The Elder - Three PEGS Down, One to Go

My 18-year-old was ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood today. In some ways it felt rushed, and in others it felt overdue. Normally we've had at least one grandfather present for each ordination, but not this time. P1 turned his mission papers in a few weeks ago and within days he had his call (Colorado, Denver North Mission) and he was given just two months to get ready and report. With so much to do to prepare, and with a crazy travel and baseball and Scout schedule plus the other work and play tugs of summer and wanting as much time together as a family, I have felt overwhelmed to the point of being paralyzed and incapable of making decisions. After days of not knowing what to do, I went for a run to clear my head and then turned to the scriptures.

Part of the panic is time, of course. As a homeschooling mom I don't know if I will ever feel, on my own, like my kids' education is complete. That's probably because it isn't and never will be, because there is ALWAYS more to learn.  I was hoping for a few extra months before mission time to wrap up some perceived loose educational ends and that has now become an impossibility.  But as I was walking along, I was struck with the realization that we had set out with PEGS as our goal and that at this point in time, G is complete, S is complete, E was on the verge of complete, and we are currently working on the part of P that I really wanted to make sure was complete.  In that moment I felt immense relief and was so grateful to my Heavenly Father for pointing it all out to me. No, my son doesn't know everything, but no one does no matter how old they are or how much education they've received. But we ARE close to the goal and it's within reach. 

After that burden was lifted, I was able to think a little more clearly. As I opened my scriptures, they fell to a chapter (the book and number of which escapes me at the moment) that was all about receiving the priesthood. Up to that point I'd kind of been putting off the ordination, trying to figure out when to do it and such. I felt strongly at that moment that the Lord was telling me that it was just plain time to do it regardless of imperfect circumstances and who could or could not be there. I felt very strongly that the most important thing was to move forward with the ordination immediately.

Today, as it all took place, just our immediate family and some leaders, I felt immense peace. I think there is a lot of goodness in the support of extended family, and it speaks of the importance of an ordination or ordinance for extended family to make a trip to be present for it, but I learned this week that each individual's personal progress along the path and the ordinations and ordinances themselves are the most important. Sometimes we get so caught up in the culture of something--and in turning it into some sort of party--that we lose sight of the simple necessity and rightness of an act and its eternal significance.

So, what exactly is an Elder?  I found the following in Bruce R. McConkie's "Only an Elder."

What is an elder? An elder is a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. He holds the holy Melchizedek Priesthood. He is commissioned to stand in the place and stead of his Master—who is the Chief Elder—in ministering to his fellowmen. He is the Lord’s agent. His appointment is to preach the gospel and perfect the Saints.

What is an elder? He is a shepherd, a shepherd serving in the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd. It is written: “And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God” (Ezek. 34:31). It is also written, and that by Peter, the first elder in his day: “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, …

“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

“Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:1–4). Know this: elders, who are standing ministers in the Lord’s kingdom, are appointed to feed the flock of God, to take the oversight of the flock, to be examples to the flock.

...

What is an elder? “And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together, …

“Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?

“To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth” (D&C 50:10, 13–14).

An elder is the Lord’s representative sent forth to teach His gospel for the salvation of men.

So, I can say with confidence that my 18-year-old is a Gentleman, a Scout, and now, officially, an Elder. We're getting acquainted and familiar with the most fervent patriots in history and studying the tenets of the Founding Fathers and the nation they founded so we can cap off the climb with a resounding P.

George Washington and the Scout Law

I love it when things connect!  We are currently studying United States History and, more specifically right now, Colonial Times.  I found a great way to connect the past with the present in George Washington's personal code of conduct.

Even though Washington died long before there was such a thing as Scouting, he personified the Scout Law in a set of rules he created for himself when he was 15 years old:

A Scout is trustworthy.

GW:  "Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise."

A Scout is loyal.

GW:  "Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.  Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust."

A Scout is helpful.

GW:  "Wherein you reprove another be unblamable yourself, for example is more prevalent than precepts.  In visiting the sick do not play the physician, if you be not knowing therein."

A Scout is friendly.

GW:  "Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.  Let your conversation be without malice or envy."

A Scout is courteous.

GW:  "Be not forward, but friendly and courteous, the first to salute, hear, and answer.  Speak not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not when others stop, turn not your back to others, especially in speaking; lean not on anyone."

A Scout is kind.

GW:  "When a man does all he can, though it succeeds not well, blame not him that did it."

A Scout is obedient.

GW:  "Honor and obey your natural parents although they be poor.  Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty."

A Scout is cheerful.

GW:  "Speak not of doleful things in times of mirth; nor at the table; put on a cheerful countenance, for good humor makes one dish of meat a feast."

A Scout is thrifty.

GW:  "Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.  In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accommodate nature rather than to procure admiration."

A Scout is brave.

GW:  "Fight to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience."

A Scout is clean.

GW:  "Use no reproachful language against anyone, neither curse nor revile.  Let your recreations be manful, not sinful."

A Scout is reverent.

GW:  "When you speak of God, or His attributes, let it be seriously in reverence."


I loved finding this little gem of a lesson!  It shows the timelessness of the values espoused by Scouting.  It shows that someone who had a great mission to fulfill, who became one of history's most important and famous figures, started out as a goal-oriented youth.

I also love the language he used; the words and phrases aren't common to today and so this lesson expanded vocabulary and made us think about why Washington would say things the way he said them and what he truly meant.  The language also lifted us from modern, often too casual language to a more refined way of expression. It made for great discussion on the connections between the "Scout word" and the "Washington rule."  Why would he make this or that rule for himself?  And for whomever matched these Washington maxims to points of the Scout Law, why, of all things, would he match "brave" with "Fight to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience"?  It's simply terrific.

The PEGS of Our Homeschool Journey

PEGS Academy is the name I gave our homeschool after a lot of thought about the point of education and the outcomes I hope our educational journey together as a family will influence. As I listed values I hoped to instill, character traits I hoped to help develop, and attributes I wanted from our homeschool on a piece of paper, an acronym readily sprang to life:  PEGS - Patriot, Elder, Gentleman, Scout.  These are what I hope for my boys to become individually and each in his own way over time.  And I do recognize that it takes time--sometimes even a lifetime. But as the acronym suggests, it's little things plugged in here and there that hold together something bigger; pegs fill holes, join parts, mark scores, define limits, and if they are on a wooden peg board they form hand and foot holds for climbing (assuming an imaginary peg board is relative in size to the ascending child).  I do hope we're always climbing.