Hey gang!
Sunday I wrote a blog post about “Standards” (If you haven’t read it, you need to catch up). It got a lot of traffic and seemed to reach a lot of people, which makes me smile. One of those people was Jamie. She left a comment that read, “Loved this so much. The imagery is spot on. I’m saving this for use at girls camp this summer. It will apply perfectly.”
I thought “Girl’s Camp? Hang on a second – I was just called to be in charge of our ward’s Scout Camp this summer. I think Jamie might be onto something…”
I have about 20 boys to plan for, and we are early in the planning stages. It would seem that “Standards” would make a good theme for the camp – scouts already have a natural affinity for flags, banners and violence.
So, I come to you, my clever, intelligent and high-attractive readers, to ask for a group brainstorming session. What ideas do YOU have that would incorporate the importance of Standards into a theme for a camp?
Lessons, activities, games, scripture study, etc. It is all on the table. (Of course Captain Moroni, and Capture the Flag are no-brainers.)
Please chime in and let me know your thoughts – I would be grateful.
Here
After reading your Standards post I plan to adapt it to a lesson on preparing for a mission with the boys including their Priesthood duties, and life as a father and husband. I plan to give out this pin after the activity/campout.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Lg7yOdBbL.jpg
You can find it at Deseret Book for $2.99
Jared, do you know the name of the pin? I cannot seem to find it on Deseret Book site.
I didn’t read all the comments (sorry) but one of the traditions at girls camp is making a craft *gasp – ick* however, I always manage to come home with one, because one of my girls knows how i hate to do them and will make mine for me, but I digress.
About an actifvity of the boys making their own “Title of Liberty” flag that can be hung on the wall of their bedroms? Along with any halo or minecraft posters they already have up, they will have that reminder of the feelings they felt at camp (that I know you are going to be a great conduit for the Spirit) but of their values and standards?
Just a thought – if someone already suggested this, they copied it from me.
Here is the planning that we did for a youth conference that had a similar theme. I have copied this from a MS Word document that had much better formatting… sorry
Theme: Stripling Warrior Boot Camp
Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and of a good courage”
Agenda
Friday Night
7:00 Welcome Booth
7:30 Hearty Snacks
8:00 Warrior Initiation Walk
9:00 Sing: “We’ll Bring the World His Truth”
10:30 Lights Out
Saturday
6:30 Reveille
7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Lesson from Mothers
9:00 Activity Block 1
10:15 Activity Block 2
11:30 Lunch
12:30 Activity Block 3
1:45 Activity Block 4
3:00 Closing Remarks
3:30 Sing: “We’ll Bring the World His Truth”
Friday Night
Welcome Booth (7:00 PM)
As the youth arrive they will go to the welcome booth to be assigned a company that they will be associated with for the remainder of the conference. Each youth will be given a name tag that states their company name as well as a camp T-shirt.
Hearty Snacks (7:30 PM)
The youth will mingle in the dinning hall. The snacks provided are not a substitute for a meal but will be good portioned.
Stripling Warrior Initiation (8:00 PM)
While the youth are eating and mingling in the dinning hall, Captain Moroni will make a grand entrance. Moroni will explain the title of liberty and challenge the youth to join the cause of freedom. At this point the four companies will split up and begin their initiation hike in which they will meet Antipus, Teancum, Helaman, and an Anti-Nephi-Lehi couple. Each meeting will take 10 minutes and will involve each speaker dressed in full character. At the end the group will meet back together and will be led in singing “We’ll Bring the World His Truth.”
Saturday
Reveille (6:30 AM)
A horn is sounded and all of the youth are expected to rise and put on their camp T-shirt. They should make final preparations for the day and head over to the dinning hall.
Breakfast (7:00 AM)
A large breakfast will be provided by the stake.
Lesson from Mothers (8:00 AM)
The strength and success of the stripling warriors is attributed to the teachings of their mothers. A stripling warrior mother will be given the opportunity to emphasize what she taught her children and how the youth of our day can apply the same principles.
Activity Blocks
Each company of youth will rotate between all of the activity areas throughout the day. Each activity will incorporate a principle that will be taught prior to the activity and then discussed as a reflection at the end of the activity. The youth will be given a piece of leather in the shape of a CTR shield that has a carabiner attached to it. It will have information about the camp etched on it (i.e. “BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE”). As the youth complete each of the activities they will get a symbol engraved into their shield by way of a hammer and leather stamp. Once they have received all of the symbols, the youth will have become trained warriors. The rotation schedule for the activities is shown below.
Time Company 1 Company 2 Company 3 Company 4
Block 1 8:30 AM Becoming Strong Building Courage Exact Obedience Armory
Block 2 9:45 AM Armory Becoming Strong Building Courage Exact Obedience
Block 3 12:00 PM Exact Obedience Armory Becoming Strong Building Courage
Block 4 1:15 PM Building Courage Exact Obedience Armory Becoming Strong
Becoming Strong
The main principle being taught is of physical and spiritual strength and overcoming the obstacles of life. The youth will begin with Nephi’s Jewish Aerobics. This will be followed by an obstacle course. The obstacle course may contain the commando crawl, triangle wall climb, rope to swing across, horizontal log slide, hurdles, short rope climb, climb through barrels, tight rope walk (1 rope for hands, 1 rope for feet), slalom, log walk, hula hoop tire run, maze, cargo net, tire push, throw a ball in a bucket, bicycle joust of balloon, and brick footprints. All activities will be minimal risk and should be able to be completed by any youth, regardless of athletic ability. Bring cones
Armory
The overall principle being taught will involve putting on the armor of God.
The armory will include activities where the youth earn their armor and weapons. They will earn their spear by throwing a spear at a target. They will earn their armor by doing a relay race where they have to takes turns putting on the armor as quickly as possible. Other activities could include throwing a battle axe, sword fighting or jousting with PVC/Swim Noodle swords on a short pedestal, and archery.
Exact Obedience
This activity will involve doing things precisely and exactly as demonstrated such as mind games, and puzzles. The youth will also participate in a three-legged race where they will have to communicate with their partner to weave their way through a rope grid six inches above the ground.
Building Courage
The emphasis of this activity is to teach overcoming fears, having faith, and learning to trust one another. Some of the activities that will be used to emphasize these principles are blindfolded chair lift, green spaghetti key hunt, trust fall, 5 brick three person lava crossing, stick lowering, and balancing on the big ball.
Closing Remarks (2:30)
Moroni will tie all of the principles taught throughout camp to the main theme of Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and of a good courage” a Stripling Warrior Boot Camp. The youth will be given an exit charge to remain stripling warriors for life in staying true to their principles and the lessons that they have been taught. The youth will sing “We’ll Bring the World His Truth” to close out the meeting.
Thanks for sharing this.
Use Orienteering for a “Scavenger Hunt” to find locations that have a Standard along with a Scout “Standard” (Law) since Duty to God and Scouting go basically hand in hand. In order to get the Scouts to READ the standard through at each location there should be some special word that will eventually be used for them to put together a message at the end of the hunt. That could be as long or as short as you like, and you can have a short quiz at the end as well. You can also identify locations around camp by their standards names, or even just their dining hall tables where they sit, if that’s your venue. Have the Scoutmaster of each unit give a message around the campfire each night about a standard before they go to bed. (Been doing this Scouting thing for awhile now, (I’m a MMM too, but not THE MMM! Ha!) I just love the DTG when it’s tied into Scouting, it really helps tie in both programs values in ways no other combination can. Just make sure the lessons don’t turn into long sitdown sessions, camp is all about having fun, lots of activity, and working together as a Patrol/Quorum.
Thanks, Mike!
What about -standards are the V.I.P. access all areas- pass. Don’t tell them at first but issue each kid with a laminated card or piece of cloth or something easy to carry but which doesn’t have to say anything on it, just a blank card or their name (so no cheating). When they show up for the first activity, turn back those who forgot their standard(s), build in time for them to go back and get it from the tent (repentance), and those who have the standards with them get a couple extra minutes doing something awesome…. standards are something you should have with you at all times, repentance is real and real-time effective, and repentance means you can re-join the party, and standards help you move forward and keep doing great things. By not telling them at first, they’ll soon twig and by the 2nd or 3rd activity they’ll be on board.
How about instead of a card you require their scriptures and/or scout book? They should be bringing those anyway, so some training to get them in the habit is a good idea…
Haven’t read the comments but do an activity that they stand on something to illustrate the point that “standards are something to stand on, not reach up to”.
Hope whatever you do goes well!
I have two sons experiencing the joys of Boy Scout hood. All they care about is having fun. And camping. And eating camp food. Plus swimming, hiking, etc. In my opinion, a good camp experience should include an emphasis on fun with an appropriate mix of Duty to God work. Not too churchy, know what I mean?
I tend to agree more with the church’s stance that the purpose of Scouting is to support the goals of the Aaronic Priesthood. Of course it is good to have fun, but if that is all they get out of it, it is pretty shallow. Kids can find fun anywhere, so the effort should include providing those things that only the priesthood has to offer. The strongest YM testimony meetings I have ever seen are at campouts, and the best YM led scripture study as well. Merely playing in the mountains doesn’t prepare a young man much for life, or for missions.
I agree and disagree at the same time partly due to culture. We’re in Phoenix. Gasp. And partly due to churchyness being a little overdone sometimes where it feels forced.
Some of the ideas above are cool and could be fun, but others are kinda girly. Have the fun during the day. Play hard. Have a solid devotional around the campfire with s’mores. Simple is always better. IMO
Might need to teach them that fun is an attitude, not an activity!
Yes, fun is an attitude, but we’re talking about scout camp. It is supposed to be a fun activity. This is what they are expecting. Scouting is supposed to be fun. Always. When it’s time to be serious that is when the fun attitude should be important.
Perhaps address keeping your standards for yourself. For example, when you go on a mission, you are the one that is responsible for getting yourself up and out the door and working hard every day. Your mom is not going to be there to do it for you. I don’t know how you’d make that into a game, but I think boys and girls need to realize that’s what we’re doing in YM/YW — teaching them how to keep the standards themselves.
Have a huge area set up with multiple flags, all over the place, that the teams need to capture. On each flag is a Gospel standard. The team who capture the most correct standards wins. Throw in some decoys so they really have to think about it.
Ooh…can you imagine doing it up a hill so you are physically advancing to the top? Then once at the top have a devotional about the standards that are helping the boys “make it to the top”.
This comes free btw..only because I might enjoy the things you write. 😉
Wow! Named in a MMM blog post! I’m feeling super special right now. Good luck with camp. I’m thinking on a much smaller scale–nightly devotional–since our theme is already decided on. But it will work since each ward has a flag and I’m assuming there will be a Stake flag too.
Just an interjection regarding the metaphor of standards… as in all metaphors they usually only work so far.
Standards did/do help army subgroups to stay organized in the melee of hand-to-hand combat. However, they were as much (or more, in my amateur-historian opinion) about protecting the leader of a fighting group than protecting soldiers. This worked in two ways. If the standard-bearer was being overwhelmed, it was easy to rally to the flag to shore up the protection of the leader who was usually near the standard. In feudal systems (medieval Europe, China, Japan, etc) standards/heraldry also identified who was to not be killed but rather preserved for ransom. This is frequently how winners funded their war-making. (There is some great research published how the French lost Agincourt because of feudal organization more than Henry’s army winning the day. It should also be noted in this particular case Henry ordered all the captured nobility killed rather than being used for ransom. There was all sorts of conjecture as to why, but in this case the Standards did not perform their stated purpose.)
Battlefield standards for organizational purposes really arise in professional armies (Rome, Napolean, Wellington, Prussia, etc). General Officers in the field could identify in real time where various organizational units were based on the identification of their respective standards. Orders, inquiries and other messages could be dispatched to where fighting units were. Standards aided messengers in finding where they were supposed to go to deliver said missives.
This may sound jaded, the real use of standards in actual combat is very cold and calculated. Their use as a “rallying point” as you discuss, feels very much like propaganda. They can be symbols of oppression (the Roman Eagle, Nazi swastika, hammer and sickle) every bit as much as symbols of freedom. Even today, to many tribes of Native Americans the Stars and Stripes symbolize racism and oppression – a very different viewpoint than I personally hold given my limited service in the USAFR. Many of my southern relatives see the rebel flag as a symbol of states rights, and my black friends and neighbors see the same standard as a reminder of slavery, oppression and Jim Crow hatred and violence.
So perhaps your discussion with young scouts can include the concept of wisdom, critical thinking and question-asking. We need to be very careful of which Standards we choose to follow. It is a very powerful emotional tool used by both the King of Righteousness and the king of lies.
A few ideas, mostly for activities:
Orienteering – requires a known standard (north) for everything to work off of, also requires being able to apply that standard and follow directions
A study of the history or heraldry and its symbolism – understanding how symbols can impart a deep understanding and emotion
Pioneering – creating a tower or flagpole to display your flags and standards
Problem Solving – give a problem with solution criteria (the standard). Then let them solve it in their own ways. Then let them modify their solutions based on what they see the others do. This shows not only that the standard can be applied in different ways (while still meeting the standard), but also that we can learn from each other to grow and progress.
This may be way too long for this forum or format but I will try. I was in charge of our group and I wanted them to prepare for a growing experience so I had the write in a journal about different traits that Joseph Smith had and work to build those traits in themselves to prepare. You might call them standards… There were 14 weeks, one for each year of Joseph’s life at the time of the first vision I hope it helps.
Intro.
If there is one thing The Lord wants a young man to know, it is just how much his Heavenly Father knows him, loves him and watches over him. If there is a second thing The Lord wants that young man to know, it is just how much The Lord wants that young man to know Him, love Him and watch for His hand in his life every day.
Every great man was once a boy, and every boy may become a great man.
This journal is meant to be a beginning for you. During the next 14 weeks we hope that you will become acquainted with your Heavenly Father and with the prophet Joseph. When he was 14, Joseph approached his Father in Heaven to ask for help and guidance. We hope you will prepare yourself to do the same thing at camp this summer. We have set aside a time for you to be alone with The Lord and to talk with him. The next 14 weeks you will have the chance to get to know 14 characteristics of Joseph that helped to prepare him to be ready for that experience. We hope that as you ponder, read and write, and study these things out, that you will feel a desire to build some of these same character traits in yourself. It is really up to you. We hope you will choose to use this time for yourself. The real you who served so valiantly in the pre existence. The you that you have always been. The you that you are beginning to remember and discover. The you that you really want to be in your heart and soul. The you that The Lord has sent and blessed and entrusted with gifts and talents and covenants that you have yet to discover, so that you could fulfill all that you once eagerly promised to do.
Week one, Joseph had questions. What is it that you want to know? Do you ever wonder how to act or just what is the right thing to do? Write down any questions or things you need answers for. Prepare yourself to receive those answers by listening and looking for chances for The Lord to give you those answers.
Week two, Joseph used and studied the scriptures. James 1:5. What are your favorite scriptures? What do they inspire you to do? This week set a goal to make the scriptures a daily part of your life. Maybe choose to memorize some. Look for ways they can help you with troubles you face. Write down your thoughts and feelings.
Week three, Joseph worked hard. What work do you do? Have you ever found joy in working? How has work helped you? See the talk given by Elder Stanley in April ’93 conference. This week focus on getting your work done well, on time and with a good attitude. Write down your feelings and experiences.
Week four, Joseph was cheerful. How can you show happiness and cheerfulness to your friends at school? How about your family? President Kimbal said that if the world knew what we had, they would be knocking on our doors to learn about the gospel. How can cheerfulness in your life help them want to know what you have? This week try to smile more often. If you have a positive thought about another person, stop and share it, even if you don’t know them. Write about your experiences.
Week five, Joseph had trials and overcame them. Remember his experience as a young boy with the surgery on his leg. There was no anesthetic available except alcohol. Joseph refused to use it. The doctors had to bore into the bone with a hand drill the break off pieces with a pair of pliers. The pain was excruciating and he limped or used crutches for years. Yet when he was grown Joseph had strengthened himself to be able to run, work, and even lead the men of the church in Zion’s camp. A trek of over 1,000 miles.
God uses broken things. It takes broken clouds to give rain, broken ground to give crops and broken grain to make bread. Broken bread to give strength (and the sacrament). It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter weeping bitterly, who returns to greater strength and power than ever before.
How can trials make you stronger or more ready to do the work The Lord has for you? Write about things that may have been hard for you. What did you learn? How can you help others now?
Week six, Joseph and his brothers had a great relationship. Are you there for your family members? Do you have a good relationship with the people in your quorum? What does brotherhood mean to you? This week try to focus on doing at least one thing each day to help or support another person in your family or quorum. Ask The Lord to help you know who needs help and what they need, then follow those promptings. Write about your experiences.
Week seven, Joseph was physically active and loved competition and play. What do you do to care for, develop and enjoy the body The Lord has blessed you with? Set a goal to do something good this week for your body. Write about what you are able to do and what you are grateful for about your body.
Week eight, Joseph was forgiving.
“William W. Phelps joined the Church during the Kirtland era and became a devoted follower of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was called to be a member of the stake presidency in Jackson County, Missouri. Later, brother Phelps left the Church. He became bitter and declared himself an enemy to the Prophet. His defection occurred during a time of intense persecution when the Prophet, along with many of the leading brethren, had been arrested and placed under military guard following the “extermination order” of Governor Boggs of Missouri.
The Prophet’s life hung literally in the balance. In the midst of such turmoil, William W. Phelps came forth to serve as a state witness against the Prophet. Compounding his betrayal, Phelps also signed a certificate defending the actions of one of the Saints’ worst enemies.
As a result of such testimony from Phelps and others like him, the Prophet and several of the brethren were incarcerated in a series of Missouri prisons, including Liberty Jail, until April 1839, when they escaped and fled to Illinois. We can perhaps imagine the bitter disappointment the Prophet endured during the months of his imprisonment as he contemplated the betrayal of brethren he had loved and trusted.
Two years later, after great anguish and bitter remorse for his actions, Brother Phelps sent the Prophet a heartfelt letter that began:
“Brother Joseph, … I am as the prodigal son. … I have seen the folly of my way, and I tremble at the gulf I have passed.” He begged the forgiveness of the brethren and asked that even with severe chastisement he might return to them.
The Prophet’s almost immediate reply stands today as a worthy example of the power of forgiveness and of the great heart of the man Joseph Smith:
“Dear Brother Phelps: …
“You may in some measure realize what my feelings, as well as Elder Rigdon’s and Brother Hyrum’s were, when we read your letter—truly our hearts were melted into tenderness and compassion when we ascertained your resolves. …
“It is true, that we have suffered much in consequence of your behavior—the cup of gall, already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed filled to overflowing when you turned against us. …
“However, the cup has been drunk, the will of our Father has been done, and we are yet alive, for which we thank the Lord. And having been delivered from the hands of wicked men by the mercy of our God, we say it is your privilege to be delivered from the powers of the adversary, be brought into the liberty of God’s dear children, and again take your stand among the Saints of the Most High, and by diligence, humility, and love unfeigned, commend yourself to our God, and your God, and to the Church of Jesus Christ.
“Believing your confession to be real, and your repentance genuine, I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship, and rejoice over the returning prodigal. …
‘Come on, dear brother, since the war is past,
‘For friends at first, are friends again at last.’
“Yours as ever,
“Joseph Smith, Jun.”
Brother Phelps returned to the Church, directing his energy and testimony with new resolve and commitment. His love for the Prophet and his gratitude for another chance were deep and sincere. It was William W. Phelps who spoke at the Prophet’s funeral service and who later penned the words that have become one of the great hymns of the Restoration:
Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!
Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.
Blessed to open the last dispensation,
Kings shall extol him, and nations revere. …
Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;
Earth must atone for the blood of that man.
Wake up the world for the conflict of justice.
Millions shall know ‘Brother Joseph’ again.
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.”
Is there anyone that you should forgive? What does forgiving others allow The Lord to do for you? Ask Heavenly Father who you can forgive. Do it, even if you they don’t ask for it. Let Jesus help you to know the best way to let those feelings go. Write about your feelings.
Week nine, Joseph was visited by angels. You also hold the keys to the ministering of angels. Have you ever been helped? Have you become a ‘ministering angel’ to someone else by your love and service? If angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, what power or influence should you follow to serve as an angel to others? Look for miracles in your life and ways you can serve. Write about them.
Week ten, Joseph was optimistic. Do you really believe that “man is that he might have joy? Can you trust God when things are hard? This week choose to look for the good in people and experiences. Write about your hopes for the future and your own dreams.
Week eleven, Joseph was true to the trust he was given. “I could not deny it.” Are there people or principles that you will defend no matter what? This week list the things that The Lord has trusted you with. Write your testimony down for yourself. Consider sharing it with someone else.
Week twelve, Joseph trusted The Lord. He knew he needed help, he turned to The Lord when times got hard, like when the adversary attacked him just before his prayer. This week write about what you can do to show The Lord you trust him. Recognize an area where you may be struggling and ask Him specifically for help. Write about what happens.
Week thirteen, Joseph was humble. He saw the worth of all of heavenly father’s children. This week, try to see others with Heavenly Father’s eyes. Look past the outside onto their heart. Write about what you find in others looking at them this way. What can you see in yourself looking with God’s eyes?
Week fourteen, Joseph was willing to act. He did not just know the answers to the questions, he used those answers to guide his actions. He knew it and he lived it. Moroni 10:3 talks about having real intent. Real intent means you are intending to do something about what The Lord reveals to you. True faith moves to action. This week, read through what you have written in this journal. Think about what you may still need to do personally to be ready for our experience at camp next week. Write about what you have learned during the past 14 weeks. What are your new goals for yourself that you will work towards after camp is over?
I wish I had this at the beginning of this year for Seminary. What a great idea!
What do the boys say? Don’t take away the progress of realization and planning from them. [This applies equally, if not more so, to adults accompanying young ladies. Notice I did not say adult leaders – the *youth* should be the leaders. We should be teaching them how, and allowing them to do so. ]
Duh. But it is wisdom to help give them a wide variety of ideas to choose from, and to get the juices flowing so they don’t sit there and stare at each other.
You are absolutely correct. In addition, sitting and staring is sometimes okay also. It gets old very quickly, and they get motivated to start asking and doing for themselves.
I intended to point out that we frequently run over the very folks who should be doing the planning and having insights of their own. Maybe the things that are inspiring you currently aren’t really doing it for them. And on the other hand, maybe this really is a subject/topic that they *should* be considering. I don’t know. I do know that I have to be very careful about myself, and organizations that are designed not to be directly led by me, and I project that caution onto others.
I would be overjoyed if you did not need that caution.
Too many people practicing “shadow leadership” excel at the “shadow” part, and forget about the “leadership” part. It is much more difficult to work behind the scenes, helping the youth learn and lead than it is to take over and do it yourself, or leave them to their own inexperience.
I am not currently in serving in the YM or scouting org as a calling – I was brought in with the specific charge of structuring the theme of the camp. Thankfully we have some great youth leaders who will be able to carrying the lion’s share of the work. My role is to guide them. I appreciate the advice, but maybe not the assumption that I don’t know what i’m doing. 🙂
Have you read Trail to Testimony: Bringing Young Men to Christ through Scouting by Bradley Harris? Completely changed my thinking, attitude, focus, etc. in regards to scouts. I think every adult (parent or leader) in scouting should read it! Just my 2 cents!
Yes.
I am a regular reader and I feel like we are old friends. With that feeling in mind I am going to be very honest about how this exchange came across.
Giving Scouter H the benefit of the doubt that he had good, helpful intentions, I found your response quite rude (Duh.), and prideful. The most endearing qualities I find in a writer, speaker or leader of gospel topics is that of meekness, humility and teach-ability. Take if for what it’s worth- or not at all.
I really do appreciate your insight and gospel knowledge. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Thanks for not being judgemental.
We attended an LDS summer camp week some years back. Each unit was to develop and bring their own “Title of Liberty” as the standard they carried to the dining hall each morning for breakfast and each night for dinner assemblies. Each boy was encouraged to sign a banner at conclusion of main campfire indicating they would keep the commandments and honor their priesthood, and serve God.
The hymn “O Thou Rock of Our Salvation” 258 could be the theme song. The chorus goes something like “Gather round the standard bearer; Gather round in strength of youth. Every day the prospect’s fairer, while we’re battling for the truth.”
Or The men’s chorus version of “High on a Mountain Top” 5 could be the theme song. Those young men could rock that piece of music!
That’s the hymn I thought of when I read the post!
We had “Army” as our theme for YW camp one year, and “O Thou Rock of Our Salvation” was the basis of one of our evening devotionals. Who is our Standard Bearer? The Savior Jesus Christ.
Divide them into groups and have them each pick a mission statement to put on a flag that declares who they are and what they stand for then have them decorate the flag and present their flags to the group.
Play “Capture the Flag”? I know it’s obvious, but you could work that in with a Scout value(reverence, loyal, etc) or YW value(faith divine nature) where each kid or patrol earns a flag for doing something that represents the value. Just a thought.
We recently had a quad stake activity wherein Olympic medalist Noelle Pikus-Pace came and spoke. It was awesome! She has competed in many sports over the years and she spoke briefly about the high jump. She asked if we thought that the bar over which the athlete is supposed to clear can be adjusted or moved up and down, dependent on the athlete’s preference. Well of course not! That’s the challenge – to get over the set height. The name of that bar is a “standard”. If the athlete wants to win in that event, they must clear the standard, which can not be moved or altered in any way. Much like the Lord’s standards – HE sets them, not us, and if we want HIS rewards, we must respect His standards.
Feel like hosting a high jump event with the boys, MMM?