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I really, really think that our SMs should focus on the Savior…but… I have to give a talk on Scout Sunday…about the scout program and how it prepares YM for the Aaronic priesthood.
What in the world??
What would that kind of talk include?
How can I bring the Savior into that topic?
Help…please?
Among other things, a Scout is reverent and he does his duty to God. One who is preparing for the Aaronic Priesthood should have at least a minimal idea of what that means (although his testimony does not need to be any specific height to enter). A core principle of the Church of Christ is that Jesus is the Christ. I think you could do a lot with that. I agree. Pick one thing that deals with the Savior and runs with it. I was going to say the same thing, but I had to go do a scout activity 
I don’t think most anybody is going to notice you didn’t talk about scouting preparing for the AP vs becoming like the savior. Walk through the scout law, oath, slogan, and motto. They are all wonderful ideals to live by.
And as a scoutmaster, at the local level I don’t see scouts as anti-gay. In the troop I am in, out of the 50+ boys I interacted with over years, there are 2 scouts that are absolutely gay (only one has now come out once getting into college) and the other is on a mission. The boys even knew it and dealt with it. Other than not showering with them they accepted them.
I agree with everyone else focus on the Savior. I believe Scouting, which actually began in England, was in part, a benevolent society. With spirituality, reverence (of people and nature) and courtesy as part of the skills. Things have morphed over time and spirituality falls under Duty to God. Perfect Savior material. I think a huge portion of scouting is service. That’s a great Christ-centered topic. Also as a side note, someone recently noted to a group of leaders in my area that one of the main challenges for new missionaries is that they’ve never lived away from home and they’ve never had to work with someone other than a parent to resolve issues. This is especially true in the United States now that boys are leaving right out of high school.
Scouting prepares boys to be better missionaries by helping them learn leadership principles (most have a turn as patrol leaders or senior patrol leaders), learning to live away from home (think scout camp), learning to eat unfamiliar foods and live in difficult circumstances (think camping), and associate with lots of different people. This isn’t exactly about Christ, but you could tie it into missionary work.
Roadrunner wrote:I think a huge portion of scouting is service. That’s a great Christ-centered topic.
Also as a side note, someone recently noted to a group of leaders in my area that one of the main challenges for new missionaries is that they’ve never lived away from home and they’ve never had to work with someone other than a parent to resolve issues. This is especially true in the United States now that boys are leaving right out of high school.
Scouting prepares boys to be better missionaries by helping them learn leadership principles (most have a turn as patrol leaders or senior patrol leaders), learning to live away from home (think scout camp), learning to eat unfamiliar foods and live in difficult circumstances (think camping), and associate with lots of different people. This isn’t exactly about Christ, but you could tie it into missionary work.
And when done right Scouting teaches them to cook at least simple foods. I was surprised on my mission how many of my companions couldn’t cook anything – not even an egg.
I agree with the service aspect, too. I’d definitely include that were I giving the talk.
Roadrunner wrote:I think a huge portion of scouting is service. That’s a great Christ-centered topic.
just a few points on that
in cub scouts the boys have requirements to give service.
All of the advanced ranks require several hours of service. One of the most important part of becoming an eagle scout is the Eagle project. Yes it focuses a lot on the scout being the leader, but the result is coordinating a group of volunteers to give service (BTW – the beneficiary is NOT allowed to be the boy scouts). When the rank of Eagle is given, they are sworn in as an Eagle and a big part of this is committing to serve others and perpetuate scouting ideals. This includes urging them to serve as leaders to others for the rest of their life.
One of the most admired boy scout adventures is going backpacking at Philmont. You can hike for >100 miles, but if you don’t do a 3 hour service project, you don’t get the coveted Philmont badge to hang on your scout shirt.
Every scout camp I ever went to we were assigned a service project of some type.
The order of the arrow within scouts (a optional “brotherhood” in scouts) is a service organization and the “initiation” includes a 24 hour period where the scout is given minimal food, instructed not to speak for 24 hours. During this “ordeal” they perform several hours of service.
I literally just became aware that Scout Sunday exists this week. 47 years in this church, and I had never encountered it. Weird. So, Feb isn’t just Scout month, but it’s also Domestic Violence awareness month and Black History month. Both of those seem like better places to find good material on talks. hawkgrrrl wrote:I literally just became aware that Scout Sunday exists this week. 47 years in this church, and I had never encountered it. Weird. So, Feb isn’t just Scout month, but it’s also Domestic Violence awareness month and Black History month. Both of those seem like better places to find good material on talks.
I could be wrong, but my understanding is that this is not LDS church scout Sunday, it is the BSA’s scout Sunday. The wards I have been in have only flirted once or twice with doing something like having the scout aged kids wear their uniforms to church. Even then we had a bishop that said they were not to bless or pass the sacrament. It seems to be fading out except for the die-hard scouters that wear their uniforms to church.Someone actually showed me in the CHI that it does mention Scout Sunday as a thing, although wearing uniforms to do sacrament was discouraged IIRC. Scout Sunday and Aaron Priesthood Commemoration Sunday seriously chap my feminist hide. As to the OP – QuestionsAbound – I have no doubt you will do a great job. Share when you can. I love StayLDS talks.
Scouting Month February has traditionally been designated as Scouting Month in the United States. Leaders of Scouting units chartered by the Church may plan and carry out approved activities during the week to recognize this tradition. However, in keeping with the purposes of Sabbath observance, boys and leaders do not wear their uniforms to regu- lar Sunday meetings or while administering and passing the sacrament.
https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/english/young-men/35814_scout-handbook_eng.pdf?lang=eng One more comment about the original post. Whenever I am asked to speak on priesthood and there will be women also attending the meeting, I point out that most of what I talk about are for both men and women. Service, missionary work, not abusing authority, etc, apply pretty broadly. Also, there’s nothing inherently male about the Scout Law or Scout Oath, and non LDS Venture troops (aka crews) can have girls as part of their troops although admittedly it’s a small number.
It’s a stretch I know; I’m just trying to point out possible ways to broaden the applicability of a scout topic.
Roadrunner wrote:One more comment about the original post. Whenever I am asked to speak on priesthood and there will be women also attending the meeting, I point out that most of what I talk about are for both men and women. Service, missionary work, not abusing authority, etc, apply pretty broadly.
Also, there’s nothing inherently male about the Scout Law or Scout Oath, and non LDS Venture troops (aka crews) can have girls as part of their troops although admittedly it’s a small number.
It’s a stretch I know; I’m just trying to point out possible ways to broaden the applicability of a scout topic.
And I happen to know several LDS girls and a female LDS leaders are in a venture crew. Not sponsored by our church of course.
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