COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Two years ago, 17-year-old Sam Norton of Colorado Springs participated in a Mormon camp for teenage boys.
“It completely changed my life,” Norton told me.
This summer, the four stakes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Colorado Springs area will continue the camp tradition by sponsoring a boys retreat, called Aaron’s Camp, and a girls retreat, called Daughters of Virtue. The boys camp is named after Aaron, the brother of Moses, and the girls camp borrows a phrase from the Mormon text “Doctrine and Covenants.”
The camps are held every other year, deep in the mountains about two hours west of Woodland Park. Nearly 1,000 teenagers from the four local stakes will take part through July. Each camp consists of about 150 teens.
The week-long camps feature high-adventure activities such as rappelling, obstacle courses and day hikes, as well as spiritual events. The purpose is to prepare Mormon teenagers for mission trips and deepen their religious faith.
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