For the last 106 years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has chartered troops for the Boy Scouts of America, that is until the church announced that starting in 2020, they will stop chartering the program.
Mark Francis, the relationships director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Boy Scouts of America partnership, explained an event called Vision 2020 will give those with a strong interest in scouting the information they need to continue utilizing the program.
“Vision 2020 is simply one of many tools that were using to try and encourage families to still be involved in scouting," Francis said. "It’s not our only method but it’s one of the primary ones to be able to gather as many people as we can across the country to talk about how we will support and strengthen scouting into the future.”
The LDS Church is currently the biggest church organization within Boy Scouts of America but decided to discontinue chartering the program because it wanted a program that is more inclusive of the youth around the world rather than just America. Although there are many legacy families upset that the partnership is dissolving, the majority agree that the church needs a youth program consistent across the globe.
Vision 2020 will be a weeklong fellowship held at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. Alan Endicott, the scout executive for the Trapper Trails Council, expressed that this will be the beginning of a new era for Utah and the Boy Scouts of America.
“Scouting is a wonderful program," he said. "It makes a difference in so many people's lives, sI'veve been encouraging people to attend. As we come together as scouters and leaders in our area we can help to motivate others to remember the importance of helping the youth of our area."
