UPDATE: The LDS Church is going to stick with the Boy Scouts. Here is the press release announcing it. Further info from ksl

Good. I'm glad.

I can understand some of the reasons that some people were hoping they would split (such as the high financial cost of participating). The LDS Church is probably aware of that, which is why the Church is still evaluating other options. Hence why they stated in their press release: "The Church will continue to evaluate and refine program options that better meet its global needs."

As you’ve probably heard, the Boy Scouts recently voted to allow openly gay men to be scoutmasters. The LDS Church released a response to that decision.





I originally was confused and offended by the Church’s statement, so I totally understand why other people are upset by it too. But after considering it with an open mind (instead of going with my knee-jerk reaction), I think I understand now.





This is my two and a half cents:





I am personally not bothered by the BSA's decision to allow gay men to be scout masters. I know that gay men aren't any more likely to be pedophiles than straight men and I think they can contribute well to the Boy Scouts' mission.





But I also understand the Church's reaction.





The BSA's decision means that it now it expresses approval (at least implicitly) of being in homosexual relationships (and I think that’s what’s understood by “openly gay” here, and not just having same-sex attraction). For a Church that teaches that homosexual relationships are sinful, that decision indeed goes against Church doctrine, and goes against what the BSA has taught until recently.





I can also see why the Church is upset about its schedule request (presumably to have more of its leadership weigh in) being ignored, especially since it's so heavily involved in the BSA and is the BSA’s largest single sponsor.





I think it's a toss-up whether the Church will officially stick with the BSA. It has the resources to create its own scouting-like program, and that would have many benefits, which includes running the program the way the Church sees fit. The BSA has a lot of internal politics (not just about this issue) that can muddy the waters for Church involvement. If the Church wants to be able to ensure that it can have scouting run 100% in accordance with its goals and philosophies, then splitting with the BSA and doing its own thing is its best bet.





"I'll always have a place in my heart for the BSA." Regardless of the Church's decision, I'll always have a place in my heart for the BSA and remain involved somehow, even if the church officially withdraws from it. Once a scout, always a scout.





That’s essentially my reaction. If you’re interested in reading my additional thoughts, continue reading.





I’ve dissected the Church’s statement below (the original statement is available here ).





“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote by the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board.”





My initial reaction was “Why? Gays aren't necessarily pedophiles.”





But some synonyms for “troubled” include concerned, worried, uneasy (not necessarily angry). I think some people are imagining that the Church is going on a homophobic tirade (like this lady after the Supreme Court ruling). But I don’t think that’s what the Church is doing. I think they are “troubled” about such a fundamental change in the Boy Scout policy without sufficient regard to the voice of the Church, and how it bodes for future policies the BSA will consider for church-sponsored troops.





“In spite of a request to delay the vote, it was scheduled at a time in July when members of the Church’s governing councils are out of their offices and do not meet.”





The Church and the Boy Scouts have been like peas in a pod for over 100 years. The Church is heavily involved and is the BSA’s largest single sponsor. The BSA had good reason to respect the Church’s schedule request.





“When the leadership of the Church resumes its regular schedule of meetings in August, the century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined. The Church has always welcomed all boys to its Scouting units regardless of sexual orientation.”





My initial reaction was “Even before the lift on the ban against gay scouts?” Apparently, the answer is yes, according to this press release . That seems consistent with the “having same-sex attraction is not bad but homosexual relationships are” stance. I can’t find anything that says in writing what the specific policy was for Boy Scouts who had same sex attraction.





As far as I can tell, it booted you out if you were in a gay relationship, and that stood before and after that particular policy change. I know there’s debate about what the Church’s policy actually was (and its fairness) before then. But the Church reacted

positively to the BSA policy change of allowing gay boys to participate in scouts, so I think that should count for something.





“However, the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America.”





My initial reaction was “But Church doctrine doesn't say anything about gay men not being scout leaders.” And that’s true, nothing in our doctrines would specifically say gay men can’t be scout leaders. However, the LDS church does teach that homosexual relationships are a sin. And I think that’s the issue for the Church. As I said above, the BSA's decision means that it now it endorses (at least implicitly) being in homosexual relationships (and I think that’s what’s understood by “openly gay” here, and not just having same-sex attraction). That decision indeed goes against Church doctrine, and it indeed goes against what the BSA has taught until recently.





“As a global organization with members in 170 countries, the Church has long been evaluating the limitations that fully one-half of its youth face where Scouting is not available.”





I admit, that’s kind of vague, so I wonder what solutions they're thinking of.





“Those worldwide needs combined with this vote by the BSA National Executive Board will be carefully reviewed by the leaders of the Church in the weeks ahead.”





I'm interested in hearing their decision.





One question I asked was “What's the big deal? The Church will still be allowed to restrict gay men from being scout masters in their local, sponsored troops.” I’m not entirely sure, but I do know this is one of the reasons why it’s possible that the Church may end up sticking with the BSA.





I do like the idea of the Church switching to its own Scouting-like program, Duty to God. It's been in the works for several years. I think it was wise for the Church to prepare itself that way. The Church has been doing the Young Women program for even longer, which is a terrific program. That's what the church will have to do if it wants scouting the way it wants it. The BSA and the LDS church simply aren't the same organization, so it's natural that their goals and approaches aren't always the same.





I think it was smart for the Church to embrace scouting, especially a hundred years ago when the Church was much smaller and probably didn't have the resources for its own program like that. Now it's big enough to do its own thing if it wants.





One drawback to withdrawing is that I think it might limit opportunities for young men to interact with people of other faiths and share their beliefs. But maybe the Duty to God program would find a way to make that happen anyway.





My initial impression from the Church was that they weren’t allowed to say their piece. The Church statement didn’t indicate exactly how much of the leadership was out of office. But, according to ksl.com , the Church did have a chance to participate, even if it wasn’t as much as it liked:





"Hawkins told KSL on Monday that church leaders Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, General Young Men's President Stephen Owen and General Primary President Rosemary Wixom, all of whom belong to the BSA National Board, voted against the new policy."





Here’s another factor in the concern: it seems that the LDS church is concerned that Boy Scouts may cave to further political pressure and require religiously sponsored troops to allow scoutmasters who are in gay relationships:





“The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-rights organization, said the Boy Scouts should not allow church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays.





“‘Discrimination should have no place in the Boy Scouts, period,’ said the HRC's president, Chad Griffin. ‘BSA officials should now demonstrate true leadership and begin the process of considering a full national policy of inclusion.’





“The BSA's top leaders pledged to defend the right of any church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays as adult volunteers. But that assurance has not satisfied some conservative church leaders.”





Here’s some more information for the context on the Church’s reaction (also from the ksl article):





“The BSA's right to exclude gays was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. But since then, the policy has prompted numerous major corporations to suspend charitable donations to the Scouts and strained relations with some municipalities.





“More recently, the BSA faced a civil rights investigation in New York and lawsuits in other states over the ban.





“Kenneth Upton, a lawyer for the LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal, questioned whether the BSA's new policy to let church-sponsored units continue to exclude gay adults would be sustainable.





“‘There will be a period of time where they'll have some legal protection,’ Upton said. ‘But that doesn't mean the lawsuits won't keep coming. ... They will become increasingly marginalized from the direction society is going.’”



So it looks like another reason the Church is troubled is that it’s concerned about the domino effect this change may have on other policies which the Boy Scouts will require the Church to make in the future.





These are just some of my thoughts that I wanted to add to the discussion. I love both the LDS Church and the Boy Scouts and am interested in seeing how things unfold.



