One of the defining moments of my youth was at age 14 during an epic thunder storm at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. Compounding the chaos of an overnight storm that brought six inches of rain were the 20,000 boys camping outside away from home, with no more than tarps and pocket knives to protect themselves from the elements. I am proud to say that I was one of those boys and the opportunity to stitch together our campsite after being ravaged by the elements taught me invaluable lessons in teamwork and resilience.

These moments at the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree and the many others I spent with the Boy Scouts as a young man taught me a great deal about service and integrity. But this was not the only place I learned these lessons, as I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church.

As reported, the LDS church and Boy Scouts are cutting some ties after a nearly 100-year relationship. While many on the outside wonder if this break is correlated with policy changes made in the Boy Scouts, such as allowing gay leaders to run troops, those close to both organizations have seen this change coming for many years now. It is often overlooked particularly here in the U.S. that the LDS church is a global institution.

I'm no expert on the history of the church's relationship with the Boy Scouts, but throughout my teenage years the Boy Scouts program has been used by American LDS congregations as a church youth program for boys. And while the organization has served the church well, teaching good values and principles, it has always faced three significant challenges for a Christian church operating in more than 100 countries and 188 languages worldwide: too expensive, too U.S.-centric and not scalable.

Yes, there are Boy Scout programs all over the world, but not exactly everywhere the church operates, and not with a consistent quality internationally. If you think about the church as a metaphoric business and one of its core services is to teach good values to people, particularly youth, then the Boy Scouts has always been a way of outsourcing this function for its young men.

Moreover, it is important to note that the church already has its own youth program for girls called Personal Progress, which has been successful and operates in every country where the church has a presence. Even in my own youth as a scout, the church had been trying to move away from the Boy Scouts and developed a program called Duty to God, which they rolled out worldwide.

While many have claimed and would like to believe that it was the Boy Scout's policy changes that led the LDS church to move away from the scouts, the reality I believe is the unfolding of a long discussed decoupling. Furthermore, given this context, I don't think it's a stretch to ask if the Boy Scout's recent policy changes are part of an effort to increase enrollment given the impending loss of significant LDS support.

I will now and forever hold many cherished memories of my time as a Boy Scout and look forward to the future of both the LDS church and Boy Scouts of America. Though their paths might be separate, they share the same destination, to teach others the importance of service and integrity and leave each place better than they found it.

Chris Tanner is an Eagle Scout and member of the LDS church. He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News. Email: cbtanner@gmail.com

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