Vanguard Scouting Award - Building Faith and Testimony - Req. 2


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I have committed a significant portion of my adult life to volunteering in community scout programs.  One of my few frustrations with being in community troops was that I was ineligible for the LDS adult religious emblem, as it required participation in a Church (capital C) sponsored scouting unit.

With the Church having disbanded scout units, a new religious award program has been introduced by the Vanguard International Scouting Association, which is an organization promoting faith-based scouting for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's taken me a couple of months to get started on this, but I'm starting now.  There's a significant portion of journal writing associated with this award, and I have a tendency to lose journals. So I'm going to do my journaling here.  Anyone who would like to come along for the journey, I'd be interested in knowing what you discover in the process.

The award requirements can be read at: https://www.vanguardscouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Vanguard-Awards-Booklet-5-13.pdf

Building Faith and Testimony - Requirement 2

Quote

 As a Scout who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you may be asked if you believe in Christ and if your Church is considered Christian. To clarify the beliefs of the Church concerning Jesus Christ, in 2000 the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued a proclamation entitled “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles.” Read this document and discuss with a parent or leader the important doctrines included in this testimony of our modern-day Apostles concerning Jesus Christ. Write in your journal your feelings
as you read “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles.” You might even consider committing all or parts of it to memory. 
(bold in original)

For various reasons, my mind has been preoccupied with thoughts of how to server everyone in my ward, not just those that are easy to serve. Because my mind is primed to think about these things, there were two phrases in The Living Christ that stood out to me

  • Jesus taught "the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come"
  • "I am your advocate with the Father."

It struck me that in order to be an effective leader, I must see the potential of each individual, not just for what they are now, and not what they could offer to the ward in the future, but what they can become in the eternities. And I need to give them opportunities to develop and grow in accordance with that potential.

When I have recognized that potential. I need to follow the example set by Jesus and be their advocate. I must look for ways to promote the best in them so that I can recommend them to God. And I must be careful not to put unnecessary obstacles in their way to achieving that potential.

When I act as a servant of God, I must make Christ's priorities my own priorities.

So my goal for the coming week is to pray daily to see the potential of certain members in my ward that I struggle to serve effectively. I will ask for God to help me see them as He sees them, and to guide me to be a better advocate for them.

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/19/2020 at 11:40 PM, MarginOfError said:

I have committed a significant portion of my adult life to volunteering in community scout programs.  One of my few frustrations with being in community troops was that I was ineligible for the LDS adult religious emblem, as it required participation in a Church (capital C) sponsored scouting unit.

With the Church having disbanded scout units, a new religious award program has been introduced by the Vanguard International Scouting Association, which is an organization promoting faith-based scouting for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's taken me a couple of months to get started on this, but I'm starting now.  There's a significant portion of journal writing associated with this award, and I have a tendency to lose journals. So I'm going to do my journaling here.  Anyone who would like to come along for the journey, I'd be interested in knowing what you discover in the process.

 

Just curious as to whether it has been a little over a month since your last journal entry, or whether you are still making journal entries but not keeping them online anymore?

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