Return to Troop 139’s What Is Scouting? page.
Dylan, you are here not only to receive recognition for your achievement, but also to publically accept a charge to honor the status you are given tonight. To wear the medal of an Eagle is to accept a weighty responsibility. Think of your Eagle award as a symbol, and you will always have a reminder of the nature of that responsibility.
The silver eagle on your medal is supported by a ribbon of red, of white, and of blue. Let the white of the ribbon remind you of the need to live with honor. You will recall the first story on Troop 139’s Stories About Honor web page:
Long before he became an apostle, James Faust was a young boy who looked forward to the day when he could become a Boy Scout. His mother helped him memorize the Scout Law and otherwise prepare to be a Scout, and young James was delighted when on his birthday he could join his ward’s troop. One day his mother left him to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen while she went to care for a sick neighbor. James did not do his job. When his mother returned she looked at the uncleaned mess, put on her apron, and went to work. She spoke only three words when James came into the kitchen: “On my honor.” The words stung the young Scout “worse than the sting of a dozen hornets,” and on that day James Faust “resolved that I would never give my mother cause to repeat those words to me again.”
The entire purpose of the Scouting program is to teach young men the meaning of the words “On my honor.” There are few words more important. Always live so as to bring honor to your family, your ward, and your community.
The blue of the Eagle ribbon should remind you to be loyal. As an Eagle Scout you are an example to other Scouts, and you owe it to them to be a good example. You also have duties at home, at church, and to everyone around you, and you must be true to those duties. Show your loyalty by doing your best to do your duty. General Lee, who knew about these things, called “duty” the “sublimest word in the English language.” Live so that you can come to appreciate that wisdom.
It would not be necessary to emphasize these things if they were easy to do. They are not, which is why you should let the red of the ribbon remind you of courage. You need more than bravery in the face of physical danger, you need the fortitude to choose the right even when it would be easier to follow another path, even when it seems you have to walk the path of honor alone. But never forget that on that path you will never be alone, for your Elder Brother has been there before you, and your faith will give you the courage to follow in His footsteps.
The ribbon of your medal hangs from a metal scroll turned up in the shape of a smile, with a knot hanging from the scroll. This reminds you to do a good turn daily, and to give such service cheerfully. “Honor” is an important word, but it is not the only word that must characterize your life. The other is “love.” Elder Faust told a story just last week at a Christmas devotional during which he showed the old Scout diary of a boy he knew, which had “GT” printed on each page. Throughout the diary, “GT” was marked each time the boy had done a good turn for someone. The boy later gave the diary to his father as a present, and the evidence of a boyhood full of good works was the finest gift a son could give a parent. Do a good turn daily. Remember that one way to do a good turn is to show gratitude for what others have done for you—your mother, for example.
On the medal’s scroll is printed “Be Prepared.” Your grandfather—who was the finest Scoutmaster I have known—used to say that you cannot lift someone else unless you are already above them; it is hard to lift someone from below. Be prepared for disasters, as your Scout training has taught. But also prepare yourself for tests, for mission and marriage, and for the working world you will enter. And especially, be prepared to help and lift others to a better way of living, to higher moral ground, to righteous living. To do that, you need to be there yourself.
Finally, always remember that the Eagle medal and badge do not exist to symbolize to others your personal importance. Eagle rank is not a gold star denoting that you are special (although you are). It is a reminder to you of your own responsibilities. Wear your Eagle badge humbly as a reminder that you must do the hard work to live up to the values for which it stands.
Dylan, I charge you to meet this challenge.
Will you pledge your honor to do your best to do your duty?
Will you prepare yourself in all things so that you can lead well?
Will you serve cheerfully every day, making love for others the defining characteristic of your life?
Dylan, I am honored to welcome you into the ranks of Eagles.
This charge was given shortly after Dylan moved into a new troop, Troop 1467, and had his Eagle Court of Honor there.
Return to Troop 139’s What Is Scouting? page.