This talk by Elder S. Dilworth Young, called "Missionary Training Begins Early", really got me thinking.
When I was a young girl, I loved to read, but I was a girl, and I wasn't allowed to go to Scouts like my brothers were. (I could have gone to Girl Scouts, but the whole selling cookies thing seriously turned me off.)
I loved the thought of going camping and learning outdoor skills, which of course is only one aspect of being a boy, and is not so gender-specific as it used to be. And I hated being locked out of Boy Scouts because I wasn't a boy.
What I realized after finding this quote was that I was never locked out of boy-literature, and many things that I read as a child were books that were supposed to be for boys, as S. Dilworth Young mentions below. This was a talk about mission preparation for boys:
The Quote
"In the same manner they [father and son] will comb the scriptures, doctrine by doctrine,
and learn those vital to missionary work.
They will read together the great boy-literature of the world.
The chivalry at the court of King Arthur
will be mirrored in his treatment of girls and, later, young women.
And he will learn the place of animals in his life
when he runs the Trail of the Sand Hill Stag with Seton
and will learn the immense power of nature
as he survives a ride down a snow avalanche with Enos A. Mills."
We do start preparing for missions very young in our church, for both boys and girls. The preparation is very much the same, except that the boys have a priesthood responsibility to serve, while for the girls, it is an optional opportunity.
Still, when it comes to reading, both boys and girls enjoy an equal opportunity. Considering the great emphasis on toxic masculinity in the media these days, it might be nice to resurrect some boy-literature to provide a more positive view of masculinity again.
King Arthur
We're probably all more familiar with different stories of King Arthur from the movies and television, but what about the original stories?
They can be found here, in the classic Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur).
Trail of the Sand Hill Stag
I'd never in my life heard of this one, but I found it - right here.
It's a short story by Ernest Thompson Seton that follows a young man named Yan on his quest to hunt a majestic deer known as the Sandhill Stag.
Set in the wilds of Canada, the narrative explores themes of self-discovery, respect for nature, and the bond between humans and wildlife as Yan learns valuable lessons about perseverance and the natural world during his adventure - all great boy stuff.
Enos A. Mills
Again, not a story I was familiar with before, but I did find him - Enos A. Mills, a naturalist and homesteader, as well as a prolific writer of many books. The harrowing story of how he survives an avalanche is found in the very first chapter of his book, The Spell of the Rockies.
Other Examples of Boy-Literature
I also found this list of other kinds of boy literature - either stories with a boy protagonist, usually making his way through nature and learning how to survive, or in some other way exhibiting different Christ-like qualities that make for a great man.
I was very pleased to find that many of these stories (The Trumpet of the Swan, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc.) had also been some of my early favorites.
Absolutely anything that gets boys and girls reading is okay by me. I highly recommend this list, and the three stories mentioned in Elder S. Dilworth Young's talk are also going on my ever-expanding reading list.
