Imagining a post-BSA LDS Young Men's program

[MikeWaters]

1. No access to BSA camping facilities for monthly campouts. This is a bigger deal in some places than others. State parks are expensive. BSA campsites are generally free. This is a big deal when you have very little budget.

2. No access to BSA summer camps. Some wards already eschew these and do their own DIY week long camp. Like a Bible/BoM camp.

3. No access to BSA high adventure camps. Philmont. Sea Base. Northern Tier. And others.

4. No access to BSA leadership training. Including a lot of safety training. Swimming safety, climbing safety. Two-deep leadership. Gun safety. CPR training. And a lot of other stuff.

5. A brand new activity program with new awards. As I heard someone on the net say "Captain Moroni Sword Award." Try putting that on your resume. Like BSA, but with no tradition, no prior training, and little to no financial resources.

6. Some might say, well the YW great, so the YM would be fine with a similar program. So I ask you? Do the YW actually do great? My wife hated YW. I think the tradition of a crafty homemaker based program is going to go out the window. In the future there will be a lot less to differentiate the YM and YW's programs and that will be good.

7. Will some LDS choose to continue BSA in the community? Surely. But what %. Probably a low % and would decline over the years. We're just too busy. Will some LDS families forego YM program participation in favor of non-LDS BSA? Maybe. Esp. if the YM program sucks (like it often does).

8. If you cancel BSA, you need a program to go RIGHT AWAY. You can't leave an entire generation of boys in limbo. And upset all their plans in place. You would have to phase out BSA participation. What about the poor kid working on his Eagle Scout project. Or the kid who always dreamed of being an Eagle? Or the families that have down payments on high adventure. It would be a giant mess. DTG gets about 1% of the membership excited.