Charles W. Dahlquist, II
Aaronic Priesthood/Young Men
April 2005 General Conference Workshop Training

"For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?" (Genesis 44:34)

Thank you, brethren, for your attendance and participation tonight. We too have gained from your strength of testimony and your commitment to being "almost consumed" with the work of helping to save our young men.

Just about three weeks ago I was in Vladivostok, Russia—7 time zones east of Moscow and 17 time zones from here. As we looked over the frozen river that flows through the city, Brother Alexander, our driver, told us that in the winter they could drive on the river the short distance to the North Korean border. Suffice it to say, we did not attempt that journey.

That evening we met with a small group of young men and their parents in a rented room on the 2nd floor of an office building. It was cold, and we greeted them warmly as they entered the room and placed their heavy coats and schapkas in the closet adjacent to the meeting room. We began the meeting as any other Church meeting anywhere in the world, with a hymn and a prayer, and I felt right at home in a land so far away. As I looked at this gathering of Saints, I noticed a young man of about 15 in the second row who was reading an Aaronic Priesthood: Fulfilling Our Duty to God, Teacher booklet. I noticed that he was glued to the book and hadn't even looked up to sing the opening hymn. I must say I was thrilled to see someone who was obviously working on his Duty to God Award so far from Salt Lake City.

As I rose to speak, I told him I had noticed he had a book in his hand and asked him what it was. As he held it up a bit sheepishly, he replied, “Я ни знаю”—"I don't know." I asked him his name, and he replied, "Gerre." I asked him where he got the booklet. He said, pointing over his shoulder, "Out in the hall, on a table, just before the meeting." As he said that, Dimitri, a 10-year-old boy sitting on the front row, immediately stood up, left the meeting, and came back a minute later with his own copy of the booklet, so eager to learn and so eager to be a part of this great work.

That image of Gerre and Dimitri has haunted me since that evening in faraway Vladivostok. In the October 2001 general conference, Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve referred to the September 28, 2001, First Presidency letter, which read:

"In January 2000, we introduced an Aaronic Priesthood Achievement program in areas outside the United States and Canada where Scouting was not available. The purpose . . . is to help young men prepare for the Melchizedek Priesthood, the temple endowment, a full-time mission, marriage, and fatherhood.
 . . . [That international program remains in force and] has now been adapted for use in the United States and Canada to include the important role of Scouting in the development of young men . . . [and will be known as] Aaronic Priesthood: Fulfilling Our Duty to God . . . 

"We desire all young men to strive to earn the Eagle Scout and Duty to God Awards. . . . As youth work on these goals, they will develop skills and attributes that will lead them to the temple and prepare them for a lifetime of service to their families and the Lord."

Elder Hales continued by saying, "I promise you that your achievement of the Duty to God Award will provide you with a living testimony that will sustain you throughout your life" ("Fulfilling Our Duty to God," Ensign, Nov. 2001, 38–39).

It has now been 42 months since the introduction of the Duty to God program in the October 2001 general conference. I wonder how Duty to God is doing in your ward or your branch. While we know of some wards and stakes that have done very well at implementing the Duty to God program, we have also been with others that have not. I was recently in a land that is preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of that country for the preaching of the gospel. They are a wonderful and noble people. Yet as I met with their Aaronic Priesthood and then with their priesthood leadership and asked about Duty to God, all I received were some blank stares. Later as I prepared to leave for the airport, a member of the stake presidency said, "Brother Dahlquist, I promise you that we will do better at implementing Duty to God." And I know they will.

As I think of the various levels of progress we have made in these past three years, I think of a story about Lucy and Charlie Brown. Lucy is sitting on a chair, and Charlie, the patient, is lying on the couch. On the wall is a sign: The Doctor Is In! Lucy begins to philosophize as she says, "Charlie, life is like a cruise. Some people put their deck chairs at the front of the boat so they can see where they are going. Some people put their deck chairs at the back of the boat so they can see where they have been." And then she looks right at Charlie Brown and asks, "Charlie, which way is your deck chair pointing?" Charlie has this puzzled look on his face as he replies, "You know, I don't think I've ever been able to get my chair unfolded."

You have come here for a number of reasons. Some of you are newly called, are looking ahead and wondering, "Just how do I implement the Duty to God program in my ward in a way that will touch the lives of my young men?" Others of you have been in your callings for much longer and have established wonderful Duty to God achievement programs that truly bless the lives of your young men of the Aaronic Priesthood and their families, and you are looking back and are desirous to share your experiences with others. And then there may be a few of you who are just trying to get your deck chair unfolded.

For each of you, may I be a bit basic tonight? I start much the same as Coach Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, who used to start off each season with the basics. He would say [hold football up], "Gentlemen, this is a football." (It was also quipped that one year one of his offensive linemen responded, "Ah, Coach, don't go so fast!") This is the coach who built the Green Bay Packers from a legacy of losing into a football dynasty. He is the one quoted as saying:

"Leaders are made; they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."

And, " A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall."

And, " If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?"

And, " If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm."

So tonight, in the inimitable style of Vince Lombardi, brethren: This is a Duty to God booklet. I am convinced, as I have traveled to many quorums in many different stakes, states, and countries, that we have forgotten the very basics of this program—that it focuses on the young men and the family; that the Duty to God achievement program can work just as well with Dimitri working on it alone in Vladivostok or Sven in Göteborg, Sweden, as it can with a full deacons quorum of 12 in Sandy, Utah.

To the Parents in Zion

So, with that introduction, let me speak first to you as parents. And to help me I have ___________________________, an 11-year-old, soon-to-be deacon, and his parents, Brother and Sister _________________. I am also pleased to introduce President ________________________________, the president of the deacons quorum in the ________________________ ward.

Introduction to Fulfilling Our Duty to God achievement program to soon-to-be deacon and his parents:

1.  Welcome to the quorum (quorum president).

2.  Introduction to passing the sacrament (quorum president).

3.  Introduction to the Fulfilling Our Duty to God achievement program (Brother Dahlquist).

• Introduce the Duty to God program.
• Introduce the Fulfilling Our Duty to God booklet.
  • Describe parts of the booklet.
  • Describe how the young man and his parents can work together to plan using the Aaronic Priesthood Duty to God Achievement Record.
  • Suggest that this be a large part of a regular father's interview.
  • Explain that while Scouting is a large part of each deacon's quorum activity program, there will be activities that will assist him in accomplishing the requirements of the Duty to God program.
  • Some requirements in the Scouting program will also fulfill the requirements of the Duty to God program.
  • Describe monthly reviews with the quorum adviser.
  • Show a copy of the certificates for deacon, teacher, priest, and Duty to God and an example of the Duty to God medallion.
  • Challenge to rememorize the Articles of Faith
    
    
• Introduce the Guidebook for Parents and Leaders of Youth.
  • Invite the parents to be involved in quorum activities, on the troop committee, and so on.
    
    
• The father leaves, leaving the mother as a single parent.
  • Use two brothers from the congregation as helpful home teacheres.

End with quote from the First Presidency: " 'We desire all young men to strive to earn the Eagle Scout and Duty to God Awards. . . . As youth work on these goals, they will develop skills and attributes that will lead them to the temple and prepare them for a lifetime of service to their families and the Lord.' . . . I promise you that your achievement of the Duty to God Award will provide you with a living testimony that will sustain you throughout your life."

Well, brethren, it is as simple as that. I am convinced that if we have an interview with each young man in the Aaronic Priesthood—active or less active—and his parent or parents, we will see this program grow by leaps and bounds. You ward and stake Young Men presidents and counselors can be helpful by providing useful helps and hints to quorum advisers as they work with the youth. You can suggest that one person in the ward, possibly the secretary to the ward Young Men presidency, be called to be responsible to work with parents to ensure adequate progress of each young man in the ward in the Duty to God achievement program.

You can also ensure that the room where your Aaronic Priesthood meets has something on the wall that reminds the young men of who they are and of the significance of the Aaronic Priesthood and the Duty to God program. As I have traveled extensively, I have noticed that it is not difficult to tell which is the children's meeting room, which is the Relief Society room, and which is the room where the young women meet. But just try to find the room where the Aaronic Priesthood meet. Brethren, we can do a better job of visually reinforcing to our young men the majesty of the priesthood they bear.

One more thing: interestingly enough, our experience tells us that in many cases, where Scouting is alive and vibrant, so is Duty to God, if the same steps for success are followed. In a corresponding manner, if we are diligent in holding regular progress interviews with the boys, help to track their progress, have someone specifically designated to track progress, provide additional helps and encouragements to parents, and talk about Duty to God and Scouting (including Varsity and Venturing programs), not only will we retain our active young men with greater effectiveness than we now do, but I am convinced that we will reclaim the less active, as well as attracting those young men of other faiths who are seeking for truth and for an opportunity to develop their skills and character traits and to have fun while they are at it. If we build it, they will come!

In 1 Timothy chapter 4, there is a wonderful scripture that I read each time I receive a new calling. I began doing this when I was called at an early age as a member of the University of Utah stake high council. Then at age 29, I was called as a member of a stake presidency and, at age 35, as a stake president. But as my hair has grayed and disappeared, I have continued to go to this scripture with each new calling, recognizing that it has worth for all who are still young enough to fog a mirror and take nourishment.

Refer 1 Timothy 4:12–16.

Testimony

And who will teach them that they must not allow anyone to despise their youth? Who will teach them that they must be an example of the believers in all that they do, for their sakes and for the sakes of those that know them? Who? In the words of a wonderful latter-day song that many of you have heard, Elder F. Melvin Hammond sings so beautifully, "How will they know unless we tell them so?"

Our charge is divine. As I have mentioned before, it is our duty, our blessing, to become "almost consumed" with the work of strengthening the youth in our charge. And as I am reassured in my patriarchal blessing, if you and I look to the light that is above, those who go with us will know that we seek for something higher. And as we invite them to "Come, follow me—to the temple and on full-time missions," I testify to you that they will come—the active, the less active, and those friends of other faiths who are seeking truth. May such be our lot, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.