Sunday, September 30, 2012

Use the Varsity Program the way it was designed.

The October 2012 Ensign has a great article called Instructing Young Men "More Perfectly" in the which these quotes are pulled.
Many Young Men leaders in the Church understand the Scouting program; fewer understand the Varsity and Venture programs. We encourage Varsity and Venture leaders to implement these excellent programs. They have been well developed and are some of the best tools anywhere for teaching leadership and self-reliance.
Young men need Church and Scouting activities for a lot of reasons. One reason is to help them develop leadership skills, brotherhood within their quorums, and relationships with adult shepherds who love them and are constantly inspiring, motivating, and watching over them. Another reason is that Scouting gives them opportunities to invite others into their brotherhood and also to invite others to come unto Christ, which is one of their duties as Aaronic Priesthood holders. Typically a young man will invite a friend to a Scouting activity before he will invite him to a priesthood meeting. 
At the Priesthood Leadership Conference we focus on how to utilize Scouting within the Aaronic Priesthood. We hope participants leave with a better understanding of the Aaronic Priesthood’s role in a young man’s life and with an urgency to ensure that appropriate Scouting activities are held that can round out a young man in physical, spiritual, social, and educational areas—areas that will prepare him for the Melchizedek Priesthood, the temple, a mission, marriage, work, and life.
These quotes fly in direction opposition to those Scout leaders who say Varsity Scouting and Venturing isn't necessary and a rehash of the Troop.  It also contradicts those leaders Eric the Half-bee speaks of who don't pick up a manual and who also don't get trained.

Enough is enough Young Men leaders who make excuses for not doing their jobs.

Stand up!  Get trained!  Do what Scouts do!  Do what good Scout leaders do!
 

2 comments:

Eric the Half-bee said...

Quite the emphasis this year on "get with the program, YM Advisor!" isn't there?

On the other hand, (mea culpa) my wife mentioned to me that if we're going to buy the Ensign, we ought to read it too...

Fishgutts said...

There is a push. I don't think leaders can say they didn't know anymore.

You can just download the free version and then not read it. :)