Church Re-evaluating Relationship with BSA

[Schmoe]

What would the new ranks be?

Tenderfoot = Cricket
2nd Class = Seagull
1st Class = Handcart
Star = Wagon
Life = Ox Cart
Eagle = ????

Tendertoe
2nd Rank
1st Rank
Sun
Heart
Aquila

[Cougarfan87]

Is there any more news/rumors about when scouting will be dropped? Will it happen at Oct General Conference? I'm the Cub Master and we're kicking off our new year (along with the school year). Do I tell the parents to buy the scout books and uniforms or hold off? If it's going to get canceled soon then that would be a waste of money.

My advice would be to just print off the requirements from online. You could use a little of your budget to print T-shirts for the boys as a Class B uniform, and then they would at least have something they could wear even if scouting does get scrapped. If you haven't heard anything by January, then I would assume we will continue with Scouting.

I feel about 75 percent confident that the Church will withdraw from scouting in the very near future. The 25 percent is based on the idea that the current exception does not force LDS troops to have gay scoutmasters, so it does not change the day to day activities. The Church may wait until the Scouts tells it that it cannot exclude gay scoutmasters. But I think that is a smaller chance than withdrawing now. Typically, the Church does not send out letters as empty threats, and that letter can only be taken as a shot across the bow and a warning of what is about to come.

[Cougarfan87]

What would the new ranks be?

Tenderfoot = Cricket
2nd Class = Seagull
1st Class = Handcart
Star = Wagon
Life = Ox Cart
Eagle = ????

I am guessing something pretty classic like Deacon, Teacher, and Priest.

[Cougarfan87]

My Great Salt Lake Council connected family member is saying that the General Young Mens are at least asking for a statement or something before September 1st when Friends of Scouting is going to kick off.

He did say he doesn't expect a big change immediately because decisions have to be unanimous and things don't usually move too fast with the brethren. He also says they do know that the latest Duty to God program has been less than successful (I have personally struggled getting my deacons even remotely excited for it). Anyways, that is what I am hearing.

If they don't already have a program ready to go (some rumors indicate they do), I would agree that it will take some time. It shouldn't be too difficult. I looked up in the handbook the purposes of the YM, and there were about six different areas of growth they were looking for (Social, occupational, spiritual, physical, etc.) It would not be too difficult to create a program around that in which the boys planned their own challenging activities. For example, the Priests, in preparing for missions, decided on some creative ideas. One of them was to learn hard work. So they designed a bike track that is going to take a lot of dirt moving and hard work. They also talked about learning to talk to strangers, so they went to a Wal-mart and struck up conversations with strangers. Other mission prep activities will include household activities (like cooking, cleaning, ironing), social activities (learning how to deal with difficult people), and learning how to share the gospel. The possibilities are endless.

You hit on something else that bothers me a little about Scouting, though I don't think it is necessarily Scouting's fault. Some of our youth are struggling to make the spiritual connections, and Scouting can be over-emphasized to the detriment of Duty to God. I don't believe the program is a failure. I believe it is being largely ignored while parents and kids focus on Scouting. I include myself in that statement with my oldest son, who is a new scout. While I have given some encouragement in duty to God, I have not emphasized it nearly as much to him as Scouting. I need to change that.

[billbillbillbill]

I definitely agree that the Duty to God is not being emphasized. I know some stakes that do 2 nights of scouting, 1 night combined activity, and 1 night duty to God. I have hoped they would do more on Sundays with it but it seems to not be a worry by anyone in my ward. it really does need to come from parents too.

One thought I have had is if they did move away from scouting, and a bigger emphasis on families being together, is the idea of a weekly activity still needed. I try my best to have a great activity planned every week but it definitely is hard to be excited about some of the requirements. I was just thinking a monthly combined activity as well as 1 or 2 boy lead/planned activities would be fun without the weekly burden. Maybe wishful thinking.

[vancouvercougar]

A few years ago when I was the YM Pres and the revamped Duty to God was unveiled someone with close ties in Utah (to those in the downtown offices) explained that this was the precursor to if/when the church could no longer support the BSA. Hence we now have a DtG night for mutual and many physical things have been added that resemble those found in the scouting handbook. I suspect this hasn't changed and that they have a more fully developed DtG program sitting in the wings waiting for the day when BSA relents due to law suites etc and mandates that gay leaders be allowed by all scout troops. I remember the first "new" copy I saw looked like they copied several pages from the scout handbook with swimming requirements, hiking, etc. I've been out of YM for a few years now (which disappoints me because now I have a 14yr old son and a 13 yr old daughter going to MIA) and it looks like the book is different from that first one. So I imagine they have a fully developed program that will step right in where Scouts will have left off - activities wise.
I think a real tell tale will be what is the church doing in regards to camps etc. The Johnson farm here in Ohio was changed from farming (I liked going there to pick strawberries and apples, and pruning the apple trees and miss it) to a girls camp. But we regularly hold ward camps there so I can see it easily being used for DtG Camp. So what has the church been doing outside of NE Ohio that would accommodate scouting type activities?

Hey imuakahuku. I served 7 monthd of my mission near the Johnson Farm in the late 70's

[vancouvercougar]

My Great Salt Lake Council connected family member is saying that the General Young Mens are at least asking for a statement or something before September 1st when Friends of Scouting is going to kick off.

He did say he doesn't expect a big change immediately because decisions have to be unanimous and things don't usually move too fast with the brethren. He also says they do know that the latest Duty to God program has been less than successful (I have personally struggled getting my deacons even remotely excited for it). Anyways, that is what I am hearing.

If they don't already have a program ready to go (some rumors indicate they do), I would agree that it will take some time. It shouldn't be too difficult. I looked up in the handbook the purposes of the YM, and there were about six different areas of growth they were looking for (Social, occupational, spiritual, physical, etc.) It would not be too difficult to create a program around that in which the boys planned their own challenging activities. For example, the Priests, in preparing for missions, decided on some creative ideas. One of them was to learn hard work. So they designed a bike track that is going to take a lot of dirt moving and hard work. They also talked about learning to talk to strangers, so they went to a Wal-mart and struck up conversations with strangers. Other mission prep activities will include household activities (like cooking, cleaning, ironing), social activities (learning how to deal with difficult people), and learning how to share the gospel. The possibilities are endless.

You hit on something else that bothers me a little about Scouting, though I don't think it is necessarily Scouting's fault. Some of our youth are struggling to make the spiritual connections, and Scouting can be over-emphasized to the detriment of Duty to God. I don't believe the program is a failure. I believe it is being largely ignored while parents and kids focus on Scouting. I include myself in that statement with my oldest son, who is a new scout. While I have given some encouragement in duty to God, I have not emphasized it nearly as much to him as Scouting. I need to change that.

There was a time when all scout units focused on the spiritual side of life in one form or another. Now it is becoming more and more secular.

[snoscythe]

At our training (roundtable) tonight, a guy on assignment from the National Parks Council shared a PowerPoint on the need for better risk management that showed a set of statistics that further weighs in favor of the Church stepping away from Scouting. As of 2014:

26% of US Scouts are in LDS troops
53% of US Scouting deaths are LDS
64% of lawsuits arising out of Scouting deaths involve an LDS leader and the Church

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Schmoe]

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Must say I'm a bit disappointed with this. But I will pray for understanding and lean on the wisdom of our leaders who have made the decision.

[hawkwing]

Extremely disappointed.