The other night we had a meeting with the Young Men Leaders of our ward. They were outlining the upcoming scout camps and encouraging parents to continue working with their YM on the "Duty toGod" program. It was a very positive night and we left feeling a renewed importance to not let these programs go by the wayside.
Our Bishop spoke at the end and gave a great analogy.
He said if you have ever been a part of moving a herd of cattle, it is like raising boys. He continued, "To move 900 head of cattle you really only need 5 or 6 GOOD COWBOYS. Out of that 900 head of cattle you really only need a few leader cows to charge out ahead of the bunch. The rest will follow. As you are moving them along you keep them in a bunch. Follow the leaders and keep them together. If you lose one or two it is really hard to get them back. They get lost and disorientated. They become "HOT". They start doing things that don't make sense, --they don't THINK. When you approach the gate of your destination (a small area in size), if you get those leader cows inside that gate... the rest of the herd follows.
IT IS AN ART MOVING CATTLE. IT IS AN ART RAISING BOYS!
KEEP'EM IN THE BUNCH AND THE BUNCH MEETS HERE. "
I am so thankful for Bishop Alexander. He cares so deeply for our youth and wants them to be happy. I know that Riley can achieve that happiness if he follows the counsel of our leaders. We are very blessed in our ward to have a great scout program. I am very thankful to those leaders who give of their time to our boys... to help keep them on the right path.
I love this post! It is definitely true, though I guess I've never thought to relate the raising of boys to herding of cattle. You've been busy around those blogs! I loved reading all your new stuff.
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