The homosexual community is now going to recruit 16-17 year old boys to become open members of the scouting organization. I do not want my 12-14 year old grandsons going on campouts with them. Plain and simple. Not worth the risk.
The LDS Church will continue with the socuts within its own congregations until and unless they accept adult leaders who are homosexual. That is what the Church has indicated is its line. The Church teaches that homosexuals can be members of the church as long as they are celebate in these desires. IOW, they can have urges, but if they resist temptation then they can be members in good standing as much as a heterosexual who does not commit fornication or adultery.
While I can understand this, and agree with it when it comes to young people who are serious about trying to overcome their lifestyle and affliction...and that is what it is, an affliction that tempts them to sinful behavior...I also know that there will be people now entering the organization specifically to fill its ranks with these queers who have no intention of "repenting," or overcoming their lifestyle.
I cannot and will not risk that set of circumstances on my own grandkids of I can help it.
The same 60% or so of parents/scouts who say they will leave the Boy Scouts over this ruling, are pretty much the same 60% who have been opposing the organizations' attempts to liquidate billions of dollars in prime real estate and other assets, or trade those assets for less valuable assets. Of course, there is always tons of money under the table for these crooked deals.
Much of the land bequeathed to the Scouts in perpetuity happens to be on waterfront, pristine locations, or in similarly prime locations.
With the principled Scouts, leaders, and parents out of the way, all these assets are like a hassle-free gravy train for the corrupt. The Camp Easton appeal, for one example, is likely to default to the thieves without opposition, now that the Scouts and parents who fought the case up to this point are being marginalized by the gay scout ruling.
While I think I now understand the LDS position better, and would agree with it as it pertains to non-practicing homosexuals as church members, I would be lying if I did not say that I am extremely disappointed to see the LDS support for this change which will likely have the effect of destroying Scouting.
I think we all recognize that actively practicing homosexuals are not going to be joining an LDS-sponsored Scout troop. Therefore, this national decision won't directly affect the LDS on your local level.
I'm afraid what's happened here is that the pro-homosexual people have done what they're good at doing, namely, adopting a divide-and-conquer strategy.
The only good thing I see coming out of this is that the Assemblies of God, Southern Baptists, Presbyterian Church in America, and probably Missouri Synod Lutherans will pull out of Scouting and create their own specific denominational youth groups. That could end up being good for everybody. Scouting, right from its beginning with Baden-Powell, advocated a lowest-common denominator form of morality without specific Christian doctrinal content, and that is a fundamental weakness of the organization.
http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/05/23/lds-church-backs-boy-scout-decision-gays
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Mormon doctrine, but your church deserves credit for its role in fighting homosexual marriage in California, much like Roman Catholics deserve credit for fighting abortion back when too many evangelicals were AWOL on the issue.
That is why this decision is tremendously disappointing to me, and likely to a lot of other evangelicals who have historically regarded the Mormons as a group who shared our a high respect for family values even though we obviously have major theological differences.
Something like this happening, especially while a Mormon was serving in Scouting’s top position, is not good PR for the LDS. I very much hope the top leadership of the LDS will realize just how much damage this decision will do to the public image of your church among social conservatives, and find some way to undo the damage.
And no, Jeff, obviously I don’t hold you personally responsible in any way for the LDS decision. Many of us have watched our churches make decisions with which we disagreed.