The Scout Oath and Law
Scout Oath
On my
honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Scout Law
A Scout is ...
Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful,
Friendly, Courteous, Kind,
Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty,
Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
On my
honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Scout Law
A Scout is ...
Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful,
Friendly, Courteous, Kind,
Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty,
Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
At every meeting we recite both of these, but do we really understand exactly what it means, when we say them time after time? It is a requirement for the rank of Scout, the very first rank of Boy Scouts, to understand the Oath and Law, as well as to promise to live by them and everyone just does it without giving it a second thought. But if we stop for a second and think about it, we might notice that what we swear every Tuesday, "to do my duty to God and my country" does not necessarily mean that you have to become a priest or join the armed forces. But it does mean that you should respect religions and maybe participate in a religious service or two, as well as respect your local government and vote (or get your parents to). "To help other people at all times" is relatively straight forward, if you see someone who you think might be able to use your help, you should at the very least offer it to them. "To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight" is not as simple as the last one, why do I need to keep myself strong? And what does "mentally awake" and "morally straight" mean, you might ask? Well I'm glad you asked! Mentally awake refers to being aware of what's going on around you and knowing what it is that you need to do. Morally straight refers to having good morals and codes of life, and being able to stick by them at all times.
Part of the Scout Oath is to swear to follow the scout law and after reciting the Oath we always recite the Scout Law. The Scout Law is a list of traits that a
A Scout "is".
A Scout is worthy of trust (Trustworthy)
A Scout is loyal to those who place trust in him (Loyal)
A Scout helps people who might need his help (Helpful)
A Scout extends friendship to everyone (Friendly)
A Scout is polite to those around him (Courteous)
A Scout is gentle and generous to others (kind)
A Scout does what is asked of him (Obedient)
A Scout is always in a good mood and boosts others spirits (Cheerful)
A Scout does not waste his resources (Thrifty)
A Scout should have courage (Brave)
A Scout should keep himself clean as well as being clean in his speech (Clean)
A Scout should believe if not respect there being a higher power (Reverent)
Part of the Scout Oath is to swear to follow the scout law and after reciting the Oath we always recite the Scout Law. The Scout Law is a list of traits that a
A Scout "is".
A Scout is worthy of trust (Trustworthy)
A Scout is loyal to those who place trust in him (Loyal)
A Scout helps people who might need his help (Helpful)
A Scout extends friendship to everyone (Friendly)
A Scout is polite to those around him (Courteous)
A Scout is gentle and generous to others (kind)
A Scout does what is asked of him (Obedient)
A Scout is always in a good mood and boosts others spirits (Cheerful)
A Scout does not waste his resources (Thrifty)
A Scout should have courage (Brave)
A Scout should keep himself clean as well as being clean in his speech (Clean)
A Scout should believe if not respect there being a higher power (Reverent)