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Duty to God Meets Scouting

by Julie Coulter Bellon, LDS Living Magazine, Sep/Oct Issue

The Duty to God program is a guide to preparing a young man to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, to go to the temple, and serve as a full-time missionary. Many of its requirements are also Scouting requirements, and the two programs go hand in hand.

The Duty to God booklet explains, "Scouting is full of adventure, challenge, and responsibility. We encourage you to participate in Scouting. Many of the Scouting requirements can fill goals and requirements of the Duty to God certificate." Any young man who has earned both his Duty to God Certificate as well as an Eagle Scout rank is well prepared spiritually, mentally, and physically to meet the challenges he will face in the future. It is well worth his time to work toward these goals, and both awards can be earned with careful record keeping and planning.

Here are some activities that the Young Men in your ward can do that will meet both the Duty to God and Scouting program requirements.

Deacon Requirements

Family Activities

· Keep a written record of your family history; prepare a four-generation genealogy pedigree chart

· Prepare two meals for your family; wash and iron your own clothes for one month

· Perform at least two service projects for your family each year

Quorum Activities

· Give one three-to-five minute talk each year in priesthood or sacrament meeting

· Participate in two deacons service projects each year

Spiritual Development

· Read or learn about an ancestor; report what you learned
· Complete additional family history like a family group sheet. Show your parents as children
· Start a journal and write in it regularly for two months
· Set up a plan to be spiritually and financially prepared for a mission at age nineteen

Physical Development

· Run 1 ¼ miles and set a goal for improvement

· Develop and begin a one-year plan to improve your physical fitness

· Swim fifty meters using two different strokes

· Learn to float on your back in the water for at least two minutes

· Learn how to rescue someone who is drowning

· Hike six miles in one day

· Prepare equipment for an overnight camping trip

· Show the proper way to build a cooking fire or use a camp stove; teach others while camping

· Learn a new game or sport

· Explain the rules of safe bicycling. Complete a twenty-mile ride

Educational, Personal, and Career Development

· Make a plan to improve reading, writing, and math skills; follow for three months

· Choose two careers you might like; find out the job requirements

· Visit a government office; discuss the function of office

· Learn how to purify water and to wash/prepare fruits and vegetables

· Learn emergency treatment for electrical shock, drowning, burns, etc.

· Attend a cultural event like a church, school, or community play

· Develop and follow a financial budget for three months

Citizenship and Social Development

· Show you know proper etiquette for eating, greeting, and introducing

· Explain what it means to obey, honor, and sustain the law

· Participate in a cultural event like a school play or musical

Teacher Requirements

Family Activities

· Memorize the words and conduct three hymns each year; learn to conduct

· Prepare and use a simple budget. Keep a budget for at least two months

· Describe your country's constitution and the creation of it

· Plan and carry out an activity for you and your family to serve a neighbor or relative

Quorum Activities

· Give at least one four-to-five minute talk each year in priesthood or sacrament meeting

· Participate in at least one teachers quorum service project each year

Spiritual Development

· Discuss what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy; practice it

· Write regularly in a personal journal for at least three months

· Collect recipes for a dozen meals. Prepare at least four of the meals

· Develop a list of ten qualities you admire in your father or another adult; discuss

Physical Development

· Run three miles in thirty minutes or less

· Swim seventy-five meters using two different strokes

· Hike nine miles with a twelve-pound pack in one day

· Participate on a sports team in the quorum, ward, school, or community

· If permitted, participate in a three-day quorum camping trip under supervision

· Explain how to survive for forty-eight hours if lost in wilderness during warm/cold seasons

· Learn and demonstrate important distress signals to use during a crisis

· Teach first aid skills to your family or quorum members

Educational, Personal, and Career Development

· Continue your education and develop skills in reading, writing, and math

· Choose three careers that interest you and learn about them; discuss with parents

· Visit three places where people perform work you might enjoy; talk to them

· Learn and explain entrance requirements for tech school, college, or university

· Learn to play a musical instrument

Citizenship and Social Development

· Volunteer for four or more afternoons/evenings at a hospital/home/shelter

· Invite grandparents or senior citizens to share memories; take notes

· Attend a city council meeting and share impressions of experience

· Visit a legal court; share impressions

· Discuss ways to help prevent crime in your area

· Give at least one talk in sacrament meeting or give a speech in school/community

· Organize a project to clean and repair a public park; maintain for two months

*Priest Requirements *

Family Activities

· Talk about your career goals and plans to achieve them

· Read D&C 134; discuss responsibilities as a citizen of your country

· Submit a name of an ancestor for temple work or write a 500-word history

Quorum Activities

· Give at least two four-to-five minute talks each year

· Learn basic skills of conducting, memorize a hymn, lead once each year

Spiritual Development

· Speak in quorum or sacrament meeting on honesty and integrity

· Visit a hospital or care center and talk with or read to patients

· Identify and assist two elderly families with tasks

· Participate in a community service project that benefits nonmembers

· Speak in sacrament meeting about a righteous father and his impact on family

Physical Development

· Run six miles in sixty minutes or less

· Hike fifteen miles with a pack in two days or less

· Run for thirty minutes three times a week for three months

· Swim for thirty minutes twice a week for three months

· As permitted, organize and do a camping trip for quorum

· With approval, organize and do a camping trip for those with disabilities

Educational, Personal, and Career Development

· Write a post-high school or training plan

· Visit the workplace of three occupations you are interested in; write about it

· Prepare a personal history; keep a journal or personal record

· Create at least three paintings or drawings; display them

· Learn to play a musical instrument

Citizenship and Social Development

· Organize or assist with a crime prevention program in your neighborhood

· Ask a representative of a law enforcement agency to attend a neighborhood meeting

· Do two projects that will help you better understand national governments/peace

· Talk about the culture of a country in which full-time missionaries serve

· Participate in at least two community service projects during the year

For more ideas on how to combine Duty to God and Scouting requirements, check out Julie Coulter Bellon's book Be Prepared: A Parent's Guide to Boy Scouts and the Duty to God Award--What You Should Know (Spring Creek 2006).