LDS Question

[ValleyBoy]

After reading some of the comments made by some members of LDS sponsored units I have a few questions since I am not familiar with the setup of the LDS Church.   As an outsider looking in I can see why the LDS Church would change there youth program for the entire Church from the BSA program so that there Churches not located inside the US could all use the same program.

My understanding at this time is that the leadership of LDS units are appointed by the Bishop.  I was told this by an LDS member several years ago and that a member of a Woodbadge class from an LDS unit that I was a staff members of had to have the permission of the Bishop to attend the Sunday session  of the Woodbadge course.  The LDS member that told me this was a member of the WoodBadge staff but also registered with a non-LDS scout unit. 

I know that Churches such as Southern Baptist, United Methodist and others have there own youth programs that they use at these Churches.   These Churches see the scouting program as an outreach program that the local Church can use along with there main youth program.  I have been involved with units were the only adults that were members of the CO were members of the unit committee.  Personally I have never been a member of the CO for any scout that I have been a member off.

Question #1

Will local LDS Churches be allowed to be the CO of scout units under the present LDS Doctrine ?

Question #2

The main reason I am a volunteer inside the scouting program is to reach youth that do not attend Church.  Very few of the youths of any unit that I have been a member of have also been members of the CO.  Do present LDS units have non-LDS youth members of there units?

 

[Saltface]

#1. No. The LDS Church doesn't really operate as separate, individual congregations with affiliations to each other. It's a top-down, unified organization with fairly standardized programs. That being said, if members of a ward (congregation) want to organize their own troop, they would probably be allowed to use a church building for their meetings. The ward itself would not be the CO.

#2. Yes. The majority are LDS, but it's pretty common to have a boy or two that's not. Usually, they came to the troop as a friend of an existing member. Non-member adult leaders aren't uncommon, either. Outreach was one of the biggest concerns about leaving BSA. 

[The Latin Scot]

Simply put:

1. It's not a doctrinal questions, but a policy question. And the answer is that after December 31st, 2019, no, individual LDS units will NOT be authorized to sponsor Scouting units. We will have our own program to implement that will replace Scouting, and so to act as the CO of Scouting units will be redundant after that date. There will be no more LDS-sponsored Scouting units after next year.

2. LDS units can absolutely include both non-member youth and leadership in its Scouting units! On the Church's official webpage on Scouting, it states "worthy adults, whether members of the Church or not, may be called to serve as Scouting leaders." It also states "Young men and boys of other faiths who agree to abide by Church standards should be welcomed and encouraged to participate in Scouting activitites. Expenses for their participation are pain in the same manner as for other youth. Voluntary contributions from their families may be accepted and handled according to Church policy."

I went to Scouts with a couple of young men who were not LDS, but they were good kids who eventually earned their Eagles right alongside us. There was never an issue with their not being members of the Church, and as far as we were concerned they were as much members of the group as any one of us who were in the Church. That will be the same policy with the new program; while it will be a Church-run, LDS-centered program, it will of course be open to anybody who it not a member of our faith.

ALSO: moderators, how do I get rid of this darn quote box below? 

Edited June 1, 2018 by NJCubScouter
What quote box? :) - NJCubScouter

[David CO]

33 minutes ago, ValleyBoy said:

Personally I have never been a member of the CO 

Try it, you'll like it.

[ValleyBoy]

14 minutes ago, David CO said:

Try it, you'll like it.

No reason to change my Church membership at this time.  If I did feel lead to make a change I would have no problem moving my Church membership to my present Troop's CO.

[David CO]

1 hour ago, ValleyBoy said:

No reason to change my Church membership at this time.  If I did feel lead to make a change I would have no problem moving my Church membership to my present Troop's CO.

No, no, no.   I didn't mean to suggest that you change religions. I was suggesting that you might like to participate in your own church's scout unit.

[ValleyBoy]

30 minutes ago, David CO said:

No, no, no.   I didn't mean to suggest that you change religions. I was suggesting that you might like to participate in your own church's scout unit.

I did not take it that away.  Church I attend is the same denomination as the Troop's CO, also the two churches are located within one mile of each other.

[Chris1]

The above answers are correct. There are also LDS boys who belong to non LDS units.  This seems to be an overlooked aspect. Also the belief that all LDS Youth are highly active in programs it is incorrect. This varies. And the belief that call LDS Youth and adults will completely abandoned scouting in favor of the new program is as ludicrous has thinking that they would all stay with BSA. Some youth will do both some will choose one over the other some will choose neither.

There is almost no information out about what program will look like. So we will have to see if it offers leadership and character development  and outdoor skills. I have my doubts.

 

[The Latin Scot]

I can comfortably say that, as the entire focus of the Church's young men's program is to raise its youth to become strong leaders in their homes, their communities, and in the Church, it is absolutely guaranteed that the new program will center on leadership and character development. Raising moral young men who will someday lead the Church is paramount to our beliefs, and having been raised in the Church, I can tell you that those values are at the very core of what we expect our young men to be. If anything, I can't think of what else the new program could possibly focus on. And the Church has all the means and resources to create a superb program that will be equal, if not superior, to the Scouting program.

As for outdoor skills, well, I am sure we will camp and go on high adventure activities and all that, but I don't think that element will be as strongly emphasized as it was before. But who knows? We'll have to wait and see. But I have full confidence that what's coming will be even better than what was.

[Chris1]

Your ward must be more successful than mine. Around here the young mens program almost inevitably devolves into pickup basketball every Tuesday evening. 

[The Latin Scot]

LOL. My ward went through that phase (heck, it was like that the entirety of my childhood and youth - I got my Eagle despite my leaders, not because of them). But that's one of the things the new program will inevitably work to change. I am sure that whatever we get will make great differences in the habits so many units have developed over the years.

[RememberSchiff]

10 hours ago, The Latin Scot said:

I can comfortably say that, as the entire focus of the Church's young men's program is to raise its youth to become strong leaders in their homes, their communities, and in the Church, it is absolutely guaranteed that the new program will center on leadership and character development. Raising moral young men who will someday lead the Church is paramount to our beliefs, and having been raised in the Church, I can tell you that those values are at the very core of what we expect our young men to be. If anything, I can't think of what else the new program could possibly focus on. And the Church has all the means and resources to create a superb program that will be equal, if not superior, to the Scouting program.

As for outdoor skills, well, I am sure we will camp and go on high adventure activities and all that, but I don't think that element will be as strongly emphasized as it was before. But who knows? We'll have to wait and see. But I have full confidence that what's coming will be even better than what was.

"...greatness... comes through humility."

http://www.ldsbsa.org/blog/history-highlights-varsity-scouting-1975-2017/

Your Church faces great challenges ahead in successfully replacing the old with the new. IMHO, that starts with finding your Chief Scout. He should enthusiastically create such a program  that your scouts will want to transfer over before 12/31/2019 whether they have earned Eagle or not.

I hope I said that in a respectful way.

My $0.02,

[The Latin Scot]

Of course! But our church has been built on hard roads and challenges. This is a mountain we are happy and ready to climb. And we have a Chief Scout already - it's our Prophet. He has all the skills, tools and authority needed to guide us to success. 

[gblotter]

Any youth program (Scouting or otherwise) will reflect the dedication of the leaders who act as "fishers of men". You'll always find some who are extremely committed, and you'll always find others who just "wing it".

I know of some stellar LDS troops, and I'm sure there will be wards who implement the new youth program in stellar fashion.

I also know of some pathetic LDS troops, and I'm sure there will be wards who implement the new youth program in pathetic fashion.

But overall, I am hopeful that the new youth program will meet the needs and fill the voids where Scouting came up short. Even in wards with great Scouting programs, there were inevitably some who did not get caught in the net.

[LVAllen]

On 6/1/2018 at 1:45 PM, The Latin Scot said:

Of course! But our church has been built on hard roads and challenges. This is a mountain we are happy and ready to climb. And we have a Chief Scout already - it's our Prophet. He has all the skills, tools and authority needed to guide us to success. 

This is the same office that had all the skills, tools, and authority needed to guide the church's success in the Scouting program for the last 100 years? 

Yeaaah. I'm not holding my breath for the "new" program.  If we couldn't make it work with the incredible resources available from BSA, I rather expect the new program will be "Roll your own, let the Spirit guide, but don't do anything that has the remotest risk involved." Meaning little, if any, real training will be provided, and the youth will suffer for it.