Some of you may have read the title of this post and said, “What does The Family History Guide have to do with BSA?” Well, the answer is a lot actually.

The Boy Scouts of America have a Merit Badge for Genealogy.  Shortly after we began working at the Family Search Library in 2011, my husband, Jim, was asked to teach Scouts and their families, in our area, how to fulfill the requirements for the boys to earn this badge. There are several things to do to receive the badge and one of them requires they visit and learn about a library where family records can be found.

The Family History Guide is our go to place for genealogy, including the Genealogy Merit Badge.  Go to the Home page of the Family History Guide.   Click on the Misc. The drop-down menu includes the BSA option:  It opens to the page where the requirements are shared with steps for Scouts do to to achieve this badge.

*There is also so much more in this BSA option in the way of choices and learning about the Scout program in  general.  See it here.
  

Before the Family History Guide was available, it was a lot of work for Jim as we got this plan together to help families coming into the library.  We would spend about two hours on Saturdays once month when we had troops interested in bringing in a group.  My job was just to be there to assist Jim when it was time for them to go onto the computers.  Jim, however, spent a lot of time preparing and communicating with the leaders of the troops on exactly what they needed to do in advance. Now being able to just refer parents or Scout leaders to the Family History Guide is invaluable.

Jim has had extensive experience with Scouting for 34 years now.  He jumped in with both feet when our son was a Cub Scout.  He’s been a Scout Master and gone on more Scout outings than I can even count and he is currently the Scout Committee Advancement Chair for our troop.

Tonight he is involved in a Court of Honor where the boys receive some of their patches for Merit Badges they have earned lately. Last night I was helping Jim sort through the badges that each boy will receive tonight.  There are 136 possible Merit Badge choices for the boys to earn, so the table was full of various badges.

This morning I took a really good look at the Family History Guide’s BSA section.  I discovered that, as usual, The Family History Guide is very comprehensive regarding all aspects of Scouting through the inclusion of many links to the official BSA directives.  From Cub Scouts all the way to Eagle Scout and Palm Awards and beyond you can find what you need right there.  As I read through a lot of the official Boy Scouts of America leadership materials and guidelines included, I gained a whole new respect for Boy Scouts, their leaders and parents.
Everyone having anything to do with BSA should have the Family History Guide reference page at their fingertips, including parents and grandparents.  BSA is so much more than an activity for the kids.

This program builds a very good man in the process. He can become a man who knows how to set goals and achieve them, a man of integrity, a man skilled in many important things including leadership.  He can become a man with vision and plan for a good future. I think everyone would benefit by taking a look at this section of The Family History Guide!

The value of seeing this all in one place is very impressive.  Thank you Family History Guide for seeing a need and filling it!