Substantial supplementation

After reviewing my new phrase: substantial supplementation, I had this thought: “Ward and youth activities are not saving ordinances.”

Needs not placed on ward 

Supplement

Connection/ unity

This is Mike’s and my first time with teenagers and experience with the raising youth in a ward, and to be honest, it’s not at all what I had both expected and hoped for. 

We have the following factors at play:

1. In 2019, the leaders of the church made the shift from church centered to home-centered, church supported. 
2. In 2020 the church cut ties with scouts and started the children and youth program.
3. Covid hit and human face to face connection went on hold, and in part, continues to. 
4. We moved to a ward led with the mentality of: hands off, simplify, don’t over schedule mindset, let’s not add it be more thing to schedules. 
5. We live in Utah county and are surrounded by a bunch of overachievers who highly valued sports and academics. 

Our ward. And as I visit with neighborhood mg wards and stakes, none of our wards are meeting our needs. None of them do as much service, down time together, connecting, inclusion, sacrifice, and teaching as I hoped for. Every ward in Utah county, even perfect 35th ward, has serious problems. Here a few:

1. Multiple parents saying “no” to a Cub Scout calling and other “lesser” harder callings. 
2. Leaders who want to camp and do “high adventure” but kids aren’t “able” to go due to sports and busy schedules. 
3. Lack of prioritization and almost intentionally keeping a distance between the boy and their quorum. 
4. Distractions of home improvements, trips, hobbies, toys, work and all the ways we can  both earn and spend our money. 

We could go anywhere in the world and no ward can meet our needs. The challenges might be totally different: safety, distance, financial means, only a handful of youth in the ward, a branch (group) with 20 people in it. 

I’ve honestly been slightly frustrated that the church veered away from so much activity and ward interaction and went to home centered. But as I ponder, it’s the best thing that’s happened to our family! I will forever be grateful to our unique scout troop and to families that have been handpicked, heaven sent, and placed into our lives on a silver platter. 

I didn’t love a lot of the boys in both James’s and Daniel’s quorums. 

5. They were clicky, exclusive, caught up in their lives, and stuck in themselves. My boys could not break through and be in with them. Frankly, they were a little to nice, good, adventurous, and willing to do hard things to be cool enough. 

Hard work as it is, I have been so grateful for our scout family. Mike and I have been crouched in our glass box hoping that our youth program would thrive. But after last week’s 2 day “high adventure of bowling, “hiking” on a hot road, 10 plus hours of video games, and the leaders planning naps and 2 hour workouts at the gym during the afternoons, I am convinced that we need to be even more intentional in our supplementation. 

Our boys will not have their needs met anywhere but based from the home and from anyone but that is initiated from the home. 

The ward, stake, region, school, teams, extended families, and even good friend groups cannot raise these boys into men. Only will our interventions. And our very unique, laser-focused and substantial supplementations. 

“None of us ever fully utilizes the people-opportunities allocated to us within our circles of friendship. You and I may call these intersectings ‘coincidence.’ This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God. He does not do things by ‘coincidence’ but … by ‘divine design.’” -Maxwell