Families concerned after Mormon Church cuts ties with Boy Scouts of America
Families concerned after LDS Church cuts ties with Boy Scouts of America
According to the church, many of their values no longer align with the Scouts, and they are ready to establish their own program instead. Now, some families in the Valley are concerned about the future. FOX 10's Jennifer Martinez reports.
PHOENIX - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is cutting ties with the Boy Scouts of America, bringing to an end to a nearly century-old partnership.
According to the church, many of their values no longer align with the Scouts, and they are ready to establish their own program instead.
Over 400,000 LDS boy scouts are expected to leave the organization after the first of the year, and one family in the Valley said it's concerning, due to the uncertainty it has caused.
"It's the way our young men have been brought up," said Melanie Glasgow. "It made me sad and a little -- I think, you grieve a little about something like that. That you kow your children aren't going to be able to experience anymore."
Glasgow, a member of the Mormon Church, said scouting has been a staple in her family, passed down through generations.
"Scouting is wonderful, and it's been years and years of scouting," said Glasgow. "Dad and grandpa was a scout leader. We have a lot of scouting in our family and I will miss that."
Moving forward, the LDS Church wants to branch out and make their own group come January 1, titled the "Children and Youth" program. It will be an international program, without the uniform and without the "eagle" ranking that most boy scouts hope to achieve.
"It's concerning, especially because it doesn't, and it won't be the same because it's not going to be scouting," said Glasgow. "So a little bit -- and it's probably just the uncertainty of what the program is going to bring."
Glasgow's teenage son, Crew, is trying to get his eagle, like the rest of his family, before February.