Catching racoons

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I recognize the dangerous position I occupy here being the only person between you and the end of this conference.

I hope you leave knowing that we appreciate you. We appreciate you women who start building boys at a young age. And we appreciate you men who take the handoff, if you will, and keep bringing these boys along through the gospel growth progress until they become independent young men, going on missions, getting married, getting married, and making contributions to society. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

We appreciate your coming to this mini philmont activity - it says so much about your commitment to building quality. Building quality programs, quality relationships, quality boys. We appreciate all those who have worked so hard to make this a meaningful activity. Thanks you!

I've been asked to address you on the subject of "THEREFORE WHAT?"

I suspect that the purpose of this subject is to bring it all together. To help explore with you "What do we do next?" or "What is it all about?" I hope that what I feel inside will be communicated to you through the spirit so that we can rejoice together at this combination of the gospel and scouting…

I've got to admit that the first thing I thought of when I was preparing my comments on "What is it all about" was a bumper sticker I saw years ago. The bumper sticker said "What if the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about?"

I think we can all agree, that the Hokey Pokey isn't what it's all about.

But I think I can summarize my feelings about "What it's all about" with a quick scout story and a scripture.

When I was a Senior Patrol Leader we went to a camporee with all the other troops in our Stake. We were in Houston and it was hot and muggy and we had a bunch of young scouts. On the last day of the camporee there were a bunch of contests that we performed. There was a lashing contest. There was an orienteering contents. There was a knot tying contest. There was a first aid demonstration. In all of the competition, we did pretty poorly. I didn't worry too much about it, because we had young scouts, boys who couldn't be expected to know much about these things. When we all gathered back, together for the awards ceremony, they told us that the highest scoring troop would be able to tell the poorest scoring troop something they had to do. As you might have guessed, our troop was the loser. But the thing that made it particularly painful, was that the winning troop was the 11 year old scout troop. They were hot. They had done everything perfect. I thought - who are these guys? SuperScout?

Before I knew it, my troop was on all fours crawling around the camp, in the dirt, singing "You are my sunshine". It was humiliating. But it taught me a great lesson which I think summarizes why we're here. I learned that it isn't age that matters, it's preparation that matters…

2Nephi 1
21 And now, that my soul might have joy in you, arise from the dust, my sons, and be amen, and be determined in bone mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity; • • • 23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of arighteousness. Shake off the bchains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.

I've tried since then to arise from the dust, and come forth out of obscurity.

To seek through preparation to 'become' a man of Christ. Therefore - if you were to ask me what are we trying to do as we bring the great scouting program together with the aaronic Priesthood programs of the church…I would say we are preparing our boys to become men of Christ. And that is what I believe it is all about.

In scouting the motto is "Be Prepared". But Be Prepared for what?
That's where gospel truths of the church brings direction to this partnership which is what makes it so valuable. It teaches us what it is we are to BECOME…Even men and women of Christ.

Missionaries? Yes.
men who enter the world prepared to work and serve? Yes
men of character, who will be honest, full of integrity, and able to lead? Yes
men who are solid husbands and fathers who understand their role in the world and building families of faith? Yes
To become men of christ in every respect - worthy to shake off the chains and to arise from the dust.


Need for something to help our YM
3 1/2 years ago, we were called to serve in our Stake Presidency. We took time right at the beginning to write a vision statement of what we felt the ideal stake should look like - What a Zion Stake might look like. We then identified concerns which would keep us from achieving that vision. We had concerns for parents, and children. Concerns for priesthood leaders, and for Relief Society Sisters. Let me share a few of the concerns we had for our young men. And we named some of them last night with President Burgess.

Young men might decide NOT to come to mutual and scouting because of involvement in school, sports, and other social activities. And that their parents might support them in not coming.
Young men might become lazy and not feel challenged to do the hard things that build character - Education, Standards, Work, Missions, Marriage, and Having Children.
Young men might get lost as they switched between their divorced parents homes.
Youth might abandon church standards in favor of worldly patterns of living.
That "Church" activities and Aaronic Priesthood might not hold their interest in a world of growing stimulations.

Over time as we've watched young men gradutate from high school and Graduate from Seminary. As we sent them on missions. And as we've seen them marry in the temple and begin to have families of their own, we realized that many of these concerns we had were not real…at least not for all the boys. Most were solid, and coming unto christ. But we also saw that with some of our boys, our concerns were real and needed to be addressed head on. And so we sought to know the best way to run our young men's program so that it would strengthen all young men and to ensure they all stayed on the path to Christ.

Invitation to go to Philmont
So having that burden of concern about helping save ALL our young men, we prayed for help. And then about a year and 1/2 ago, our Stake Presidency was invited by the YM General Presidency to attend Philmont. At first I was a bit skeptical about going to one more 'scout training' event.

I felt like the Little Sunbeam in our Stake who stood up when he had listened to too much preaching by one of the members of the Bishopric and announced to the whole primary - 'Yeah, Yeah, we get it already."

In some ways I felt cynical and wanted to say - "Yeah, Yeah, we get it already." We understand that scouting:
It's expensive
We have fewer and fewer boys to implement the program
It's hard to get people trained, and then we move them to the next calling
Young men of today don't seem to want to wear uniforms and don't want to get out in the woods and earn badges when they've got computers and X-Box's to keep them entertained

So on the one hand we had this concern about boys and them slipping through the cracks. And on the other hand we had this concern about scouting not being able to reach the boys.

But thank heaven for the power of an invitation from the general church officers - and we as a stake presidency accepted their invitation and made the trip to New Mexico as a pretty skeptical bunch.

I won't go through the gory details, but I will just say that all three of us saw the light at Philmont. We came back surprised at the answers we had found and excitement we felt about scouting. I felt like I wanted to shout- 'hurray for scouting'… in my heart.

That is why when Pres Gillette invited us to join his Stake for this miniphilmont, we jumped at the chance. We wanted to bear our testimony as it were.

Why? What happened at Philmont that changed our hearts? Two things. We saw with our own eyes what scouting can be when operated by people who 'get it', and we spent a week with people who lived the scouting principles and we saw what a community of people who have internalized those principles can be like.

At Philmont, we saw hundreds of young men, in uniforms, following their leaders. It was a page right out of a scouting promotional video. We saw a sophisticated scouting organization that was sending troops out into the wilderness with guides and food sufficient for them to hike from 50 to 100 miles in bear-infested wilderness. We saw excitement in young men who weren't members of the church, AND who shared their excitement with each other and with their leaders. They were bonding in powerful ways with good men, and good young men. It was so positive. WE saw what it was like to see people who 'got it'.
Besides seeing the scouts and seeing how the program worked, when it was implemented effectively...We also attended training with LDS Church Leaders like yourselves who were examples of everything Scouting teaches. Products if you will of the scouting/priesthood program. We got to feel what it was like to be in the midst of people who had prepared to become trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, cheerful, thrifty, Brave, Obedient, clean and reverent.
We felt what it's like to live in a community of solid, good Celestial people…People who grow up learning the scouting principles.
To be around people who who are not afraid to volunteer, to obey, to be on time, to be positive, to achieve, to befriend others , to follow leaders, to accept responsibilities, to be supportive. People who go above and beyond to make things clean, to make things meaningful.
Quick example. The bathrooms were spotless clean. Why? It's not because there were lots of janitors keeping things clean. It was because as people brushed their teeth, or washed their faces they cleaned the sinks after them or threw away any garbage that was laying around. Why? Not because someone told them to. But because they believed in being clean. had always done it at home, those principles where part of their lives, and it felt good to clean up after yourself. It was a feeling of coming home.
Another example of Loyalty….Brother Richie
Choir Director. He was so wonderful that we gave him a standing ovation when it was over.
His wife originally was going to play piano. But as time got closer they realized that one of them would get to be part of it, and the other would need to be with the kids. His wife allowed him to do the choir.
He then told us in tears of gratitude how much he loved his wife. Because he realized without a shadow of doubt that without her being who she was, he couldn't be who he was. That testimony burned into my heart as I thought about my good wife. That without her being who she is, I could never be who I am. That loyalty and love blessed his life. And it blesses my life.

Therefore, having seen the scouting program in process, and having seen the community that is possible when people live those principles, We became scouting converts. Born again if you will. We caught the vision. I will go as far as saying that we got a witness of the program's part in saving our young men. We realized that unlike the primary boy that we now could say with enthusiasm - "Yea, Yea, we get it finally",

We saw, and we felt what scouting was able to deliver in the hands of people who GET IT and who are ready to work hard to MAKE IT happen.

We hope that this miniphilmont has given you an opportunity to feel a bit of what we felt…has helped you feel a little of that conversion that we were able to taste. And we hope that the feeling will be strong so that when you go back to your troops and Districts, that you will follow your heart and that you'll do all you can to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

There were 3 very specific feelings I felt as I left Philmont. We hope and pray that these 4 feelings will go with you, and will help drive your decisions in your programs going forward. A Feeling that…

Scouting is a great organization
Boys are important
We are up for the challenge

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Scouting is a great organization
And as a church we're so fortunate to be connected to it
Back in my cynical days, I believed that Scouting was primarily a church-supported program, and that if the church ever dropped scouting, that it would just shrivel up and die. But at Philmont I learned something. I was humbled. Scouting is strong, independent of the church.
If you tuned into General conference last weekend, you heard that the Church is made up of 13 million members in 176 countries. That's a big number.
Scouting is double that size at 26 million members, and if you include the Girl Guide program the organization has over 38 million members in 216 countries. That's even a bigger number, with a lot of depth and breadth.
As a church President Burgess told us again last night, we are closer to scouting than we have ever been. We are not making a move away from Scouts. We're moving closer towards it. Why?
Scouting is a proven program that lifts young men. It has a great history of building men of character. This is not theoretical or a marketing gimmick. Scouting has 100 years of successful history helping produce good men. The church is also part of this movement, and thank heaven we aren't alone in this fight against the evil one. Thank heaven we have partners in this battle for the souls of men.
But scouting alone will not build men of Christ. It must have the Aaronic Priesthood to prepare men to become worthy melchizedek priesthood holders of God.
Presidetn Burgess taught last night so much of the aaronic priesthood training takes place in Classrooms. And while classrooms are great for teaching, they aren't very good at teaching by experience. That's where scouting helps. It gets young men, and their leaders outdoors where they can work together and play together, and learn together.
The better we execute, the more impact we will have. If Scouting fails, it's not because scouting is a bad program.
As we combine scouting and Aaronic Priesthood programs, we give YM a fighting chance to succeed. At Philmont to make this point, they had a brother come up and had him do a one handed pushup. He couldn't do it. They then had him do a two handed pushup. He did it effortlessly. Why? One hand is the Aaronic Priesthood. The other is Scouting. Together we accomplish our goals.
If you continue to have feelings as I once did, that scouting is overpriced, and that boys can't get into it…schedule a trip to Philmont. Your heart will be changed and you'll recognize what a great program scouting is.

Boys are important.
I loved the quote that Pres Burgess gave us last night from Elder Holland…that "Every Thirteen Year Old Boy Deserves to have a full measure of our attention."
In many ways - Scouting is not really about boys. It not a tending activity that just helps take care of boys while they're teenagers. Scouting is about men. And how to make more of them. Real men. Men with character. Men with integrity. Men who have courage to lead. Men who have virtue and seek God to help them be better. Men who care for others, and who are willing to work to make a better world.
Scouting is about making men, by building boys. We're not here to make men who will get handed a simple or a scripted life and presto! They know the answers. But rather, we are making men who will be able to navigate trecherous waters, and know they can take on any experience and deal with it in a positive way.
President Dahlquist said several things which have stuck with me about the importance of our boys...
God loves your boys more than you do. Do for the Savior that which he would do if he were here himself.
We need men who not only love scouting, but also who more importantly love scouts.
He said that it isn't far from from the back row at church to the streets. By bringing boys in, we will see them develop.
He also talked about the blessings to the men who get engaged in this program.
When we dig in, the boys are blessed. But in some ways, the men and women who are involved are even more blessed. Cuz they understand the principles, the doctrines and the traits that are being built. They see the effect on the boys. Whereas the boys may not see it.
If you wonder if Scouting really has anything for men. Ask any of the men you know who have attended Woodbadge. They can't stop talking about what a great thing it was - for them personally.
True story. Ted Winder, My Brother in Law as Bishop went to Woodbadge.
He did the work, earned the beads, learned the songs.
When his wife packed up their house so they could move fifteen years after he had been to woodbadge, she was tossing all the junk so they didn't have to haul it all to Torrey. She tossed the beads.
I heard her say - Ted never complained about anything I threw out as I dejunked the house. Except those beads. He loved those beads and don't think he'll ever forgive me for tossing them. I never understood them. And I think until you go to woodbadge you'll never understand.
In Fact President Dahlquist pointed out, if you don't know who to call for your Scout Leaders…find the men who will do anything for a bead…then you'll know them.
So let's do it. Let's maximize it's effect on boys, young men and leaders. Our boys are worth it.

We are up for the challenge. We can do it.
I learned a long time ago, that It doesn't matter where you raise your kids - it matters how you raise your kids.
I believe the same principle applies to our Young Men. It doesn't matter if we raise them in South Jordan, or Sandy, or South Salt Lake. What matters is how we work with them HERE in West Valley or in Magna.
We can make scouting great in our Wards and Stakes.
We can help every young man in our charge develop and become great.
We can do it because we know how to work, and we are willing to take on a challenge, because we have the Gospel - which teaches us who we are, it teaches us who these young men are and it teaches us what we will become. We have the restored priesthood to help prepare these young men to be stalwart workers in the kingdom and that can make all the difference.
It reminds me of the time we took on a challenge at Scout Camp when I was young in Texas.

Let me end with this story
We were sitting around the fire the first night. We saw about 10 pair of eyes in the dark looking at us. It scared us. Then someone said that it was a family of racoons out there waiting for us to go to bed so they could come in and take our food.
We decided we would take on the challenge of catching those coons. And so we took up the challenge. So the next day we dug a pit, layed some branches on it, and put meat atop. It was a half hearted effort, but we thought it would be enough because coons are dumb…right?
The next morning we came out looking for the racoon. And all we saw was that the meat was gone, and the trap had been sprung but the hole hadn't been big enough. The coon had just climbed up the branches.
So, we decided to dig a deeper hole...
The next morning the branches had fallen in, but because the branches were too long, they were still sticking out, and the raccoons were able to climb right out.
So, we decided to dig the hole so deep that they couldn't climb out - and the branches would be too small to give them an out. The hole took most of an afternoon to dig. We then hung the food by a string from a tree above the pit.
The next morning the branches were still there…but the meat was gone. Where? The raccoons had pulled the string up and eaten the meat in the tree.
Finally we pulled out all the guns. We dug the pit in an upside down cone shape. It was so tall we had to help the person in the pit to get out. We laid the meat on the branches so the raccoon would have to walk out into the middle of the pit. We put the matrix of sticks and branches over the hole, and it was so delicate that the lightest weight would topple into the pit.
We were pretty darn sure that we had won.
The next morning we came out. The trap had been sprung. The branches were all down in the pit. The meat was gone. We knew we had won. We fully expected to see a mad raccoon down in the pit circling waiting for us. As we approached, there was no raccoon. But how did he get away? He tunnelled. In fact there were about 3 tunnels out of the pit.

The point?
Raising boys is a lot like catching raccoons. It's tricky. Don't try and do it on your own like we did. You are partners with parents. You need scouting. You need aaronic Priesthood. You need a committee. You need the scouting method. You need the depth of learning that Scouting has developed. And then, if you do all you and the others can do…you'll get your boy. But you have to give it all you can to be successful. You have to take on the challenge.

I have a testimony that God Lives. I pray that we will teach our young men to arise up out fo the dust and be men. These are the last days. There are so many things the Lord is doing to prepare his people to receive him at his coming. And one of those things is to help our young men, or better said, his young men to become virtuous Men of God. Scouting linked to the Aaronic Priesthood will do it.

I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.