The Duty to God Award honor was presented to young men who participated and excelled in their duties in the Aaronic Priesthood within

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. The Duty to God program, which operated in various formats from 1954 until 2019, for young men was roughly equivalent to the

Personal Progress Young Women Personal Progress was a goal-setting and achievement program within the Young Women organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The program ran from 1978 to 2019 and was roughly analogous to the Duty t ...

program for the church's young women.

History

The award was created in 1954 to align the activities of Scouting with priesthood responsibilities. In 2002, the award's requirements and design were modified to focus young men on preparation for temple, missionary, and family goals."Program ‘will improve their lives,’" Deseret News, October 27, 2001 (fee-based article)
/ref> The award was further modified again in 2010. Although the Duty to God award never required participation in the Scouting programs of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

(BSA), the BSA recognized it as evidence of a Scout's commitment to its principles. In May 2018, the LDS Church announced that in January 2020 it would launch a new worldwide initiative for children and youth. As a part of this change, the church will no longer be a BSA chartered organization. The new "Children and Youth Program" replaced all existing activity programs for girls and boys, young women and young men beginning in January 2020.

Award requirements

The most recent award program officially began in January 2002 and was revised in 2010. Aaronic Priesthood candidates would qualify for the Duty to God Award after completing specific requirements regarding priesthood duties. These were defined as involvement in family activities, participation in the church's quorum activities, the successful completion of a Duty to God service project, and reaching personal goals relating to education, spiritual and physical development, and social interactions.

Award name and design

The award and its qualifying program is named from a passage in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

: The award, a circular medallion, was designed by Douglas Coy Miles. Before 2002, the award was a buffalo skull-shaped medal designed by

Avard Fairbanks Avard Tennyson Fairbanks (March 2, 1897 – January 1, 1987) was a 20th-century American sculptor. Over his eighty-year career, he sculpted over 100 public monuments and hundreds of artworks. Fairbanks is known for his religious-themed commis ...

."Obit: Douglas Coy Miles helped create CTR ring and other famous LDS artifacts," The Salt Lake Tribune, July 10, 2008
/ref>

References

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External links

Award web site

Children and Youth Development website
2002 in Christianity Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America Awards established in 2002 Latter Day Saint practices Young Men (organization) Young people and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1954 establishments in the United States

History

Award requirements

Award name and design

See also

References

External links