Boy Scouts, gays and the LDS Church

The city of Philadelphia will start charging the local council of the Boy Scouts of America $200,000 a year to use the city-owned land under the council headquarters building. Since 1928 the City had been charging the Council only $1 a year. What would make them start charging such a high amount now?

The city has made it clear that the move is designed to punish the Boy Scouts of America because it will not allow homosexuals to serve as Scout Leaders. The city says it is charging the scouts $200,000 a year because the scouts discriminate against homosexuals. But the city finds nothing wrong with their discrimination against the scouts because of the scouts’ belief.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the scouts, as a private group, have a First Amendment right to bar homosexuals from membership. Philadelphia officials, in an effort to appease the homosexual activists, began searching for a way to punish the scouts. The rent increase was the vehicle to do that. Source: Philly.com

What does the LDS church think about Scouting? President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “I love the Scouting movement. I am glad to be able to pay my respects to you who move the great Scouting program along. We would not have the kind of gang problems we have if there were more boys enrolled in Scouting, because the spirit of Scouting and the spirit of gang life are contradictory one to another. This program builds boys, builds their futures, leads them to the right path so they can make something of their lives.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally affiliated with the Scouting movement in the United States in May of 1913 as its first institutional sponsor, and today sponsors more Scouts and Scouting units in the United States than any other organization. Hundreds of thousands of young men are enrolled as Scouts in groups or units sponsored by the Church.

We have strong affiliations with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA); Scouts Canada; the Scouting Associations of Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain; and other associations in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. The vast majority of Latter-day Saint Scouting affiliations, however, are in the western and central United States and Canada. Source: LDS.org

If the Boy Scouts of America is forced to accept gays as scoutmasters, the LDS Church will withdraw from the organization and take more than 400,000 Scouts with it (12% of total enrollment and 25% of enrolled units). That’s the contention of Salt Lake City attorney Von G. Keetch, who filed a brief with the Supreme Court supporting the Boy Scouts’ ban on homosexuals on behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and four other religious organizations back in 2000.

I hope that the Boy Scouts of America are never bullied into being forced to accept homosexual members or leaders. If that ever happens, it is my opinion that the church will withdraw it’s support for the Boy Scouts. What do you think?

4 thoughts on “Boy Scouts, gays and the LDS Church”

  1. I just have to tell you how much my husband and I enjoy your blog. Every post we read we find ourselves nodding in agreement. Keep it up!!

    1. Bullying is correct, people shouldn’t be forced to accept what they see as a perversion and they have a right to protect their kids.

Comments are closed.