Posted by:
behindcurtain
(
)
Date: December 18, 2018 08:50PM
Most programs for young men do not succeed as well as Scouting has. Chances are that if the Church starts another program, that program will not succeed as well, either.
The new program will require a lot of time and dedication from young men. It will be hard for young men to also participate in Scouting, since the new Church program will require so much time. (If the new program does not require much effort, it will seem frivolous.)
To be effective, the new program should be similar to Scouting. It will have to borrow a lot from Scouting, but it will not be able to use certain names, etc. It will not be able to use the title "Eagle Scout". It will not be able to used "Life", "Star", "First Class", "Second Class", "Tenderfoot", or "Scout". It will have to come up with different names for these ranks. It won't be able to use the Scout motto, slogan, law, or oath. It will have to come up with its own.
It won't be able to use the Scout Handbook. It will have to write a new book. It won't be able to use the term "merit badge". It will have to create new requirements for whatever replaces merit badges. It will have to find new names for Cub Scouts, Webelos, Arrow of Light, Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, etc.
Adult leaders will be pressured into it by the Church instead of joining for other reasons alone. Leaders who feel pressured won't do as well as adult volunteers who don't have the same pressure.
Scouting has a long and inspirational history. It will take awhile for the new program to develop its own history.
The Church will have to figure out what to do with boys who already have merit badges and ranks. Can the boys transfer their achievements to another program, or do they have to start over from scratch? What if becoming an Eagle Scout has always been a long term goal for them and they have already put much effort into obtaining that award? What does the Church do with 17-year-old boys who are close to earning their Eagle but don't have enough time to start a new program from scratch?
How will the Church handle boys who watched their older brothers advance through Scouting? How will the Church handle men who loved Scouting as boys and always wanted their sons to have the same experience?
The new program might have to "fine tune" itself, going through many changes. The Scouting program is tried and true and hasn't had many basic changes for a long time.
Boys in the new program won't be able to call themselves Scouts. They will have to use another name.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2018 08:53PM by behindcurtain.