“How is this change going to affect your organization?” an adult Scouter asked me. By “your organization” he meant the Order of the Arrow. I have lost count of the number of times this question has been posed to me in some form since the First Presidency announced on May 11, 2017 that the Church […]
Read more My Scoutmaster, Big Al appreciated what Order of the Arrow membership did for our large troop and for the boys in the troop. Over the years, the troop members that joined the OA repeatedly became servant leaders who made Big Al’s job easier. He couldn’t imagine foregoing this wonderful benefit. I recently attended an OA […]
Read more The first time I visited our BSA district’s Scouting for Food collection point years ago, a number of young men wearing the distinctive Order of the Arrow sash made up a noticeable part of the staff. And so it has been every year since then. In March, on a Saturday morning, I watched a group […]
Read more You can always tell a member of the Order of the Arrow when he wears the Order’s distinctive white sash embroidered with a shiny red arrow pointing over his right shoulder. But members do not always wear the OA sash when in uniform. It is much more common to see OA members wearing colorful lodge […]
Read more A hush settled over the Scouts and Scouters standing in the snow. The group and the flag were illuminated by two lanterns and a campfire. I watched as youth members of my Order of the Arrow chapter re-enacted a tradition that has endured for a handful of years, reverently lowering the flag at our annual […]
Read more It surprised me when some of my teen peers in the Order of the Arrow suggested that I run for lodge chief. I had served as chapter chief for two years, but it had never occurred to me that I might have the right stuff to be lodge chief. Most lodges cover a BSA council, […]
Read more At a recent Eagle Scout court of honor, the ward’s bishop surveyed the boys and men sitting in the Eagles nest, a collection of Eagle Scouts. The well-seasoned men in that group gave testament to the fact that boys that earn the Eagle rank are always Eagle Scouts. The bishop said, “The most important thing […]
Read more In the months leading up to leaving on my mission I worked as a groundskeeper at the Ogden Temple. Although I had acted as proxy for baptisms for the dead a number of times, I had little understanding of other ceremonies performed in the temple. Still, I was preparing to receive temple ordinances, which is […]
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“I joined the Order of the Arrow as a boy,” the man said. “I went through the Ordeal but I never did anything else with the OA.” This fellow is just one of many that have said something similar to me at various Scouting functions over the years. The most common answer as to why […]
Read more When doing service at a Scout camp in a remote location, improvisation often becomes necessary to accomplish the needed work. A few weeks ago I watched Arrowmen and camp staff members lacking adequate tools attempt to dismantle aged waterfront docks. Todd, an Arrowman with a can-do attitude, grabbed a hammer and started banging away at […]
Read more Our attention was riveted on the four young men standing before us as the flickering firelight danced on their Native American dress. I later learned that the chief of this group not only looked the part, but was an actual Native American wearing authentic gear. Some of the words they spoke seemed mysterious. Other words […]
Read more At age 12, I spent a week with my large Scout troop at Camp Loll BSA in the remote wilderness between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It rained the first day. I ended up in a tent full of misfits. The next day we attended church in an outdoor chapel that has a divine […]
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