A ward may have a troop, but there is no requirement to join it. The YM activities go beyond the scouting activities. Having experience with a troop of 50 to 100 scouts, I didn’t see the necessary depth in the tiny LDS troop in the ward. You need a range of age and experience to make it work as designed. Unfortunately, the huge troop sponsored by the Catholic church went too far the other direction. The parents were too involved and constantly pressing for activities beyond our financial means to support. My PTA sponsored troop raised funds collecting newspapers and putting on movies at the achool cafeteria. Our activities were scoped within our financial means. Scouts morphed in odd ways in 1973. I opted to stay oit after that point in time.