In re. 121: I feel sorry for professional scouters who are LDS and may find themselves out of a job before long No reason they’d have to quit, if they can keep taking a BSA salary in good conscience. The Church removing itself from Scouting doesn’t mean an LDS person couldn’t be employed by the BSA. It just means he can’t dun his own ward members for his salary.

BSA serves (served?) a small portion of LDS (deacons in the United States, basically- maybe 1% of active members), and even among that portion many of them don’t like it very much. It’s very expensive, and it isn’t optimized for LDS or steered by LDS toward LDS goals. Historically, when the Church was mostly in the mountainous western united states (the perfect geography for scouting) and when the Church wanted to emphasize white-bread American-ness during the cold war, it probably made sense to put up with the negative aspects of scouting in return for a solid youth program for the boys that also showed Church patriotism. No longer. The Church generally respects history and tradition and they have loads of patience for a long-time partner like BSA, but eventually patience runs out. In this case, it seems to have been a clear and deliberate move by BSA that severed what remained of the relationship.

As an eagle scout, it doesn’t bother me at all that the Church will shift away from scouting. I love the respect for the outdoors and the fun camaraderie scouts fostered, but you don’t need badges and neckerchiefs and high-paid executives to foster love and respect for the outdoors. The more important elements of scouting, reverence for God and commitment to personal character, are already covered in existing LDS youth programs. It’s actually a huge win for the Church that BSA would hand them such an obvious opportunity to back away from a long and expensive sponsorship. President Monson has a personal love for Scouting and it probably would have taken another 10 years for the Church to disassociate had BSA not thrown the door wide open like this.

I feel sorry for professional scouters who are LDS and may find themselves out of a job before long, but for the rest of us this is a win to celebrate. Friends of Scouting won’t be missed.

LGBT+ issues aside, good riddance, says I. BSA is a major PITA. It’s gotten to the point in this area so that the annual Friends of Scouting drive is met with open ridicule on the part of YM leaders and even Scoutmasters and committee chairs, who pretty much say that they’ll support the troop as needed but won’t donate to pay the 6-figure salaries of Scout executives. The flimsy fiction of providing programs for disadvantaged inner-city kids doesn’t cut much ice with LDS troop leaders who are allowed one fundraiser a year and whose “high adventures” consist of four or five days at a state park campground because we can’t drive on Sundays. Let the wealthy suburban city troops fund the BSA.

What we will see is if the church is serious about allowing openly gay but celibate male leaders to serve in YM callings (or openly gay but celibate female leaders to serve with YW, although this seems to raise fewer hackles). Certain rules and guidelines should be, and are currently, followed for youth protection. (An openly heterosexual adult man, for example, probably shouldn’t be called as the camping director for the Laurels; it simply looks bad and invites trouble.) Hopefully we won’t succumb to the superstition that every gay man is a child molester in waiting.

1. Scouting in the LDS context has not generally worked well for boys after they turn 14. With a few exceptions, most boys lose interest in Scouting with the onset of puberty and most Scouting efforts past that age are just high adventure activities mixed in with basketball. I knew if a boy didn’t get his First Class award by age 12 he was unlikely to get his Eagle by age 15. I’m pretty sure Boy Scouts are not considered to be cool by the vast majority of boys aged 14 or over, thus the dramatic drop in participation rates at that age (in and out of the LDS church).
2. The only exception to the above is a strong spike in activity when a boy reaches 16 and wants a drivers license (conditional on having an Eagle) or 17.5 and needs to get an Eagle before age 18. This is just an exercise in checking off boxes and not really Scouting.
3. Given the above, Scouting really hasn’t been of much functional value in the LDS Church for boys over the age of 14 for many years — there are exceptions, but not many. Losing a tie to Scouting will mostly impact the Cubs and younger Scouts. Not a huge loss as younger boys could be involved in Achievement Days and in a revamped Duty to God program.
4. The recent press release was really an informal announcement that the Church is withdrawing from Scouting. Friends of Scouting fundraising will go to near zero as a result of this press release. Even those of us who strongly support Scouting hate FOS — we held our noses and did it. We will not do it anymore, No money, no Scouting program.

Scouting was great for the boys while it was relevant and consistent with LDS values. The two have diverged. Adios BSA, it was good to know ye.

btw: Despite the Girl Scouts embrace of “diversity”, their membership has plummeted by over 25% in the last decade or so. They have also seen significant financial problems as well. Doesn’t seem to support the idea that embracing “diversity” will prop up the fortunes of BSA.

The examples you give are of successful teachings are not programs. They are correct principles. There is no “no pierced ear” award or ranks advancements based on your food storage. We are not constantly forced to face a board of review. They are ximply good concepts and we gain intrinsic value by attempting to live moral lives. Even many of the toughest critics of Scouting would never shirk the principle of teaching and nurturing the next generation. I hope that if the Church replaces BSA with a program, that the program is simple and focused on real moral and religious principles.

President Monson asked us to give every young man a good and meaningful Scouting experience. I sustain him in that. All of his predecessors back to George Albert Smith for sure and maybe even back to Joseph F. Smith, have made the same request.