LDS Church Pulling from Boy Scouts

Well, well, well ...... it's been on the horizon of possibilities. It finally happened.



"The Mormon church is pulling older teens from Boy Scouts' programs"

(CNN)The Mormon church says older teens in the US and Canada will no longer take part in Boy Scouts programs, starting next year.



The announcement, made Thursday, is a significant one. The church and the Boy Scouts of America have had a relationship for more than a century. It was the first partner to sponsor Scouting in the US and to this day, remains the nation's largest sponsor.



http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/health/lds-teens-boy-scouts-trnd/index.html

I'm very pro scouting and I am completely Ok with this announcement. I know as a kid that the varsity and venture (explorer) programs were not used at all. As a leader, I can see why. I really like the venture program but you need a bigger crew with bigger budgets and fundraising to make it work which really needs to be outside the ward umbrella. Also without the LDS church propping it up, I see the varsity program going away completely in the BSA.



This might be a precursor to a full pullout but I sure hope not. Cub Scouts and boy Scouts really are a great program in my book. I might be in the minority on that one but whatever.

The Church is just catching up with 99% of wards who never really implemented Varsity or Venture Scouting.



Probably represents a huge cost savings in no longer registering half a million kids for a program they don't use.



Kids still working on advancing toward Eagle will still be registered and paid for, but that's a tiny fraction anymore.

I hear the inequality in spending between young men programs and young women programs is beginning to be looked at seriously. That's good.

Mars wrote:
I hear the inequality in spending between young men programs and young women programs is beginning to be looked at seriously. That's good.

Even if we continue registering/chartering the scouts still working toward Eagle, by no longer chartering every boy age 14-18 (regardless of activity level) in the Varsity or Venture program, this will save our ward alone over $1000 next year.



Once you start adding up all the savings for all the wards/branches/stakes, this is going to slash millions from the Church's expenses, but 99% of wards will still carry on as normal with their activities. It's a no-brainer in my mind.

Seems appropriate, and a little ironic, that this happened with President Monson at the helm.

Church institutionally caught up with what's happening in the stakes I'm aware of. And will now save a lot of money. Good.

Its about more than just money. Even though the Church (which touched on it briefly in its press release) has been allowed by the BSA to run things according to its values, with the BSA itself increasingly giving way to things that contradict the values of the Church (and the BSA at one time), it was only a matter if time before this happened. The Church cant be associated with an organization that embraces homosexuality like the BSA has started to, as well as "transgender" scouts and now even possibly girls too. Heck, it renders the term Boy Scouts absolutely meaningless. Which, of course, is what the "LGBTQ" thing is all about - attempting to nullify the eternally important distinctions between male and female (see the Proclamation on the Family). I suspect the Church will eventually sever all ties as the BSA becomes more and more corrupt and no longer resembles what it was for years.

It may be the first time any Mormon has favored pulling out. <HEYO>

Mars wrote:
It may be the first time any Mormon has favored pulling out. <HEYO>

I see what you did there.



He'll be here all week, folks!

A local talk show had the area scout executive come on air. At first my attitude was good riddance to them, but he reported than the BSA was under heavy attack from lawyers and courts. It was mostly the lgbt?? crowd demanding their entry into the scouts. Girls want in too even though they have their own organization. He said the scouts would go broke in the courts. At this point it appears that the church and the scouts have run out of choices. Yes, I've changed my attitude although it doesn't matter now.

nuk13 wrote:
A local talk show had the area scout executive come on air. At first my attitude was good riddance to them, but he reported than the BSA was under heavy attack from lawyers and courts. It was mostly the lgbt?? crowd demanding their entry into the scouts. Girls want in too even though they have their own organization. He said the scouts would go broke in the courts. At this point it appears that the church and the scouts have run out of choices. Yes, I've changed my attitude although it doesn't matter now.

If the BSA itself was determined to hold to the values it had for so long - ones that were similar to Church values - it may have been worth fighting that battle. But those running the BSA, whether they share the same warped views of the LGBT crowd and their supporters or simply are moral cowards who have capitulated, have thrown those values out the window. The Church can't be associated with that kind of thing.