The Last Leaf

As you all are aware, the BSA national board voted to change the adult leadership requirements for units and have lifted the ban on homosexual leadership.  This was done without the input from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, despite their request to have the vote delayed until they were able to be present.  Due to the results of the vote, and in my opinion more due to the blatant disregard for the request of one of (if not the largest) supporting Chartered Organizations, the Church gave a press release including this statement:

"When the leadership of the Church resumes its regular schedule of meetings in August, the century-long association with Scouting will need to be examined. "

That's a loaded statement.  Here's why.

I remember attending a round table not very many years ago where one of the BSA Church liason's presented in place of Charles Dahlquist who was scheduled to be the key note speaker but had a last minute conflict.  I don't remember the brother's name.  That's not really important.  What is important is that he addressed the rumor that has been floating around the LDS community for the last couple of decades that the Scouting program is in trouble and that the Church is going to sever ties with the BSA and start it's own program.  He emphatically denied any such rumor and insisted that the program was as strong as it ever has been and the Church's support of it the same - stronger than ever.  I jumped on the bandwagon at the time and full heartedly supported everything he said.  And at the time, I believe he was telling the truth and I believe it was the truth.  But so much can change so quickly.  It's mind boggling.  Unfortunately, and officially, that isn't the case anymore according to the press release.  It doesn't say the church is going to sever ties yet, but when the church decides to finally make public its concerns about affiliating with an organization, it typically isn't long before the rubber hits the road and the Church is long gone.

I have been hanging on to hope like the last leaf on a tree before the winter season finally arrives and plunges everything into a deep freeze.  I have followed the council of Elder Holland to pray for the BSA.  I even wrote to the Key Three and voiced my concerns and got a reply from the new President Robert Gates.  You can read that below with his response.  I didn't want this to end this way.  I still don't want it to end this way.  And the fact of the matter is, we don't know how it will end, if it ends at all.  All we can do is pray and hope for the best.  Never has the leadership of our church had more of a need for our united prayers than now.  Not just for the future of our boys, but for the future of the whole human race.  These are troubled times indeed.

So my message for August, although it may at first blush seem bleak, is one of hope.  We just finished a great Wood Badge leadership course. Each of you is working your ticket.  Each of you should continue to finish strong what you have set out to do.  If there are specific tickets that need to be altered due to one thing or another, let's visit and get those changed.  But let's not throw out the baby with the bath water.  Not just yet anyway.  We can continue to be positive influences in the lives of young boys and young men.  We can continue to teach by precept and example the traditional values of the Scout Oath and Law.  We can continue to strive to encourage the mission and vision of the BSA as it was originally intended.  And we can earnestly pray for guidance and direction for our leaders for the future of the Young Men's program of our church.  I believe with all my heart that the very best outcome will be realized as we exercise our faith and put our trust in those we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators, whether that be a continued relationship with the BSA, a new church based program, or something else.

May God bless you as you serve the young men you have the privilege of being stewards over and may He bless those who will be making critical decisions in the short weeks ahead.

Yours,

Tom Brand

Dear Key Three,

I know I am one of thousands who have taken the time to write to you about my thoughts and concerns.  You certainly have heard strong arguments from both sides of the isle on the issue of lifting the ban on homosexuality membership for adult leaders.

In an effort to remain brief, I simply want an explanation once the decision comes down.  I am praying that the standard will remain the same but quite honestly that prayer is without hope or faith in the desired outcome.  I know the board will make the decision and the requirement will change to allow homosexual leadership but my question still must be answered.

First and foremost, the whole purpose of the BSA movement is to teach young men to live their lives morally and ethically into adulthood.  When the movement decides to remove an absolutely necessary pillar on which the whole of the program stands, how do you as an organization plan to continue your mission?  I want to know what the definition of "morally straight" is for the BSA in 2015.  And if that definition can change, what of the other points of the Oath and Law.  

When the integrity of the words "morally straight" are compromised, there is no stopping the demise of all the other points of the oath and law that form the foundation of the movement.  It is crumbling beneath us and the current path is quite truly, as our new president Dr. Gates has said, "unsustainable".  

I urge you to fight this battle.  It is worth fighting.  Be brave to stand for morality.  Be loyal to the cause of the BSA, and be reverent toward God and his laws.  You can do this and still be trustworthy, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, and cheerful.  Obedience must be to the laws of God first and then to man's laws - and yes we must love all mankind but not at the sacrifice of our own standards.  This is certainly not a thrifty undertaking as it will likely cost millions of dollars to battle but it is worth it. And washing your hands by rolling over is not the same as being clean.  Clean is clean of conscience knowing you have stood for what you believe in to protect the integrity of the program.  Do what is right and let the consequence follow - whatever that may be.

I will continue to pray for you.  These are difficult times and you need the help of the Almighty more than ever.  I trust that you will seek that divine guidance as you consider this most weighty matter.

YIS 

Tom Brand

Dear Mr. Brand,

Thank you for sharing your views. As I said a year ago, I had hoped this issue could be set aside. The rapidly changing legal environment, as well as internal challenges, have not afforded us that luxury.

I assure you that I am committed to the values expressed in the Scout Oath and Scout Law. My intent is to preserve the Boy Scouts of America in recognition of all the movement has done for me and our country.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Gates

National President of the Boy Scouts of America

Brave, Clean, and Reverent

June 26, 2015 is a day we will always remember.  Yes it was a day when same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states by a ruling by the Supreme Court.  But aside from the fact that the very institution of marriage that has served as the foundation of healthy societies since the beginning of time was significantly altered, and the future of our nation and world hang in the balance; there is even more at stake.  Freedom itself is in jeopardy.  Our very system of government has taken a significant blow and unless we right this ship we are headed for very troubled waters.

The system of checks and balances is out of balance.  When we have our chief justice and half of the court writing such scathing dissenting arguments in a landmark case, it only goes to prove the division that this country is experiencing.  I dare say that Abraham Lincoln would not have wished to be in our day any more than his own.  The dissent is more about the courts usurpation of power to legislate than the moral bearings of the nation.  The court is making law from the bench, and that is exactly what our system is supposed to check.  Chief Justice Roberts said in his dissent, "If you are among the many Americans—of whatever sexual orientation—who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today’s decision. Celebrate the achievement of a desired goal. Celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a partner. Celebrate the availability of new benefits. But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it."

With all of this, the President of the Boy Scouts of America is suggesting that on a national level we change the membership requirements to allow homosexual leadership into the program.  This is a political move to stay a step ahead of the government in an effort to continue to protect our religious liberties and allow each individual unit to operate under their own guidelines for membership.  This would mean that the LDS units would continue to espouse the edict of living "morally straight" as it was intended in the original law.  But others will allow homosexuals into leadership positions.

I personally do not see how this is sustainable and quite honestly I worry about the future of the BSA.  Our own Elder Jeffery R. Holland urged us to pray for the BSA.  He said,

"We have a lot of work ahead of us,...We need to pray.  We are at a difficult moment in the nation's history where wonderful institutions like the BSA, and supporting organizations like the Church, will need to be brave, clean, and reverent.  We're going to need God's help, but we'll have it.  The BSA will need God's help but they're entitled to it.  Church leaders need God's help and we'll have it."

So while I personally struggle with recent history and the direction of our great nation and the BSA, I have made a decision that I am going to cling to hope.  I am going to pray that Divine guidance will bless the leaders of the BSA, the Church, and our great nation.  And more than ever, I will work to teach our youth the values and ethics that has been the tradition of the BSA since its inception.  Now more than ever the youth need these values.  Now more than ever they need leadership to help them navigate this dark and dreary world.  Now more than ever they need good, morally straight, clean, brave, and reverent leadership to show the way; to lead from the front.  Now more than ever they need to understand their civic duties and be involved in their neighborhoods and communities.  Now more than ever they need to understand the foundations of this great nation and it's moorings to all that the oath and law stand for.  Now more than ever we need to help tie it all together for them so they can see the greater picture and work toward the greater good.

What the future of the BSA will look like, I do not know.  What I do know is that the mission and vision of the program is true and based on heavenly principles.  That can not be altered.

One last thought.  It was pointed out to me the other day by my good Stake President that the Prophet is not just the Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He is also the prophet for the whole world.  And we have a commandment to be in the world, but not of the world so that we can be the salt that lends savor.  We can be the leaven that raises the whole.  So even though the BSA may seem to be an unnecessary program for the LDS Church - that "we can do it better on our own", I think President Monson as a prophet, seer, and revelator and the other 14 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve see the program as a means to do good in the world at large.  It is still a good program and we should continue to pray that it will have positive influences in the lives of boys everywhere.  I for one will continue to be a champion for the values and mission the BSA established as a beacon of hope for a better future.

YIS - Tom Brand - The Regal Eagle