Scouting, Part 2

Ezra Taft Benson said, “Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man, and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life."

I can't tell you how often I have heard this quote in many different settings.  I understand the value of helping young men grow up to be great missionaries.  And I agree that a young man who had all these qualities would probably make a great missionary.  But it always hurt a little bit.  Having only achieved the rank of star, it tended to make me feel like I was not an acceptable member of the church and an unprepared missionary.
Because of this, I have a hard time not getting on my soapbox about the problems with scouting.  (It's expensive.  It changes the focus from the gospel of Christ to outdoor adventuring.  It rewards only certain personality types.  There's no equivalent organization for the girls.  And so forth.)

In one of the areas I lived, most of the guys in the elder's quorum had hobbies along the lines of four-wheeling in the desert, paintball, watching mixed martial arts, and playing x-box games.  Keep in mind that this was not a singles ward.  Most of these guys had kids in the youth program at church.  While I really did like these guys and related well with them, I didn't hang out with them, nor did we do much together.  This relationship reminds me of my feelings about scouts.  I like scouting, but I am not all that interested in many of its hobbies.  Certain people have personalities that mesh well with scouting activities and awards, while others don't.  That's why I sometimes feel that including the eagle scout in President Benson's list is troublesome.  One of the requirements for eagle is to have camped for dozens of nights.  Really, is this an essential part of raising missionaries?  Is it even a part of being a good person?  Does it merit being in a list with moral cleanliness or having a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon?

The scouting program really is a great program and teaches boys an awful lot of important things (citizenship, emergency preparedness, etc.)  But it's not the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I like the program, and I think it's a good fit for the young men's program in the church, but we need to not get carried away and think of it as part of the Gospel of Christ.  It isn't.