Scouts Honour In Question: Loses Biggest Partner Member
Once politics rears its ugly head, not even the most respected institutions from the last hundred years will be saved from its repercussions.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced that it was terminating its ties with the Boy Scouts of America after the century-old organization said it would change its name and begin accepting girls as members at levels of scouting.
According to the Church, its decision to end its relationship with the BSA was in response to both organizations moving in different directions:
“In this century of shared experience, the Church has grown from a U.S. – centred institution to a worldwide organization with a majority of its membership living outside the United States.
“That trend is accelerating. The Church has increasingly felt the need to create and implement a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally. In so doing, it will be necessary for the Church to discontinue its role as a chartered partner with the BSA.”
The termination will take place effective 31 December 2019. The decision to sever the partnership means the 2.3 Million-strong BSA will stand to lose 425,000 boys or 18% of its membership over the next two years.
The BSA has no one else to blame but itself and its over-eagerness to give in to political pressure from the Left. A series of questionable decisions the last five years have led the Church to force its hand.
Succumbing to political pressure, the BSA voted to accept gay boys into their membership five years ago. Two years after, the BSA made the decision to bring in gay Scoutmasters into the organization.
Through it all, the Church continued to support the BSA because it recognized the right of all chartered organizations to choose their Scout leaders based on their religious beliefs.
In 2017, the Church made a decision to remove the Scouting program from the Church’s activities which coincidentally came at the time the BSA approved the admission of transgender boys into the fold.
If changing its iconic name, from the Boy Scouts of America to the politically-correct Scouts BSA, was the last straw for the Church, accepting girls into the program was the straw that broke its back.
As an iconic institution entrusted by generations to develop and safeguard the values of young boys so they can grow into responsible young men, the BSA should not have yielded to political pressure.
Conservative Hollywood actor James Woods summed up the failures of the BSA in one tweet:
“Now that the Boy Scouts no longer exist and must accept boys, how is it possible Girl Scouts still exist, but don’t accept boys?”
By severing its ties with the BSA, the Church is staying true to its values. Something the BSA should have considered before making its rash, politically-motivated decisions.
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