LDS Church announces cutting all ties with the former Boy Scouts of America

[hawkwing]

https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/ ... t=6D5STF4x

The children and youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide are precious. They represent the future, and ministering to their needs is a significant focus for the Church.

For years, Church leaders have been preparing a new initiative to teach and provide leadership and development opportunities to all children and youth, to support families and to strengthen youth everywhere as they develop faith in the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This new approach is intended to help all girls and boys, young women and young men discover their eternal identity, build character and resilience, develop life skills and fulfill their divine roles as daughters and sons of God. The initiative is designed to allow local leaders, families and even the young people themselves to customize their efforts, while providing service opportunities and activities, fostering healthy relationships and supporting communities. Details will be shared at childrenandyouth.lds.org as the implementation date approaches.

As announced publicly today in a joint statement with the Boy Scouts of America, effective on December 31, 2019, the Church will conclude its relationship as a chartered organization with all Scouting programs around the world. Until then, the intention of the Church is to remain a fully engaged partner in Scouting for boys and young men ages 8–13. All youth, families and leaders are encouraged to continue their active participation and financial support of Scouting until that date. See a list of frequently asked questions.

The Church honors Scouting organizations for their continued goal to develop character and instill values in youth. The lives of hundreds of thousands of young men, along with their families and communities, have been blessed by Scouting organizations worldwide.

[hawkwing]

Never again will I do a Friends of Scouting drive!

[Mars]

So the Church is ceasing Cub Scouting as well?

[screamineagle2]

This does make me sad. I loved my Scouting experience as a youth and as a leader but I do understand why it is happening.

[hawkwing]

So the Church is ceasing Cub Scouting as well?

Yes.

[snoscythe]

It's the elimination of yet another program where the means have been confused with the ends.

[nuk13]

After what they were doing I think it was inevitable. The church has announced all new church wide programs. I hope other churches quit them too.

[Mars]

This is a bit frustrating for a few reasons.

1- The programs aren't being ended for 19 more months. That's a long period of uncertainty for scouting leaders (callings), parents, and kids.

2- The replacement programs haven't been announced yet.

It would have made more sense to announce nothing yet.

[billbillbillbill]

I am trying to hold off judgement on this until I hear the replacement program. But as the father of 3 boys, the oldest that just started cubs this last year, I am sad they won't get the scouting/Aaronic priesthood combination that I got growing up. We will probably jump over to a community pack/troop if the boys want to which will add one more thing into our week.

I attended a class at University of Scouting a few years ago called "Scouting in a small LDS unit." At the time, we only had 4 boys scouting age in our ward. The big push in the class was to recruit kids in the neighborhood to fill the ranks. We did just that and ended up with 2-3 more boys joining us. We didn't preach to them but there were a lot of great missionary opportunities for us and especially the boys. I have no idea how prevalent it is in LDS units to have nonmembers attend but I can't see that continuing with a separate church program.

I guess we will wait and see. It is going to be a long 19 months for sure.

[snoscythe]

After a bit of thought, I believe this will work out for the best, both for the Church youth programs and for the BSA.

The Church has struggled in recent years to properly implement Scouting at the local levels. Whether from an over-emphasis on the Eagle rank and advancement, failure to implement a boy-led troop/patrol, or general disinterest from parents and youth, it generally is not properly done, and it leads to frustration.

This separation allows Wednesday nights and outdoor activities to become about the youth and their development. True, that's how Scouting should run, but like hometeaching, it has not been running the way it should for years.

For the Scouts, especially in Utah, this allows for neighborhood troops and packs to form, which would be led by true volunteers who participate because either (i) they truly believe in Scouting, or (ii) they truly want their kids involved and want to support them. It will be an entirely different Scouting dynamic, and the programs can run as Scouting has always intended.

It's a tough change, but I believe that in the long run it will prove a wise move both from the Church's perspective and from the BSA's perspective.

As for waiting until end of 2019, I like having some advance notice. This gives neighborhoods and schools time and opportunity to organize and charter their own troops and packs to fill the void for the 5% or so of the boys that will still want to participate after the Church ends the relationship. I would have rathered see it it end 2018, but whatever.