It’s July, and Aaronic Priesthood quorum camps are happening across the northern hemisphere. These camps offer a setting in which young men can make friends and have fun, but they can also be a time to teach and learn spiritual lessons that can strengthen faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, as well as help young men stay on the covenant path.
I will never forget one such lesson I received from a leader at camp when I was young. This man encouraged my fellow quorum members and me to look up at the night sky. As we marveled at the expanse of the universe before us, our leader pointed out several constellations and planets. He then showed us how to find the North Star and explained how it can be used to find our direction because it is constant.
Then he said, “Our Savior’s love is constant like the North Star. How can prophets and scriptures be like the North Star for us?”
The discussion that followed helped me see the stars and the gospel more clearly. I am grateful for a leader who did not stop with constellations and planets. He used them to teach me a spiritual lesson. That night I learned for myself the truth of what Alma taught: “All things denote there is a God” (Alma 30:44).
All youth leaders can do for others what this leader did for me. President Boyd K. Packer explained: “The way the Savior taught, and the way you can teach, is both simple and very profound. If you choose a tangible object as a symbol for a doctrine, you can teach just as He did” (“The Light of Christ,” April 2005).
Recently, I attended a camp where my son, Mike, was one of the adult leaders. We decided to follow President Packer’s counsel. We briefly explained about analogies and shared a few examples from the parables of the Savior. Then my son and I invited the boys to pair up, look around to find any object, and then make an appropriate analogy which they could share with the group.
Here are some they came up with:
- Reading the Book of Mormon is like putting a log on the fire. It keeps our testimonies burning brightly.
- The Spirit is like a flashlight. He helps us see things more clearly and can help us make our way through the darkness.
- A compass, like the prophet, shows us the right way to go. Those who refuse to follow a prophet can get lost, just like those who don’t follow a compass.
- We are like seeds because we are not yet what we can be. God can help us grow and become what He wants us to be. It is not our current size that matters, but the potential within us.
Not only did the young men come up with some memorable analogies, but they had fun doing it. We ended by sharing the words of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Each of us should look for the lessons and warnings found in the simple events of everyday life. As we seek for a mind and heart open to receive heavenly direction by the power of the Holy Ghost, then some of the greatest instructions that we can receive and many of the most powerful warnings that can safeguard us will originate in our own ordinary experiences. Powerful parables are contained in both the scriptures and in our daily lives (“Watchful unto Prayer Continually,” October 2019).
The following day, the young men and their leaders spent time at a nearby lake and got to ride a zipline. Mike told me that the young men kept finding analogies. One of them commented that towing a boat, like sin, slows you down. Another observed that life jackets offer protection like the gospel. Another noted that the harness on the zipline keeps you safe and hanging on is like holding to the Iron Rod.
Camping, boating and ziplining produce fun and valuable experiences. However, with just a little extra effort, they can become much more than that. They can provide spiritual lessons that will be remembered long after the experiences are over. I guess we could say that teaching spiritual lessons at camp is like planting a fruit tree. It takes some work up front, but it will bear sweet rewards for years to come.
