A few months ago I opened an email from the Church carrying the subject line “New Initiative for Children and Youth Development.” I quickly discovered that the Church will discontinue sponsoring all Scouting units on December 31, 2019 in favor of a new global youth program. The email included a link to this Church web […]
Read more On the evening of March 31, 2018, I was seated in the chapel of our stake center watching general priesthood meeting. Toward the end of his closing address (Ministering with the Power and Authority of God), President Russell M. Nelson invited priesthood holders “literally to rise up with [him] in our great eternal brotherhood” and […]
Read more I was once a 13-year-old Scout hoping that my troop members would elect me to become a nominee for membership in the Order of the Arrow. Not being particularly popular among my peers, I remember waiting nervously while an OA election team counted votes after conducting an election in my troop. The announcement that I […]
Read more At our district’s recent Klondike derby event, I ran into Al, a boy who joined the Order of the Arrow a while ago and who is a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. Al didn’t serve on the event staff with ten of his fellow OA chapter members. He camped in the snow and participated in […]
Read more Cory was nominated by his LDS-sponsored troop to be a candidate for the Order of the Arrow at age 13. A few months later Cory attended an Ordeal where he joined the Order. He soon became the unofficial troop OA representative, setting a strong example even for troop members who had joined the OA before […]
Read more Eleven and a half years ago a young Arrowman named Scott was preparing to serve a mission. He had recently become a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow and was uniformly described as a true friend by those who knew him. Ever willing to keep his obligation to unselfishly serve others, Scott […]
Read more Eric was a typical Latter-day Saint 13-year-old deacon and Star Scout when he joined the Order of the Arrow. He had developed a love of Scouting and its ideals during his time in his ward’s Cub Scout, new-Scout patrol, and Boy Scout troop programs. But within a few months Eric would turn 14 and would […]
Read more Four young men from my Order of the Arrow chapter recently joined other members of my lodge who had been Ordeal members for at least 10 months to discuss how each had fulfilled the high ideals learned during their Ordeal. That evening I attended a ceremony where each of these youth were recognized as a […]
Read more Weary but happy. That’s how the small group of young men in uniform looked as they smiled in the crisp sunrise air listening to bird calls and waves on the lakeshore. Along with the handful of other Scouts and Scouters present that recent morning, each of these new Vigil Honor members of the Order of […]
Read more A young man visiting our staff campsite earnestly asked our course director about how to deal with a situation that had developed while his clan attempted to carry out a task. This Scout, who was a leader in our Order of the Arrow lodge was clearly frustrated. After making some broad suggestions that amounted to […]
Read more “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 […]
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