The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Scouting
Pack 1 is a community-chartered unit and youth and leaders from all faiths are welcome to join and volunteer.
Because many in our community are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, we felt it would be helpful to answer some common questions related to the Church’s decision to stop chartering scout units in 2020, and explain why the Boy Scouts of America is still a great activity for LDS youth.
Why did the Church Stop Chartering Units?
For more than a century (1913-2019), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a chartering organization for Boy Scouts of America units. That formal relationship ended on December 31, 2019.
In the official announcement, the Church cited the need to have a Christ-centered youth program that could be carried out globally. When the Church began its partnership with Boy Scouts of America, the majority of members lived in the United States. By May 2018, when the separation announcement was made, more than half of the Church’s 16 million members lived outside the United States.
The Church’s new program allows it to have the same program in Paris, France and Paris, Idaho.
As Elder Holland explained at the time, “Right now in the Church there are 4.5 million young people. We have a very large responsibility to a very large Church and it’s getting larger. That’s the arena and the growth that we’re facing. We are obligated for all the right reasons to intentionally reach them around the world.”
“Collectively and individually, we are invested in this. My boys are Eagle Scouts and my grandsons are Eagle Scouts. There has been considerable anguish at the highest levels of the Church as we have made this decision. But we hope there can be comfort and understanding as we move forward.”
“This isn’t a divorce.’ It’s growth. We’re not in any way disavowing any of those virtues of Scouting.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
CAN LDS Youth Join Community Units?
Definitely! Speaking at a national gathering on scouting in 2018, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said,
“Please know how grateful we are to the BSA. We are friends now and we will be friends forever….we hope that many LDS youth who wish to do so will still choose to be in Scouting. It is just the charter part that we are separating from. We’re going to stay in close contact…Please keep your shoulder to the wheel. Let me stress again, ‘This isn’t a divorce.’ It’s growth. We’re not in any way disavowing any of those virtues of Scouting. This is about children. We hope that you keep serving. Let me say it again, ‘Keep Serving.’”
What Religious Awards are Available Now?
While the Faith in God and On My Honor awards have been retired, there is a new award for cub scouts called the Light & Truth Award. Unlike the previous awards offered to LDS scouts, both boys and girls are eligible to earn the Light & Truth award.
The new religious awards are offered by Vanguard Scouting, a non-profit organization initially created by Charles Dahlquist, former Young Men General President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and other passionate scouters in the LDS community.
“Fundamentally, Cub Scouting is the same character-building, fun-oriented program you grew up with.”
Highlighted Changes
- Girls may participate in Cub Scouts
- Kindergarteners (or youth aged 5) may join!
- Cubs transition to BSA Troops at age 11
- New Religious Awards to earn
- Packs led by enthusiastic volunteers, with an emphasis on parental participation
What’s Different Now?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints definitely had a few differences in how it ran scouting units. The biggest difference is girls are allowed to participate in Cub Scouts. While historically, BSA Scouts was a boy-oriented organization, there really is no reason to exclude girls. Girls stand to gain just as much as boys from the scouting program.
With an adult partner, kindergarteners and first graders are allowed to join our Pack as Lion or Tiger Scouts. Within the Church program, scouts did not begin cub scouts until age 8 and participated in a condensed program.
11-year-old scouts may join BSA troops. In the Church program, scouts did not join a troop until age 12.
More than that, within the Church scout program, leaders were usually given callings to serve as scout leaders and all youth were automatically enrolled. This resulted in vastly different scouting experiences. In some units, scouts and leaders were enthusiastic and ran a vibrant, fulfilling program. In other units, participation was done out of a sense of duty and the scouting experience may have been lacking or virtually non-existent.
Pack 1 is led by enthusiastic leaders and parents who are committed to providing a safe and fulfilling experience for all our scouts.
Have Scouting Values Drifted Away from Church Standards?
At the time the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ended its relationship with scouting, there was some speculation that the decision was made because of “decaying morals in Boy Scouts of America”, even though official Church statements made it clear that was not the reason for the breakup.
Boy Scouts of America remains a faith-based organization that teaches scouts to be good citizens and helps promote faith. It does not favor one religion over another, but it does reaffirm the importance of a belief in God and encourages scouts to be active in their chosen faith.
The Scout Oath reads, “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
Reverence is one of the 12 points in the Scout Law, and scouts are taught to be reverent toward God, to be faithful in their religious duties, and to respect the beliefs of others.
As Scouting Magazine author Aaron Durr explained, “Duty to God has been one of the most important principles of Scouting from the beginning. In fact, in 1916, James E. West, the BSA’s first Chief Scout Executive, helped install what is now known as the “Declaration of Religious Principle” into the original BSA constitution and by-laws, and it remains there today.”
At the 2018 National Annual Meeting of the BSA National Executive Board issued a resolution stating “unequivocal commitment to the Declaration of Religious Principle as a fundamental component of the mission of the Boy Scouts of America.”
