LDS CHURCH ANNOUNCES INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY PROGRAMS BEGINNING 2020

[The Latin Scot]

10 minutes ago, David CO said:

Nice use of apropos. I know that is it French. Is it derived from Latin? That would be very apropos coming from The Latin Scot. 

•  It is indeed from the French, I want to say mid-17th century but perhaps earlier. The roots are certainly Latin though, as are those of most French words. And I confess I do use it casually; technically, it should always be followed by of, but I tend to be generous in how I use prepositions with foreign terms. Sadly my French isn't as fluent as my Spanish these days, but I still try to color my dialogue with as much of it as I can without sounding too pretentious. 

Edited May 14, 2018 by The Latin Scot

[NJCubScouter]

1 hour ago, The Latin Scot said:

 It is indeed from the French, I want to say mid-17th century but perhaps earlier. The roots are certainly Latin though, as are those of most French words. And I confess I do use it casually; technically, it should always be followed by of, but I tend to be generous in how I use prepositions with foreign terms. Sadly my French isn't as fluent as my Spanish these days, but I still try to color my dialogue with as much of it as I can without sounding too pretentious. 

Quote

"All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die, "
Says the man next to me out of nowhere
It's apropos of nothin'

                                                  ~ Sheryl Crow, 1994

Edited May 14, 2018 by NJCubScouter

[gblotter]

1 minute ago, Saltface said:

If you've got advance knowledge, spill the beans. Will the new program look like the current program for 14-18 year-olds?

If you have seen the new 14-18 program, it is pretty impressive. I'd be happy with something like that.

[The Latin Scot]

1 hour ago, gblotter said:

That sounds about right, reflecting the general strength of the LDS church in Ohio.

The quality of LDS Scouting units varies widely based on local leadership and conditions. Some are excellent, some are barely functional, with everything in between. Small LDS congregations struggle to come up with enough critical mass to operate a Scouting program. I know of some LDS troops with just the bare minimum of 5 boys required to register a unit - that's a tough situation. My own troop here in California does ok with 30 registered Scouts divided into three age-based patrols.

From what I understand, a key characteristic of the new church youth program will be flexibility to meet the needs of both large and small congregations. Youth can select activities from a cafeteria-style menu of categories including outdoor adventure, skill building, leadership, service, physical fitness, spiritual development, etc. An absent component will be badges and rank advancement (which some here decry as in impure motivation, anyway).

That sounds similar to how I have understood things too. Can I ask where in CA you are located? I am in South Orange County and we have about 18 registered Scouts; I am impressed you have 30 total!

[gblotter]

1 minute ago, The Latin Scot said:

Can I ask where in CA you are located?

Bay Area - Silicon Valley.

 

2 minutes ago, The Latin Scot said:

I am impressed you have 30 total!

We are lucky. The ward next door has only 5.

[The Latin Scot]

I am so sorry to see that this thread has degenerated into a war of ideologies and attempts to put down the beliefs of others. I say, let's take these discussions either to private threads or elsewhere, and leave this thread to the original topic. Our Church is pulling out of the Boy Scouting program, for various reasons - animosity towards the beliefs of others is not one of them. our diverging beliefs cannot be allowed to breed contention, anger, or judgement. If we cannot respect each other, even and especially with our different beliefs, then neither the values of the Boy Scouts OR the LDS faith will mean anything. If I may quote our first prophet Joseph Smith Jr.,

Quote

If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a "Mormon," I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul — civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race. - Joseph Smith Jr., 1843

Let's try and look towards way we can build bridges, not walls. I regret that this thread has turned into such a dispute of beliefs, when the point of it is to see how we can continue strengthening our communities even when our paths diverge.

 

[RememberSchiff]

15 minutes ago, The Latin Scot said:

I am so sorry to see that this thread has degenerated into a war of ideologies and attempts to put down the beliefs of others. I say, let's take these discussions either to private threads or elsewhere, and leave this thread to the original topic. Our Church is pulling out of the Boy Scouting program, for various reasons - animosity towards the beliefs of others is not one of them. our diverging beliefs cannot be allowed to breed contention, anger, or judgement. If we cannot respect each other, even and especially with our different beliefs, then neither the values of the Boy Scouts OR the LDS faith will mean anything. If I may quote our first prophet Joseph Smith Jr.,

Let's try and look towards way we can build bridges, not walls. I regret that this thread has turned into such a dispute of beliefs, when the point of it is to see how we can continue strengthening our communities even when our paths diverge.

 

At 25 pages it would take some work. It would probably be easier to move the lesser amount on-topic content to a new topic and not in Issues and Politics forum.  I would probably have to lock the topic temporarily while moving.

Since you are the OP is that what you want?

 

[JoeBob]

40 minutes ago, The Latin Scot said:

Let's try and look towards way we can build bridges, not walls.

There is a good number of non-LDS members here that would like to come with you.  That our core beliefs have been devalued frustrates us.  This topic has been a useful vent.  Thanks.

[The Latin Scot]

47 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

At 25 pages it would take some work. It would probably be easier to move the lesser amount on-topic content to a new topic and not in Issues and Politics forum.  I would probably have to lock the topic temporarily while moving.

Since you are the OP is that what you want?

 

I trust you can sort it out properly; I only hope it doesn't take away too much of your time to do so! But I would like if these more heated discussions be moved elsewhere so that this thread can maintain the integrity of its subject matter. Thank you.

[Chadamus]

<places another virtual log on the campfire and starts a new pot of coffee>

@RememberSchiff you're going to be here a while... ☺️

[RememberSchiff]

Ok then, I moved original topic content into the Open Discussion forum. Please stay on topic and observe the Scout Oath and Law. Make @The Latin Scot proud! Thank you for your patience.

The off-topic content remains in Issues and Politics forum.  I renamed the new topic: National, Religion, Membership, Oath and Law.  IMO, with some exceptions,  that  collection of off-topic discussions was frank and professional.  Thank you.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2018 by RememberSchiff

[gblotter]

On 5/8/2018 at 7:49 PM, mashmaster said:

they don't camp or participate in district activities

Don't assume that avoiding such district activities means a poorly-run troop.

In our LDS troop of 30 boys, we camp 10 months out of the year. This summer we will attend two BSA summer camps (same as last summer).

However, we skip district events like Camporee and Klondike Derby (district winter campout) because they always cross over into Sunday. LDS units are given strong instructions about respecting the Sabbath. Some western councils bend over backward to make those Sunday accommodations, but ours generally does not.

I attended OA induction earlier this month with three of our Scouts. The OA leaders were quick to ask me why we are the only LDS troop in decades to participate in OA. The simple response is because OA induction weekend always crosses over into Sunday. After some head scratching, we were then given permission to head home on Saturday night.

[gblotter]

On 5/9/2018 at 8:51 PM, HashTagScouts said:

I personally think you may have a small percent of LDS boys continue on to wrap their Eagle rank, but by 2022 we'll probably be counting LDS youth participation on our fingers and toes.

 

Yes - fingers and toes. From the perspective of our LDS troop, you have it right.

Out of 30 Scouts, I can identify only one likely candidate for joining a non-LDS troop in 2020. That particular family has already participated in a non-LDS pack.

Out of all our adult Scouting leaders, I have identified nobody who is likely to continue in a non-LDS unit in 2020. My discontent with recent BSA decisions is generally shielded from our boys, so there was some surprise that I, as a gung-ho Scouter, have no intention of crossing over to a non-LDS troop.

Our troop has been in existence since 1962, and our Eagle legacy plaques list approximately 75 Eagle Scouts during that time. There is sadness among some our boys to see that legacy end. Some boys even proposed that we seek a non-LDS chartering organization to give future life to our troop, but there is no adult appetite for that idea. Who knows what will happen to items like our Troop flag and our Eagle legacy plaques - that part does make me sad.

Not surprisingly, there is a new urgency in our Scouting families to sprint toward Eagle before the 12/31/2019 deadline. We may see as many as 10 Eagles over the next 18 months.

Crossover may be different for LDS Cub Scouts - I'm only talking about Boy Scouts here.

[David CO]

16 hours ago, The Latin Scot said:

 

Let's try and look towards way we can build bridges, not walls.

 

Yikes! Do you have any idea how many permits it takes to build a bridge!

 

[mashmaster]

2 hours ago, gblotter said:

Don't assume that avoiding such district activities means a poorly-run troop.

In our LDS troop of 30 boys, we camp 10 months out of the year. This summer we will attend two BSA summer camps (same as last summer).

However, we skip district events like Camporee and Klondike Derby (district winter campout) because they always cross over into Sunday. LDS units are given strong instructions about respecting the Sabbath. Some western councils bend over backward to make those Sunday accommodations, but ours generally does not.

I attended OA induction earlier this month with three of our Scouts. The OA leaders were quick to ask me why we are the only LDS troop in decades to participate in OA. The simple response is because OA induction weekend always crosses over into Sunday. After some head scratching, we were then given permission to head home on Saturday night.

Your troop does not match the experience of our local LDS troops.  I wish they did what your troop does.  I will say that there are a number of poorly run non-LDS troops as well, so it isn't solely an LDS thing.