Mormons Should Be Ashamed of Themselves

I have been quiet for too long.

Mormons should be ashamed of themselves. In the “split” with the BSA, I have absolutely shook in actual anger as I have heard how excited Mormons are to leave the BSA. Let’s make it very clear for those reading – if the Church believes it is time to provide a program that they feel better prepares the youth of the Church to be better missionaries, spouses and people, I am all for it. What I am not for is trashing the program we are leaving in a final hooray or trashing the fact that we were participating in the BSA, for over 100 years I might add, under the same dang inspiration that brings the new program to us in 2020. If this new program truly was given and inspired of God, then guess what? So was using the BSA, no matter their membership changes. It was and is inspiration that we participated in the BSA. And now it is inspiration that we are leaving. We don’t trash the past just because we are making changes.

Some might say we are leaving because of the membership changes but I say the changes came because we told the BSA we were leaving.  They are looking to replace soon to be missing membership. Homosexuals were already in the BSA but closeted. Might I also remind my Mormons that homosexuals are in the Church as well and can participate fully, just like a heterosexual, if they follow the standards of the Church. They can hold callings and attend the Temple. They can pay tithing. The standards for both are the exact same. Plus the BSA allowed organizations to set their own standards of membership. So what is the big deal? And the addition of girls………are we seriously freaked out by girls especially when they were already involved in Scouting in Venturing Crews? They have been involved since the 1970s. I have heard so many times that boys and girls would be sleeping in the same tent yet that hasn’t happened in current Venturing Crews. Can I again remind my Mormons that on Trek, boys and girls camp together multiple days and somehow, some way girls don’t end up pregnant or sleeping with boys? You all look like idiots for even bringing this up.

A couple other things that have been bugging me.

1. The BSA has been called a breeding ground for pedophilia. I have been told because I am white, a man, I am older and because I am a Scout leader, I fit the profile of a pedophile. What in the HELL is going on that I am being judged because I am trying to help train and lead young men to be better people. Not only have I never been accused of anything but never done anything I shouldn’t have. It is very closed minded to think because a man wants to help, he is doing something wrong. We are killing the reputation of men in this world for having done nothing but being born a man but that is a post for another day. If you are worried about the BSA leaders you should be worried about every place your child goes and you should keep them at home in a bubble. I would also like to remind you that predators come in both sexes.
2. This opportunity of the LDS Church leaving the BSA should have been an awesome send-off. Something where we express how great the last 100 years have been together, how we wished them luck, how if they needed our help to let us know what we can do to help (you know, the Christ-like thing to do….), how much we will miss them and then a parting hug as we rode off to our next destination. Instead, some have attempted to burn bridges and trash the BSA. I won’t stand for it. I won’t stand for your assumptions on why we are leaving and the joy you feel when 90% of you haven’t bothered to do the right thing and get trained. This is not the right attitude for a missionary church. This is not the right attitude of the followers of Christ. This is not the right attitude of a soon to be ex-Scout (thought I might again argue that once a Scout, always a Scout). Just like I am ready for the Old School Scouters to be out of Scouting, I am also ready for Old School Mormons to be out of the Church or in a retirement home. Enough is enough. The Mormon’s worst enemy is themselves and this situation has proven that is true. Shut up, shake the BSA’s hand and move on if you are so dang excited.

As for training with the new program, bad leaders will still be bad leaders. It will be easy to fall back into a basketball program for the young men. I hope there is some kind of training program for adults and youth in the new youth program. I hope Bishops hold their Primary Presidents, their Young Women leaders and their Young Men leaders accountable for being trained. Training should not be on the job training. Training should not be assumed through “inspiration”. It can’t be. When callings are extended, they should be explained fully. Vision should be explained. Training should be expected. And by golly, when members don’t hit the mark they should be given the opportunity to fix their mistakes or given the opportunity to be released. These youth’s lives are depending on dang good leaders who realize a calling in the youth is not a one hour class on Sunday but an invitation to get involved in their lives for forever, to be a mentor for the rest of their life.

I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. This has been my exhortation continually. Journal of Discourses, 9ː150 (January 12, 1862)

Between now and 2020, the BSA program better be used. You better work the dang program but I am pretty sure with the announcement you have already planned your very soon exit plan. On the other side, I know a Scoutmaster friend who is going to extra effort to make sure one of his Scouts has the opportunity to be Eagle. The Scout must just put in the effort if he wants it. Others are already looking at non-LDS units to put their kids – this is an idea I have pushed for a long time because most of the boys would have gotten a better program because Scout leaders outside of the Church actually get trained for the most part. They run the program as it is written instead of the “LDS version” of the program. And the BSA will not fail because we are not there. We, Mormons, are not that great and powerful. Get off your high horse.

To my non-Mormon friends in the BSA, some of us are staying. Some of us will continue to help because we understand a Scout is always a Scout and because you are our brothers and sisters and you need us as much as we need you. 


The Change Resources:

• https://mylifebygogogoff.com/2018/05/3-reasons-why-as-an-eagle-scout-i-fully-support-the-lds-church-leaving-the-bsa.html
• https://www.lds.org/youth/childrenandyouth

Guest Post: Where does the LDS Scouting program go from here?

My last guest post was doomy and gloomy, but since a Scout is cheerful, this one is more upbeat. Everyone in LDS scouting that I have had a chance to talk to believes it is just a matter of time until the church formerly separates from scouts. Here are some crazy ideas about what could happen:

1.     Done. Bye. It’s over. The church walks away completely.

a.      They cut all ties and walk away (I don’t see that happening)

b.     They do an alimony payment for a time similar to what they did for the 14+ scouts in 2017, and give the families who want to continue, a number of months to explore and find other troops. Maybe they fund dues for the first year.

2.     A slow phase out. Maybe scouts for deacons goes away in      2019, and Cubs in 2020.

3.     Things stay as they are as of right now. Possible, but unlikely.

4.     What if something crazy happens?

That is what I’d like to explore. I had a crazy idea of combining the stake into one troop. If only two or three scouts are excited about scouts per ward, and if each stake has seven to 10 wards this would be a troop of 20-30 boys who actually care. This would allow the stake to call a Scoutmaster and multiple Assistants. It would allow our Eleven Year Olds to be a larger and let’s face it more fun program.

A variation of that is to combine troops within a building. On average we have two or three wards in each building. We often combine with the other ward anyway. This would reduce the number of leaders and classrooms needed. The church seems to be reluctant to lose any unit numbers and the concept of the quorum being the troop would have to be thrown out.

Another variation of this is to separate scouts from the young men’s program. Have scouts be on a different night. Have the ward act like almost every other chartering organization that provides space and support. This would allow those that want to do scouts to step up and not wait to be called. LDS troops would be more aligned with every other troop in the country. The Church could still decide not to have female participation. This would also however cause scouts to become just as expensive for those who participate as it is in the rest of the country. One of the things that was helpful was that there was little cost to LDS families. This of course is a double-edged sword and a cruel kindness. The church would probably not be as prominent on the National Board as in the past.

Of course, this is all wild speculation (and probably a little pointless) but it is the kind of stuff that occupies my brain when driving or trying to fall asleep. This exercise however brings me a bit of optimism because I think scouting is worthwhile. I think LDS scouting needs a shot in the arm. As much as I’m trying in my troop, I can affect only a dozen or so boys. A national approach to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater would still allow for boys to feel encouraged to participate. This would have the benefit of avoiding the mental conflict for those families that really don’t support Scouting. Maybe we can turn things around and make a program that our leaders will want to support. Rather than banging our heads against a wall, perhaps it will become attractive to boys.

Ask me about my thoughts on girls in Boy Scouts sometime.

Tell me how wrong I am. Tell me if you agree. Either way I welcome your thoughts.

Cali-Gratis

Post Script: The high rate of turnover is a real issue in the church troops. I have a friend who was called as a Webelos Leader and his bishop told him that it would be for at least five years. That kind of blew my mind. I had the chance to meet Charles Dahlquist a couple of years ago, and he said scout callings should be considered tenure callings.  Only he called it "ten-year." In non-scout troops, a ten year scoutmaster is nowhere near unique. This might help bring stability and that really shouldn't be underestimated when implementing a complex program.  

FISHGUTTS: Stake Scouting is what should happen with volunteers and zero callings. I say Stake because that will give you the best possibilities for patrols. Make patrols out of boys who go to the same building and cross-pollinate them with boys that are not in their ward but in their building. My ONLY concern about this is that is if you allow the Stake Young Men's Presidency to "preside" over this you will fail. This program MUST report straight to the Stake President and Bishops as a whole. If you allow the SYMP to run this who are not Scouters you end up with the same problem as before. A crap program that will soon die. They would have zero idea what to do with it. 

Teach Our Scout to BE BRAVE

50 Miles

This is an awesome website about backpacking and Scouting.

http://50miler.com/

Scouting vs. Aaronic Priesthood

Stolen from The Volun-told Scouter with some of his words inplanted.

“When I was a deacon, it didn’t matter if we were working on merit badges [obtain as much education as possible – to keep myself…mentally awake], doing a service project [give meaningful service – to help other people at all times], or collecting fast offerings [become converted, serve faithfully in priesthood callings – to do my duty to God], it was all priesthood. It is with this vision that we need to utilize Scouting and the priesthood to help our young men reach their potential by learning NOW to do hard things!”

– Elder Jeffrey R. Holland