14 – What Wards Can Learn From Scout Troopsfeatured

I have been a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout. I have a pin I was given for 20 years of service to the Scouting program in various capacities. There was badgework, service work, planning meetings, pinewood derby cars, fundraising, horseback riding, hiking, canoeing, camping, Jamborees and so much more. In reflecting on the Scouts I worked with over those years, I marvel and appreciate just how different and individual they each were. I still love those guys!

NOT EVERY SCOUT IS THE SAME

Not everyone in the troop wanted to be there. As a leader, it was hard to have activities each week that would be of interest to every boy in attendance while also advancing the program. Some wanted to work on their badges while others could not have cared less. The planning nights had the leader trying to come up with a way to do badgework in the most fun way possible when some simply wanted basketball every night.

Scouting involved a group of very different people with different interests and values. But as individual as each was, numbers made a difference. The more we had attend, the more we could do – and the better the chance that each boy could find someone to talk to and feel a connection with. Not everyone wanted to just play basketball. I never wanted someone there feeling out of place and alone in the troop.

I wrote in my 5^th blog about the similarities between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a big yellow school bus. I can also see a number of parallels between the Church and a Scout troop – and how members in congregations can benefit from the members of a good Scout troop.

The Scout troop and the Church each have their ultimate goals. The Scout leader wants as many Scouts as possible to earn their Eagle Scout award. (your country may have a different name for it). The Church leader wants as many members as possible to achieve the blessings of the highest degree in the Celestial Kingdom.

Both are worthy goals, but as members of either group, those goals can feel overwhelming.

NOT EVERY MEMBER IS THE SAME

This is where the average member of the Church can benefit from being more like the average member of a Scout troop. Not everyone attending Scouts wants to earn the Eagle Scout award. Some are content to show up each week and slowly work away on only the merit badge that most interests them. They do not care to get them all. Maybe it’s because other things in their lives are currently more concerning. Maybe they are not of an Eagle Scout mindset, but they are happy to work on that one badge, so they come. Some attend only because a friend is there.

I saw a lot of boys in Scouting that were happy to attend if they could be accepted for who they were and they could focus on what interested them most. The leaders and other boys were happy to have them come out and be a part of the troop with their own identity and interest – even if they were not chasing the highest award or following the badge program sequence at all. The experience still benefitted the boy, and his involvement in the troop added to the experience for everyone. There was always the possibility that the participant would, at some point, become more interested in the badgework and go a little further than he planned. While that is a benefit for everyone, it was not required for their acceptance by others.

IS CHURCH ONLY FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM?

Members of the Church can mistakenly develop the mindset that everyone in church on Sunday needs to have the end goal of obtaining the Celestial Kingdom as the driving force for their Church activity. Having that focus works for many people, and that’s great, but it is simply not what we should demand of everyone.

I think this is what President Gordon B Hinkley meant when he said “…bring with you all that you have of good and truth which you have received from whatever source, and come and let us see if we may add to it.”    The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith Oct 2022

I would put it through the Scouting lens by saying “Come join with us each week, bring your own personality and abilities, share what good you have with us and see if we can share with you anything that will make your life a little better.” I do not sense in any way that President Hinkley’s intent was that in order to come you have to do everything, you have to do it the way the person beside you does it, and you have do it all by the next General Conference. Oh – and do it in the current style of skirt with the right waist size and hair length!

DIVERSITY MAKES IT BETTER!

This is where you and I, as individuals who are or have already gone through Church discipline, come in. We are blessed to come to know the Savior Jesus Christ in a deeper way than we did before. We have had and are having, experiences that are eternally valuable to ourselves and they can be very relevant to others. We are no longer one of the cookie-cutter members who got baptized at 8, earned all the youth accolades, served a mission, married in the temple, had the standard 4.5 kids and then lived happily ever after – seemingly trial free – other than bemoaning that we are having trouble doing as much family history as we would like.

You add flavor and depth to your ward. There are people who may shun you, but there are also people who need you. There are people who will decide to keep trying because they see that you keep trying. Your story and example will strengthen others who are ready to try themselves – and in turn, you can find strength from them. Your efforts can still play a part in helping gather Israel. Just like a Scout troop, you may not find the week’s sacrament topic or Sunday School lesson of interest, but it may just be what you need to hear. The Spirit may teach you something you were not expecting. If nothing else, it provides an avenue for personal revelation and connection to the Saviour and to the other Ward members.

This applies to everyone that does not fit the “norm”. Those who are single past whatever age they no longer wanted to be single. Those whose spouse is not a member. Those who did not serve a mission when everyone else went. Those who are gay. Those who still feel the need to have a coffee to get going in the morning. You and I – whose Stake President decided we should not have a membership for a time. We ALL need to show up each week, bring what good we have, share that good with others, and see what the Lord has in store for us – whether that comes through words from the pulpit or love shown through someone that He is trying to put in our path.

DON’T BE OFFENDED WHEN THEY SAY IT – IT’S THEIR RESPONSIBILITY

In a healthy ward people with all sorts of backgrounds and trials will show up each week and feel safe. This requires the Christlike attributes of love and kindness to be at its very core. It also requires patience and an understanding from you and I that everyone is working on a different merit badge. While one person is trying to kick a vaping habit, another is trying to get their scriptures open on some sort of regular basis. Over in the other row someone else may be working on finding their 7^th Great grandparents to have them sealed on one of their weekly temple trips.

A good Scout troop and Scout leader will happily accept the Scout who only wants to work on one badge or just wants a place to come and feel a connection – but that good leader will still point out the Eagle Scout award and encourage all to think about earning it. The single badge Scout is going to hear that talk and accept that as part of the leaders responsibility.

A Christlike member and Christlike leader in a ward will be loving and accepting of everyone – including those who attend for simply social reasons – but that leader will still lovingly point out the blessings available in the Celestial Kingdom and encourage all to consider working towards it. The ward member not interested in doing more than they currently are need to accept that is part of the leader’s responsibility – even if it is not delivered in a way they feel comfortable with.

We cannot be offended that Eternal Marriage and the Celestial Kingdom are highlighted because it is the best the Gospel has to offer. Don’t feel like that has to be your goal as you show up each week. Try to not feel overwhelmed if it is your goal but not everything is finding its place yet. Go and grow in whatever way you can. Help your ward by showing up with your story and a desire to work on just one thing. Maybe you will want more from that point and maybe you won’t, but everyone, including you, will be better off with you there trying to connect a little more with your Heavenly Father through His son Jesus Christ.

YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE

Individuals do not achieve their Eagle Scout award by themselves. They achieve it because of a combined effort between a leader, a troop, and usually, a mother who loves and supports them. 

Individuals do not achieve the Celestial Kingdom by themselves. They obtain it through the combined and loving effort of leaders, wards, and people who love them – whether they are family or friends.

Camping and other Scouting activities have a marvellous ability to connect and bond individuals. Perhaps it is the result of just trying to stay warm, fed and alive. Gathering members on Sunday or through the various weekly gatherings have a marvellous ability to connect and bond individuals. That bonding is most effective when the members are open, honest and vulnerable about how they are just trying to survive the week – or the day.

Whether you are interested in the Celestial Kingdom or just a place to be for an hour or two on Sunday, please go – your ward needs you, even if they don’t realize it yet.