{Klondike Derby.........

One of our January Activities was took our Dad on an activity minus US.  Which really was fine by me.  I am NOT one for camping in SUBZERO temps.  The timing of the expedition seemed ill-timed, after the shock of the news of the passing of our friend Josh,  but I think Drew needed it to take his mind off of the other.  Yesterday, in our ward was Scout Sunday.  It was a good reminder to hear the SCOUT oath and have the leaders give their own personal experiences of how the Scouting program has been a blessing in their lives. 
I loved the simple sayings that Christopher Likes shared:  Keep your fork the best is yet to come.  and regarding behavior & the Scout oath :  Act like a Scout!

Drew shared that Scouting  goes far beyond patches & awards but that it teaches Young Men to be Fathers, Missionaries, Leaders, & the Magnify their priesthood.







AS Drew shared his thoughts about lessons he learned as a youth and how that lesson was a benefit to him as a leader, my mind turned to this talk I read earlier this year in the Ensign.  I love this talk & to love the meaning of the 50 -mile hike & feel they could be done a lot more with our youth today.


Why I Love 50-Mile Hikes

By David C. Pack

Director of LDS-BSA Relationships from 2007 to 2012

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I love 50-mile (80 km) hikes, not so much because they’re fun but because they teach young men to do hard things.

Most young men who start 50-milers think they’re prepared, but it doesn’t take long—just a few miles up that first ridge—before they wonder who talked them into it. That night, unlike on other campouts, they’re quiet and they go to bed early rather than stay up late talking.

The next morning, there’s a solemn feeling in the camp—not a lot of discussion. And as the young men start their climb again, they contemplate life and death. By that afternoon they’re missing their mothers and wondering whether they’ll ever see them again.

By the second night around the campfire, you have the most teachable, ready-to-learn, ready-to-listen-to-the-Spirit young men you will ever see. You won’t see them that way in priesthood meeting or at home or at school or on activity night. As a result, there will be an opportunity around that campfire for testimony bearing and teaching that will sink deep into their hearts and that they will remember for a lifetime.

Such experiences require dedicated adult leaders who are willing to get out with the young men, mentor them, allow them to lead, and be there for them.

By the last day of a 50-miler, the young men feel that they have accomplished the hardest thing they’ve ever done—and they’ve survived! They go home realizing that doing better in school and serving a mission may not be so difficult after all. The bar has been raised for them. In the process they come to love and appreciate their parents more, and they can’t wait to see them again.

When we do and teach hard things, we bring young men to a level of competence and confidence that prepares them for the future—the opportunity to serve an honorable mission, be successful in school, become a worthy husband and father, and do other things the Lord expects of them.

That’s why a functioning Aaronic Priesthood quorum is so important in the life of a young man. When we successfully integrate Duty to God and Scouting into an Aaronic Priesthood program, we help the priesthood quorum strengthen its young men and prepare them for the future.