1. Utah national parks council supports New YM 14-18 Activities Program

2. Purposes of the Aaronic priesthood
Young men are in a time of preparation and personal spiritual growth. Accordingly, parents and the bishopric and other Aaronic Priesthood leaders help each young man to:
Become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and live by its teachings.
Serve faithfully in priesthood callings and fulfill the responsibilities of priesthood offices.
Give meaningful service.
Prepare and live worthily to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances.
Prepare to serve an honorable full-time mission.
Obtain as much education as possible.
Prepare to become a worthy husband and father.
Give proper respect to women, girls, and children.
Parents and leaders help young men accomplish these objectives in family home evenings, family scripture study, meetings, activities, and interviews and by encouraging them to participate in the Duty to God program (see 8.12)
Handbook 2: Administering the Church, Chapter 8 Aaronic Priesthood

3. Aaronic Priesthood ages 14–18 Activities And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.  Luke 2:52

4. Preparing a righteous generation of Young Men

5. The mission should NOT be the first time a young man has:
been away from home for an extended period of time
read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover
worked from sunup to sundown
walked more than 10 miles in the same day
cooked his own meal
bicycled more than 20 miles in the same day
shopped for groceries to make that meal
balanced the use of electronic devices
cooked a few different meals on a stovetop (no microwave)
approached strangers at the door or on the street
washed dishes by hand (no dishwasher)
taught a spiritual lesson from Preach My Gospel
done his own laundry
gotten up early (by 6:30am)

6. Be with them
Youth and adult leaders must know and love each boy in the quorum. Take time to know them personally, including their strengths, weaknesses, interests, accomplishments and needs.

7. Be with them
Adult advisers should give serious and continued thought on how to facilitate strong, genuine relationships between each boy and one or more adults. Being with them implies that we put time into these assignments, faithfully attending every activity. It is our love, confidence, encouragement and personal testimony that we want to expose them to as well as our experience and expertise.
Adult advisors should guide young men in practicing organizational and leadership skills

8. “Boys need lots of heroes, like Lincoln and Washington
“Boys need lots of heroes, like Lincoln and Washington. But they also need to have some 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; and to feel close enough to them to ask questions and to talk things over man-to-man with them.”
-President Spencer W. Kimball
General Conference, April 1976

9. Connect them with heaven

10. Connect them with heaven
“To truly guide youth, we must connect them with heaven…. Our youth must know how to seek Heavenly Father’s guidance.” (M. Joseph Brough – Ensign 5/17)

11. Let them lead

12. Let them lead STRUCTURE
Teacher & Priest Activity Program should be boy-led and adult-guided; a time to build genuine relationships with young men through adult association.
Trust the young men, help them understand expectations, teach them the doctrines and train them to succeed.

13. Let them lead
METHODS
A [boy] must be called of God… (5th Article of Faith)
Help our YM grow in body, character and spirit. Learning leadership and gaining confidence in a supportive environment is our purpose.
Get comfortable with the idea that activities don’t have to be perfect, that a young man’s experience learning to lead is more important than a perfect adult-led activity.
Exercise patience and love; make sure that every attempt to lead is rewarded with appropriate praise and gratitude.

14. Teacher & Priest Activity Program
Building young men with strong testimonies in the Lord Jesus Christ, helping them magnify their priesthood duties and preparing to fulfill their divine roles is the purpose of the Young Men’s activity program.
Stake, ward, and quorum leaders should counsel together on how to implement this activity program.
Activities should provide opportunities to:
Be with them
Connect them with heaven
Let them lead

15. Principles of 14-18 Year old Activity Program should:
Provide belonging and support by strengthening quorum unity and building relationships with peers, leaders, and families.
Be planned and executed by Aaronic Priesthood quorum leaders, with support from adult advisers.
Provide a balance of opportunities to serve others and develop spiritually, socially, physically, and intellectually.
Follow all Church safety policies and guidelines and Scouting’s Guide to Safe Scouting.
Provide experiences that help young men fulfill their Aaronic Priesthood duties and their divine roles:
Accomplish the purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood
Develop temporal and spiritual self- reliance skills: time-management, budgeting, and simple home and mechanical maintenance
Engage in becoming good citizens
Be attractive and challenging to the YM

16. Teacher & Priest Activity PROGRAM
Quorum activities are planned and executed by Aaronic Priesthood quorum leaders with support from adult advisers.
Develop an annual calendar to ensure a balance of purposeful spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual activities.
Use Scouting’s Program Features as a resource to plan and execute activities. Keep it simple to get the best results.
Ward Councils are encouraged to counsel together and consider the needs of all youth and families in their wards in applying these guidelines.
Combined activities with young men and young women are particularly beneficial for youth ages 14 and older.

17. UTAH NATIONAL PARKS COUNCIL/UTAH SOUTH AREA STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND OUTCOMES
Develop a testimony of Jesus Christ
Cultivate leadership skills
Become self-reliant
Have away-from-home experiences
Experience the value of work and doing hard things
Develop Christ-like attributes as outlined by the Scout Law
STRATEGIC DIRECTION
The stake presidents and bishops own the outcomes* of youth.
Church leaders utilize Scouting volunteers as a resource in preparing Young Men for adulthood.
The District Key 3 members and other district volunteers are resource messengers and trainers of stake and ward adults and work under the direction of local priesthood leaders.
BSA camp facilities can be used for any stake & ward activities.
*OUTCOMES
Prepare to live worthily to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances and serve an honorable full-time mission.

18. Stake adult leadership training
METHOD
Each adult leader is responsible to “…learn his duty and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence (D&C 107: ).
Be with Them, Connect Them with Heaven, Let Them Lead – the purpose of everything we do is to help a young man develop a relationship with his Heavenly Father and the Savior.
Personally express love to each young man publically and privately, praise and thank as often as possible.
Quorum visits by stake young men presidency, high council and stake presidency.
STRUCTURE
STAKES ORGANIZE ADULT YM LEADERSHIP TRAINING

19. RESOURCES AND ACTIONS RESOURCES
Stake Young Men Presidencies are a resource to ward young men advisors.
ACTIONS
Stake Young Men Presidency and others visit quorums regularly to encourage monthly, quarterly, and annual planning and stress the principles of Be with Them, Connect Them with Heaven and Let them Lead.

20. RESOURCES AND ACTIONS RESOURCES ACTIONS
STAKE YOUTH COMMITTEE
ACTIONS
Should play a major role in deciding and planning stake activities.

21. STRUCTURE AND METHODS STRUCTURE
Schedule a few significant stake-organized activities.
Wards plan week/month/quarter activities using the Scouting’s Program Features guide as a resource.
Consider a youth conference or multiday high adventure activity. Focus on outdoor adventure activities developing leadership and character.
Provide an environment for spiritual reflection.
Temple and Family History involvement
Service activities and mission preparation classes
Personal development: careers, life skills and education.
Eagle Scout advancement.
YM/YW Combined Activities
STRUCTURE
ESTABLISH AN ANNUAL PLAN – STAKE, AND QUORUM.
ESTABLISH A BALANCED ACTIVITY PLAN THAT COVERS AREAS, SUCH AS SERVICE, LEADERSHIP EDUCATION, ADVENTURE, PERSONAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.
THE OBJECTIVE IS TO HAVE GREAT ACTIVITIES THAT STRENGTHEN YOUNG MEN AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH ADULTS.

22. RESOURCES AND ACTIONS RESOURCES
Scouting’s “PROGRAM FEATURES” provides a large inventory of activity ideas and methodology for planning and execution.
Parent Engagement
ACTIONS
The Scout Oath and Scout Law are codes of conduct.
Define training needs for stake, ward and Roundtable.
Scouting’s Program Features simplify planning, foster youth-led activities and allows adults to function as advisors.
Talk to parents – often. Give them a voice regarding the outcome of their young men. What experiences do you want your young men to have?

23. resources Handbook 2: Ch. 8 & 13 Safety.lds.org Ymactivities.lds.org
Handbook 2: Ch. 8 & 13
Safety.lds.org
Ymactivities.lds.org
troopleader.org/program-features/

24. troopleader.org/program-features
Outdoor
Sports
Health and Safety
Citizenship and Personal Development
STEM
Arts and Hobbies

25. ELEMENTS OF GOOD ANNUAL PLANNING
Young men shape their calendar, select activities that they would like to do.
A balanced activity plan that covers areas, such as service, leadership training, adventure, personal development and spiritual development.
Use an annual plan with quarterly updates. Be flexible.
Good planning sets the stage for good ministering.
Establishing a great plan and a solid calendar is NOT the objective. The objective is to have great activities that strengthen the young men. A great plan is a means to that end.
Consider what kind of an activity plan would garner the support of parents.
Activities should be communicated to parents in advance to get their feedback.
Create the plan. Execute the plan.

26. ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER
Scouting’s Program Features will help by presenting a large inventory of options from which the young men can choose. There is something there for everyone.
A path towards the rank of Eagle Scout should be provided for those young men who desire it.
Establish a routine of vision, motivation and accountability with youth leaders.
Focus on quorum youth and adult relationships.
Keep the process simple and get the desired results. Consider what is possible with inexperienced leaders.
Use quorum leadership roles and titles.

27. LDS CHURCH EVENT & ACTIVITY PLAN
Planning Helps
LDS CHURCH EVENT & ACTIVITY PLAN
Located at
SAFETY.LDS.ORG

28. QUORUM ANNUAL PLANNING CHART
Planning Helps
QUORUM ANNUAL PLANNING CHART
Quarter
Temporal/Spiritual Self Reliance
Service
Social Development
Physical Development
Intellectual Development
Advancement Trail to Eagle
1st
January
February
March
2nd
April
May
June
3rd
July
August
September
4th
October
November
December

29. ACTIVITY INTEREST SURVEY
Planning Helps

30. PROGRAM CAPABILITY INVENTORY
Planning Helps

31. ACTIVITY PLANNING WORKSHEET
Planning Helps
ACTIVITY PLANNING WORKSHEET

32. Purposes of the Aaronic priesthood
Young men are in a time of preparation and personal spiritual growth. Accordingly, parents and the bishopric and other Aaronic Priesthood leaders help each young man to:
Become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and live by its teachings.
Serve faithfully in priesthood callings and fulfill the responsibilities of priesthood offices.
Give meaningful service.
Prepare and live worthily to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances.
Prepare to serve an honorable full-time mission.
Obtain as much education as possible.
Prepare to become a worthy husband and father.
Give proper respect to women, girls, and children.
Parents and leaders help young men accomplish these objectives in family home evenings, family scripture study, meetings, activities, and interviews and by encouraging them to participate in the Duty to God program (see 8.12)
Handbook 2: Administering the Church, Chapter 8 Aaronic Priesthood