimes it is hard, when starting at the beginning, to have patience and take thing slowly (I am currently having this challenge with the adults in our packs - in some ways training adults takes even more patience than training kids).

I remember Charles Dahlquist's description of his early days as a Scoutmaster:

"I told them, 'Boys, I have a feeling we do not have long to accomplish all we must in this quorum. For the next couple of weeks, I will be doing some things that, after you have seen how it's done, you will be doing, so watch carefully!' Within several weeks they shouldered their proper share of the load, but only after they had seen it done and caught a vision of how things should go." (I don't know whether this talk is online anymore, but I quoted a lot of it here.)

Hopefully, after a lot of time, patience and training, things will smooth out. The other day I was taking to someone who has been involved with young men and scouting in our ward for a few years. He was telling me how much the program has improved over time. When he started, it wasn't much of a program at all. Then they had a couple of good leaders who really got things organized and going. Then they all took training and things really got better. It sounds like things are going pretty well now, and they have a new committee chair who I know will make things even better.

If you can get your own program to grow that way, then we just have to hope the bishopric will follow the wisdom from the new Handbook:

"When possible, leaders should be allowed to serve in Aaronic Priesthood and Scouting callings long enough to become fully trained, establish strong activity programs, and effectively touch the lives of boys and men."

(Note: I found this lesson so inspiring, that it has given me way too much to talk about in one post. I would like to let you ponder on this for a while, and I will continue the discussion of the same lesson in another post.)