My introduction to the relationship between Scouting and Aaronic priesthood quorums was as a young man. I grew up in Orem, Utah. When I was a deacon, our ward actually had two functioning deacons quorums. I remember very little about our activities. I do know that we regularly went on campouts, including the Klondike derbies, sand-dunes, and American Fork canyon, as well as summer camp. I know that we had organized basketball seasons with real practice. I know that we had softball season as well. But other than that, I don't remember any specific activities at the quorum level.

But in the midst of these hazy memories, I recall two significant events, or perhaps groups of events. One was attending a Patrol Leader training conference. This day-long activity taught leadership skills and the role of the patrol in Scouting. I believe I still have the patrol flag that we made out of leather. The second involved the quorum presidency meetings that I participated in as a counselor in the teachers quorum presidency. It was in these meetings that I learned that I had a responsibility, as a leader, to represent and to lead the members of my patrol or quorum.

Time passes. I graduate, go away to school, serve a mission, go back to school, get married, and then graduate from college. I move to Tucson, Arizona, to study applied mathematics at The University of Arizona. We make friends with some other young families also going to school, including one who was the young men president in our ward. One Sunday, a counselor in the bishopric caught me in the hall, pulled me into a classroom, and asked me if I would be willing to serve as the first counselor in the young men presidency and as the teachers quorum adviser. I didn't know much of what this involved, other than I knew that I'd be teaching a lesson on Sunday. The Spirit confirmed the call, and I accepted. The week that I was sustained, a sister that I didn't really know yet, other than that she played the organ, came up to me enthusiastically and asked if I'd filled out a Boy Scout leader application yet. After all, I'd be helping out with Scouting.

Time Out! Nobody said anything about Scouting. For that matter, nobody really said anything about activities. After all, aren't Scouting and the Young Men presidency separated? Well, I had the time and gracefully adopted these new shocking responsibilities.

When I went to "Scouts" that week, I observed something that I might call channeled chaos. A group of around 12 boys, from the age of 12-17, were gathered together (sort of) to do an opening ceremony and then began learning about something advancement related --- the details slip my mind. One of the youngest boys had easily learned how to get on the nerves of the older boys. Half the time of the meeting was spent trying to get people back on task. As I continued to attend meetings, the basic format continued. I was really beginning to doubt why we were using this program in the activities.

A few months later, the young men president moved into a house in another ward. I was called by the bishopric to serve as the new young men president. Around this same time, I attended the Scoutmaster Fundamentals training of the Boy Scouts of America. At that meeting, I was given information (faulty, as it turns out) that because the Boy Scouts of America is a nonsectarian association, all religious references in meetings must be generic. This just didn't jive with my understanding that we, as a church, should be able to reinforce our beliefs at activities, including Scouting.

And so, I began a time of serious reflection on the role of Scouting in the young men organization. I could see that the program was not working as presently organized. I failed to see any wisdom in developing activities centered around outdoorsmanship, especially when I would hear from some of the youth that they didn't want to do that type of activity. I felt personally convinced that activities needed to help strengthen the youth spiritually. There was a clear disconnect between this desire and what was happening in my ward.

Other forces were also in motion. The Boy Scouts of America was forced to break the Exploring division of Scouting into a new Learning for Life division so that police and fire departments could continue to sponsor career-oriented posts. At the same time, a new Venturing program was being established to continue the ability to establish what would have been traditional Explorer posts as Venturing crews. As I began to learn about this new program, I thirsted for every tidbit that I could learn. I was in awe of the power that I saw for the potential to work with the older boys, my priests.

There were a few features of the Venturing program that really caught my attention. First, the original literature emphasized a balanced activity program focusing on six experience areas: leadership, citizenship, social, outdoor, service, and fitness. Looking at activities as providing a balanced development of a young man's character made a lot of sense to me. Second, the awards program (not advancement) emphasized the development and achievement of personal goals. This also made a lot of sense in relation to developing character.

I began looking at all of the programs of the Boy Scouts of America in a new light. I discovered what I should have learned earlier. Scouting has three aims, summarized by the words character, citizenship, and fitness. Each program in Scouting has various methods to help accomplish these aims. When I began to understand the aims, I began to understand why the church so emphatically endorses the Scouting programs.  Character encompasses those attributes that will help boys grow into men of faith, responsibility and honor, and includes such ideas as the points of the Scout law. Citizenship is much broader than feeling a loyalty to nation or community. It includes all aspects relating to an individual's responsibility within the context of a group. Fitness describes a multi-cornered vision of fitness, including mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional fitness. I began to recognize that Scouting, when used as intended, provides an unlimited potential of growth in the lives of the young men of the church.

Having received this conviction of the value of Scouting, my attention turned to questions of implementation. Having discovered Venturing, I knew that we needed to have a crew. But where did the teachers belong? At about this time, the director of LDS relationships with the Boy Scouts of America was traveling to different areas for two purposes: to advertise Venturing and to reinforce general Scouting issues. I discovered that I already knew the Venturing information. But during the question/answer session, I was shocked by one of the answers.

The Church handbooks indicate that there are separate Scouting units for each quorum. Yet, I couldn't see how you could really run a unit with only one or two boys. After all, what do you do, assign them as leaders over nobody? So when someone in the audience asked how to use the programs when you only have a few boys, and the relationships director responded that the Church policy is to have a separate unit for each quorum to promote quorum identity, I was surprised at this blunt response. The questioner followed up, "But what can you do with only one boy?" The response caught me off guard: "What can't you do with one boy?"

I couldn't believe this answer. After all, it is not hard to imagine experiences that a group of boys might enjoy but that an individual working separately might not. It took another paradigm shift to understand the answer. The primary purpose of the activities are not to help the young men experience group dynamics in a Scouting environment. The primary purpose of the activities is to help the young men come to Christ. Suddenly, the wisdom of what previously sounded preposterous sank in. If a quorum adviser views his role as helping young men come to Christ, numbers don't matter. In fact, it is easier to customize activities around the needs of one young man than to work around the needs of a group.

Over the next few years, I continued to work with the young men. Other issues came to our attention. These included the importance of quorum presidencies, the importance of planning, the importance of goals, and the importance of accountability.

There came a point where our presidency had recognized that the quorum adviser played a significant role in helping young men set and achieve personal goals. We realized that Scouting builds this directly into the advancement program through the use of the Scoutmaster conference. But we also realized that we had fallen into a common pitfall, allowing the interview to focus only on Scouting issues and usually reviewing the requirements of an advancement that a boy had just completed. We realized that this interview should take a broader perspective of goals in the life of a young man. We began to develop categories of goals and a worksheet to help guide the adviser/Scouting leader during this interview process. We intended for the adviser to regularly go over these goals with the young men. The bishopric interviews with youth would also include these goals.

Three weeks later, I sat in the Priesthood Meeting of General Conference (Oct 2001) to hear Elder Hales give a presentation on the new Fulfilling our Duty to God program. This program embodied exactly the outcomes we had intended to establish through our initiative relating to goals. However, it brought with it an inspired way to categorize these goals. In addition to a list of required family and quorum goals, the young men need to choose and accomplish goals in the areas of spiritual development; physical development; educational, personal and career development; and citizenship and social development. Not only did these prophetically chosen development areas match cleanly with the aims of Scouting, but they also centered on scripture, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new materials.

A few months later, the first week of February, just as the materials were being distributed, our ward boundaries were realigned with-in the stake. I continued to serve as YM president but with new boys and new counselors. I had the opportunity to put my knowledge into practice. I was really enjoying the work. I visited the youth and their parents to discuss the Duty to God program and help them set goals. The Venturing crew was starting to gel. The other groups were also coming together. But graduation was drawing near and I had to finish my dissertation. I was released a few months before moving out of the area in August.

I spent a lot of effort and thought, as well as many presidency meetings with multiple presidencies, trying to understand the young men program of the Church. I admit that I perhaps may still not understand some aspects. I would like to be able to share what I learned and what I believe makes the program work most effectively. This project attempts to convey some of my thoughts.