Payson Roundup

The Boy Scouts of America is an organization that teaches a young man to become a gentleman and to learn the skills he needs, not only to succeed in the wilderness, but also in his family and in the community.

There is a code that every Boy Scout lives by called the Scout law: “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”

Every Scout in America is obligated to live by this code. It is part of his duty to self, God, family and country.

There is a story in the Scout Master’s Minute Handbook about a trustworthy pioneer that gained the trust of all the Indian chiefs in the area. During the late 1800s, there was a group of pioneers heading through to Salt Lake. During an especially hard winter, Jacob Hamblin, the spokesman and scout of the group, told his son to take their fairly nice horse and “make a good trade” for some blankets.

As the son reached the tribe’s camp, he searched for Chief Big Feather and asked him about the trade. The chief brought out several blankets and asked if that was enough; the boy asked for more. When the chief brought out more blankets, the boy again motioned for more. Soon there were enough blankets for twice as much as what the horse was worth.

When the boy returned to the wagon train, he said to his father, “How’s that for a trade?” Jacob took the stack, cut it in half and told his son to take the other half back to the chief. With his head hung, the boy did so.

When the boy returned to Chief Big Feather with the excess of blankets, the chief said, “I knew he would; Jacob is an honest man.”

When Jacob told his son “make a good trade,” he did not mean get as many blankets as possible. He meant make a trade worthy of the chief’s trust.

Being trustworthy is an indispensible part of good character. We become trustworthy by consistently being honest, even if it means getting in trouble or being unpopular. There are many things in this life that are dispensable. Money and property can be replaced. If we are sick, a doctor can heal us. But if character is lost, all is lost.

When I was in Park City with my grandparents for Christmas, we asked one of my best friends Bryce (who is in my varsity Scout troop) to take care of our animals. My sister was worried and asked me to call Bryce to make sure the animals were getting fed and were OK. I told her that I knew they were getting fed because that is the kind of young man that Bryce is. We could definitely use more trustworthy young men like Bryce in the world.

This is the 100th year anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. The traits in the Scout law are just as important to follow now as when they were first instituted over a century ago.

Our country is going through difficult times, but fortunately the Boy Scouts of America inspires something that we need very badly today — CHARACTER.

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