1 Venturing and the LDS Church

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3 Elder Robert K. Dellenbach First Quorum of Seventy “There’s a new program in Scouting called Venturing. The scouting organization has taken the old Exploring program and completely renovated it, but held onto many of the fine and wonderful attributes that it contained. “Venturing provides wonderful outdoor activities, high adventure, opportunities for learning about citizenship and sociability. It is a great program for Priest-age boys in the church LDS Church Video on Scouting

Concepts you need to accept The Bishop must be actively involved This is not Boy Scouts or Exploring Re-training of all leadership is a must 2-3 years is the average time it takes to effect real change at the ward level We have not seen real change until the majority of the leaders attended wood badge 4

5 You must think outside the box… Take off your Boy Scout hat Erase from your mind “tradition” Don’t be obsessed with advancement Be flexible Empower your youth Remove roadblocks, don’t create them

6 We need to think anew... Old Paradigm year olds are “Scouts” Must wear uniform Advancement IS the measurement of success Activities are planned to promote advancement What I bring to this calling will determine success Puppet Leadership If young men not interested in “Scouting” (earning Eagle), then Spaulding becomes our program New Paradigm year olds are Venturers The uniform is optional Strong testimonies, quorum unity, mission calls are the measurement of success Activities are tailored around individual quorum needs Utilize ward and community resources Shadow Leadership Young men plan and implement their tailor-made program, and meet outside the Church often

7 Why doesn’t Scouting work as well as it should in the LDS Church? We don’t read the BSA literature and use their resources We seldom think outside the box or look at the big picture (mission, aims, methods) We are obsessed with Advancement (1 of the methods) We measure success by one standard What is the first question you ask your son when he returns from Scout camp?

8 16 to 18 year old young men need: Positive Melchizedek Priesthood Role Models Consistent leaders that “walk their talk” Tenured leaders- (average tenure is 7 months) Leadership opportunities and training Well planned, but flexible activities with other young men and young women Life skills training and spiritual experiences outside the classroom Opportunities to become proficient at something, it builds self-esteem

9 16 to 18 year old young men want: Challenging physical activities with young men their own age Recognition of their “older” status Activities with young women Independence To explore and experience their world A sense of belonging and acceptance from their peer group

What is Venturing? “It’s not a box or a package we present.” “It is focused resources designed to help a community organization provide wholesome, flexible, well-rounded, challenging activities, tailor-made for teenage youth.” 10

11 Here’s Venturing In the LDS Church it is for year old young men in the Priests Quorum Venturing units are “Crews” Venturing adults are “advisors” Youth leader is the “president” You can call yourselves whatever you want to

12 The following new literature is available at your Scout Shop or Service Center Venturing Leader Manual Ranger Guidebook Venturing Leadership Skills Course Kodiak and Kodiak X Manuals Venturing Handbook Venturing Advancement Chart Roundtable Guide Awards and Certificates

13 Venturing Training Venturing Leader Specific Training (for adults) Powder Horn (for adults) Wood badge (for adults) Venturing Leadership Skills Course (for youth) Kodiak and Kodiak X (for youth)

14 Is Scouting on trial in the Church? “I do not believe that Varsity Scouting is on trial in the Church, nor is Boy Scouting, Cub Scouting, or Venturing. But rather it is my firm belief that Bishops, and the ward leaders, the advisors, Scoutmasters and coaches are on trial.” “The program will work if they will work and become trained and put into effect the things they have been trained to do.” Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone

15 Venturing Advancement

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17 Bronze, Gold, Silver, Ranger Requirement- Samplings

18 Priest Duty to God & Venturing The Priest Duty to God requirements will satisfy many advancement requirements for the Venturing program

19 Apply LDS terminology to Youth Ministries Bronze Award 1. Earn the Duty to God or the On My Honor Award 2a. Invite a member from a foreign country or a returned missionary 3. Plan and lead a service project 4a. Serve as a volunteer in your ward for three months: sing in the choir, splits with the missionaries, home teaching, or a community food bank, retirement home, etc. 4b. Keep a personal journal of your experiences as a volunteer 5. Attend one of the following: youth conference, EFY, Education Week, mini- mission, Church History pageant, or visit a historical site lasting at least two days 6. Produce or be a cast member in a road show, Christmas or Easter play, Priesthood Commemoration event. This could also be a puppet show put on by the Priest Quorum for the primary. 7. Serve as an Assistant or Secretary in the Priests Quorum, or an officer in the crew, Sunday School class, Seminary class, or other youth group in or out of the Church.

20 Bronze Award LDS Terminology (continued) 8. Complete a Standard First Aid course or its equivalent 9a. Participate in at least two Ethical Controversies as a participant 9b. Be a facilitator for a at least two Ethical Controversies 9c. Lead or be a staff member in putting on an Ethics Forum 10. Serve as an assistant Primary teacher for three months during Sunday School time. This would not have to be a calling, but simply an assignment coordinated with the Primary President. This is great preparation for a full-time mission. 11. Meet with your Bishop to discuss: (a) the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood, (b) the ward organization- how it functions, how callings are made, how setting apart is done, and how people are provided training, materials, and help, © how the bishopric works, their duties and responsibilities.

21 Ranger Electives (Must earn 4 of 18) for Bronze Backpacking Cave Exploring Project COPE Mountain Biking First Aid Fishing Ecology Equestrian Hunting Lifesaver Mountaineering Outdoor Living History Physical Fitness Plants & Wildlife Scuba Shooting Sports Watercraft Winter Sports

22 Does the LDS Church support Venturing? Scouting officials met with President Thomas S. Monson in January of President Monson strongly endorsed the creation of Venturing and its implementation in the Church. Elder F. Melvin Hammond of the General Young Men’s Presidency has said: “The Church supports Venturing, it is a part of our program. If you’ve got something better for your young men of priest age, then go ahead and do it. But if you don’t, you better look very carefully at Venturing. As magnificent as this Church is, we’re not holding our boys. We’ve got to save these boys. 65% of the Aaronic Priesthood youth in the United States and Canada will never serve missions, and even a greater number than that will never enjoy the blessings of the temple and eternal marriage.”

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24 Elder Spencer J. Condie former 2 nd Counselor in the General Young Men’s Presidency October 25, 2001, Logan, Utah We want every young man to earn his Aaronic Priesthood Duty to God Award and we want every young man to earn his Eagle Scout Award. We want to re-enthrone Mutual in the Church Scouting is here to stay The youth program of the Church needs to have more sizzle in it Our youth are out running their spiritual supply lines All Priests should be registered in a Venturing Crew

25 “If I were a Bishop, I would no more consider not having a (Venturing Crew) than I would think of not having a Priest’s Quorum. We must realize that Scouting is an activity arm of the Aaronic Priesthood, and that Priesthood leaders are also Scouting leaders…Our present policy is that Stake Presidencies may approve a program other than (Venturing) if it is a fully developed, better program, but we have yet to see anything better on a consistent basis. Each time I look into such “better” programs, I see a (Venturing) program with a different name attached to it, or even more often, I see unsupervised basketball.” -Elder Robert L. Backman Is Venturing Optional?

26 If we could read the thoughts of a 17 year old young man… Scouting is…merit badges Scouting is…Dad & Mom bugging me about getting Eagle… and I can’t drive Scouting is…wearing the uniform in my closet I have my Eagle…why is Brother Jones bugging me about earning another award No wonder most of our Priest-age young men want little to do with “Scouting”

27 Don’t introduce “Venturing” to the young men. Introduce resources to them, one boy at a time. Use the Venturing Handbook, Venturing Leader Manual, Ranger Guidebook and Priest Duty to God Book together.

28 Not only on the Sabbath “ Can Sunday meetings be enough? Do we dangerously assume that, having performed on Sunday with Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and Priesthood Meeting, that we have fulfilled our callings and are through until next Sunday?” Sitting in Church for three hours each Sunday will not save our young men. They need to practice what they have learned in the laboratory of the outdoors. Thayne Packer

29 What motivates you in your Church calling? Fear Duty Love

Youth Leaders Expectations Attend every weeks MIA activities 1 weekend per month for overnight event 1 week of vacation per year for training or youth camp of some kind Attend 2x monthly quorum presidency meetings Purchase official uniform Attend wood badge with in the first year of your calling Expect calling to last 3-5 years All Ward, Stake and General priesthood meetings Quarterly Stake priesthood training meetings BYC monthly APCM monthly Sit on a scout committee Monthly district roundtable meetings 30

31 “Boys need heroes close by. They need to know some man of towering strength and basic integrity, personally. They need to meet them on the street, to hike and camp with them, to see them in close-to-home, everyday, down-to-earth situations; to feel close enough to them to ask questions and to talk things over man-to-man with them.” Spencer W. Kimball

EDGE Leadership Explain Demonstrate Guide Enable 32 Do not give an assignment and expect it to happen we must follow the pattern of “return and report”

33 Getting Started: Conduct an Annual Planning Session Arrange for a retreat setting Prep youth leadership in advance Include Leadership Training in retreat Do your homework, don’t start with a blank page when brainstorming Consider needs and interests of all youth Use all available resources Produce a draft document Meet with each boy and his parents in their home, give draft document and give expectations

34 Let your youth lead Adult shadow leadership Hold periodic planning sessions to fine tune the annual plan Always have a three month calendar Hold regular presidency meetings Train the youth about leadership Meet in advance with the Crew President Ranger and Silver Awards require Venturer to share what he’s learned with others

Advisors Most Difficult Duty Be Quiet 35

36 We can’t compete with the entertainment industry, here’s what we can do... Provide opportunities to serve Teach, teach, teach…we are teachers Demonstrate that you love them Praise them in front of their peers Leader’s enthusiasm- it doesn’t matter what the program is… it’s enthusiasm

37 Most Frequent Excuses “My boys aren’t interested in Scouting” –When you describe Venturing, they will quickly see that this is not “Scouting” as they view it “Not enough boys in the Priests Quorum” –Recruit non-members, if it is fun, they will come –Combine occasional activities with the Varsity Team “The budget guidelines prohibit us from doing all these fun things” –Plan ahead- get $$ budgeted for Venturing in advance –Use community resources for little or no cost activities –Raise $$ for the annual camp, just like the Deacons. The annual camp can include scuba, mountain biking, COPE, horses, shooting sports, etc.

38 Can the wants and needs of the young men in your Priests Quorum be met with no planned mutual night activities? Is the current program in your Priests Quorum, meeting the needs and wants of the young men better than Venturing can? Can the Bishop afford to delegate the responsibility of meeting the needs and wants of his Priests Quorum to any other program or plan?

39 “A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you are sitting, and, when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are most important. You can create all the policies you please, but how they are carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your cities, states, and nations. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities and corporations... the fate of humanity is in his hands.” Abraham Lincoln