Below is a parent handout in use by one ward to set a policy of allowing certain levels of scouting participation and acheivement to be substituted for some of the similar Duty to God requirements.

Encouraging young men to achieve their Duty to God awards, by substituting Scouting activity for some items in the Fulfilling Our Duty to God guidebook

November, 2007

     The panel group led by Elder Oaks at the May 12, 2007 Aaronic Priesthood satellite broadcast offered us new flexibility for encouraging young men to achieve their Duty to God awards.  This has to do with how the last three goal areas of the Duty to God program mightbe satisfied. These goal areas are:

• Physical Development
• Educational, Personal, and Career Development
• Citizenship and Social Development

       Since these three areas cover basically the same kinds of things that our scouting programs do, the panel recommended that where scouting programs are available, that wards and stakes may exercise their flexibility to use the activities of the scouting programs to meet these latter three sets of Duty to God requirements, citing this direction from the Guidebook for Parents and Leaders of Youth, "The requirements listed in the Aaronic Priesthood: Fulfilling Our Duty to God guidebooks may be modified or replaced according to local circumstances, interests, and needs with the prior approval of parents and Aaronic Priesthood leaders." (p. 13)

       With this direction, we make the following adaptations in our use of the Duty to God program in this ward: 

       As an alternative for the meeting of the requirements for the categories

• Physical Development,
• Educational, Personal and Career Development, and
• Citizenship and Social Development,

for the Duty to God award for each age group, a young man may be fully credited for meeting all of the requirements in these three areas, if he:

       1) Has maintained a seventy five percent activity rate in the scouting program
           for his age group for at least the last year, and
       2) Has completed at least one of the following achievements:
               a. While a Deacon/Scout, advance a rank toward Eagle
               b. While a Teacher/Varsity Scout, advance a rank toward Eagle, or achieve
                   the Varsity Letter
               c. While a Priest/Venturer, advance a rank toward Eagle, or achieve one of
                   the Venturing Bronze awards

PLEASE NOTE: All of the above are alternate ways to meet the requirements of the three Duty to God goal categories listed above.  They do not rule out a young man using the existing goals listed in his Duty to God guidebook to meet requirements.  Additionally, none of the other Duty to God requirements are affected by these changes.  However, credit for alternative ways to meet any of the Duty to God goal activity requirements may be obtained by agreement with a member of the Bishopric or the Young Mens Presidency.