Faith in God


There has been some confusion on how the Faith in God program works with the Cub Scout program, but hopefully this page will clear things up. Below is a chart comparing the current program with past programs from which a lot of the confusion is generated because the names are either the same or quite similar. 

Religion and Scouting

Spirituality has been an integral part of the international Scouting movement since its inception. While Scouting is a non-denominational organization, it has strong ties to various religious organizations. As early as 1908, Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell wrote in the first Scout handbook that, "No man is much good unless he believes in God and obeys His laws." The Scouting movement allows each boy, den, pack, or troop its own freedom to worship God in his own way while promoting each scout to become strong members in his individual faith. To help promote this spiritual growth among the boys, each faith has its own special award that a boy can earn, each with its own requirements.

LDS Church and Cub Scouts
 
Like other denominations, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a religious award for Cub Scouts. It is called the "Faith in God" award, however, there is not a "medal" or some kind of pinnable award that the boy receives. Instead, he receives a small patch that is sewn above the left pocket of his scout shirt.

So what is the Faith in God Award?

The Faith in God award is a program that operates within the Primary organization for both boys and girls. When a child is baptized, they are given a small booklet by a member of the Primary Presidency. The booklet contains the list of requirements that must be completed. The program is four years long, and is set up so that each year a child is in primary, he or she completes some of the requirements. Upon completion, the child is awarded the certificate from the back cover of the booklet and is signed by the Primary President and the Bishop.

So how does my Scout earn a religious award?

In order to get his Cub Scouting religious award, there are seven eight requirements he must complete. They are listed in the "Faith in God for boys" booklet throughout the pages. The ones required for the Cub Scout award have a small square knot symbol next to them. A scout could potentially complete all seven requirements in a short period of time, and doesn't require all 3 years to complete. Once he has completed the seven requirements, he will be awarded his religious knot in the next Pack Meeting. The Wolf Den plans to work on 3 of the requirements, and the Bear den plans on doing the remaining 4, so if your Scout attends his Den meetings faithfully he should be able to get the award by the time he's ready for Webelos. It's possible to earn the religious knot without completing the entire Faith in God booklet, and it's also possible to complete the Faith in God award without earning the religious knot, so make sure you read the booklet carefully.

The seven eight requirements are:

  • Give a family home evening lesson on Joseph Smith's First Vision. Discuss how Heavenly Father answers our sincere prayers.
  • Give an opening and closing prayer in family home evening or at Primary. Share your feelings about how prayer protects us and helps us to stay close to Heavenly Father and the Savior.
  • Tell a story from the Book of Mormon that teaches about faith in Jesus Christ. Share your testimony of the Savior.
  • Prepare a pedigree chart with your name and your parents' and grandparents' names. Prepare a family group record for your family and share a family story. Discuss how performing temple work blesses families.
  • Write a letter to a teacher, your parents, or your grandparents telling them what you appreciate and respect about them.
  • Help your Primary leaders plan and carry our an upcoming quarterly activity.
  • Write a poem, story, or short play that teaches a principle of the gospel or is about Heavenly Father's creations.
  • Read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." Make a list of things you can do to help strengthen your family and make a happy home. Share the list with your parents or Primary leader.


How important is this award?

Completing the requirements for the award will help strengthen your child's testimony, and help him or her to stay on the straight and narrow path. Faith related aspects aside, if your scout earns his religious knot patch, it completes an achievement for the Bear program, and fulfills a requirement for the Webelos badge. (note: if your scout doesn't earn the religious knot, the handbooks have alternate requirements)

 

  


























 

     Past Program       Present Program
The Primary had a program called "Gospel in Action." It had requirements such as attending church, giving talks, participating in FHE, memorizing the Articles of Faith, etc. Upon completion, boys were awarded a tie-tack and girls were awarded a pendant, both of which had a picture of the scriptures.
The Primary has a program called the "Faith in God" for both boys and girls. It has similar requirements to the old "Gospel in Action" program. The program is nearly identical for boys and girls; the main differences relate to either preparing to receive the priesthood or joining a Beehive group. Upon completion, children are awarded the back cover of the booklet, which is signed by the Bishop and Primary President. 
Like most other religions, the LDS Church had an award called "Faith in God" Cub Scouts, and had some requirements like attending Primary, giving talks, and doing some service. Upon completion, boys were awarded a "medal" that was pinned to the shirt on formal occasions.  As part of earning the Faith in God award, there are seven requirements that have a square knot symbol next to them. If a boy completes these seven requirements, he is awarded his religious knot in Pack Meeting. A boy need not complete the whole Faith in God booklet and requirements to get the knot.
In addition to the "medal," Cub Scouts were also given a religious knot patch to sew onto their shirt. This knot signifies that he earned the religious award for his denomination without needing to wear the "medal" everywhere  and having it get damaged or lost. When he moves on to Boy Scouts, he may continue to wear the religious knot on his shirt indicating that he earned the award as a Cub. A small pin, called a "knot device" is available to add to the knot indicating this (shown on left). Additional pins are available for different phases of Scouting (a BSA device is on the right).