http://www.ksl.com/

This is so sad.

It's like Russian roulette; you know it will happen, and no one knows who the victims will be.

Heartbreaking. I read the comments and someone posted that another boyscout drowned today at Bear Lake. Then another poster said they lost their son from lighting while on a boy scout camp trip 20 years ago. I would be afraid to send my son to Boy Scout Camp there.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52184249-78/rowberry-lake-diving-scuba.html.csp

Very sad on all counts.

Here's a more detailed account of what happened in the lightning incident. The adult leader of the troop is an 18 year-old who took refuge in his car:

http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story/A-witness-tells-what-he-saw-before-and-after-a/abGHeNp04EyENbp9QNBa-Q.cspx



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2011 12:06AM by summer.

To be fair, the 18-yr old that they interviewed was the leader of another troop, not the one of the boy who died.

I have a friend who recently moved here (CO) from the south. He thinks he's Bear Grylls and thinks I'm being dramatic when I try to warn him of the dangers of the Rockies.

He just called and told me he was less than 5 miles from the fatal bear attack in Yellowstone last week. I think he's taking me more seriously now.

I hear the one that died today died of "complications" from scuba diving. More is needed on that cause.

I have been harping for some time on this board warning people about the dangers of turning your children over to LDS Scout Leaders. Virtually all of the deaths that occur in scouting are LDS scouts, regardless of the state they live in, and almost all are listed as due to adult lack of supervision.

Would YOU jump in a car for safety and leave the boys outside???

My friend who is active in scouts in Utah refuses to allow his son to go on these outings without going along because he saw with his own eyes what kind of judgment these leaders used for vulnerable kids in the wilderness.

The main guy in charge told these ten year olds that they could swim "for the island" in freezing water!!!! When John forbade them to go, the leader said, "Oh, sorry, it looked closer at first than it is."


Anagrammy

My 12 year old was molested by an active scout leader in San Jose. He didn't tell me about it until he was 35. I felt such deep sadness because one of the reasons I joined the church was because they "sold" me their scout program.

Anagrammy

Otherwise, the Lord would have protected him.

There are actually Mormons who think that way. My mission president was one of them. If anything bad ever happened to missionaries, it was because they had sinned or they weren't sufficiently in tune with the spirit.

Stray Mutt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Otherwise, the Lord would have protected him.
>
> There are actually Mormons who think that way. My
> mission president was one of them. If anything bad
> ever happened to missionaries, it was because they
> had sinned or they weren't sufficiently in tune
> with the spirit.

Mine was Frost and along came a Jolley. Both thought the same way.

Seriously, every year there are a couple of scouting deaths here in Utah. All of which could have been avoided.

Stuf like this makes me so glad DS is in an LDS BS troop in the mission field. His leaders seem to have good heads on their shoulders, and one of them is a nonmember too.

This story is from April, 2011, and concerns sexual abuse within an LDS-sponsored Boy Scout troop:

"A former Oxnard man has filed a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, alleging he was sexually abused more than two decades ago by a Scout leader who was active in the church.

Filed in Ventura County Superior Court, the suit alleges the organizations knew or should have known the alleged abuser posed a risk. It also claims they failed to prevent abuse.

Building largely on a Portland, Ore., sexual abuse case in which the Boy Scouts of America was found negligent last year, the suit says the Oxnard troop was predominantly Mormon and the alleged abuser got involved in the Boy Scouts as a direct result of his church involvement.

Tim Thomton, Scout executive for the Ventura County Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said he could not comment on specific ongoing litigation.

"We are saddened by any incident of abuse and we extend sympathy to all such victims," Thomton said in general. "Youth protection has always been of paramount importance to the Boy Scouts of America and we have continued to enhance our youth protection programs to make sure Scouting is safe for all its members."

A lawyer representing the Mormon church did not return repeated calls seeking comment this week.

The former Scout leader, Mark Gum, was named in the suit as the alleged abuser but not as a defendant. To name a defendant in a childhood sexual abuse civil case, plaintiffs older than 26 must go through a time-consuming process of submitting corroborating facts to the court, said Tim Hale, the lawyer for the plaintiff, Tayln Lang, now 37. The suit was filed in October and amended in March with the names of the defendants — the Scouts and the church.

While he told his story to another former Boy Scout in the years following the alleged abuse, Lang didn't file a report with Oxnard police until this month, Hale said. The statute of limitations, however, appeared to preclude any criminal case, police said, and Gum has not been arrested or charged with any crime.

Even without a formal report, Hale said, Scout and church officials still should have noticed red flags of potential abuse and taken action.

The suit alleges Gum sexually abused the plaintiff regularly from the time Lang was about 13, in about 1986, until he was 16.

Gum, then a leader in the local Mormon church, also took a leadership role in Lang's Oxnard Scout troop, although he did not have any children of his own involved in it, the suit alleges. Gum had Lang spend nights at his home even though he had no children the boy's age, and showered naked with some boys at a Scout camp, something no other adults did, the lawsuit alleges. At least one former Scout recalled the shower activity as inappropriate, according to the suit.

"If a Scout is able to recognize the impropriety of this kind of conduct, certainly adults in the organization ... should have taken action on it," Hale said. "If they had, it would have stopped the abuse of our client from taking place." ...



Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/apr/14/former-oxnard-man-alleges-sex-abuse-sues-boy/#ixzz1S5uszzB4
- vcstar.com

This article refers to me. If there is anyone out there who wants to talk about it, I am ALWAYS available.

Could you share a brief recital of what you've seen regarding changes in the church over the years since this reporting?

a Bad Rap for non-sexual nudity.

When ppl say there's something 'wrong' with (non-sexual) showering with others...MAKES ME MAD.

sex should ONLY be for consenting adults.period.

There are a lot of links because there have been a lot of deaths. I don't have one to post, but they are there.

I'll tell you this. When Boy Scouts register to hike down the canyon or camp near the river, a high alert goes out to every search and rescue ranger, park ranger, paramedic, helicopter pilot and flight nurse that there are "Scouts in the Canyon."
Also, Flagstaff Medical Center is advised that there are scouts in the canyon so they can staff accordingly.

Not only has a 14 year old died, but a few troop leaders as well. The 14 year old was trying to rescue his troop leader who got lost, completely underestimated the water required and got the whole troop got lost. He died. The child died. It's 120 degrees Farenheit at the base of the Canyon, with no access to the river due to the cliffs (the leaders can't read maps).

You see, they don't read maps. They don't understand them and studying maps is work. The older guys just say, "I've hiked the canyon since I was 18." The senior leaders are far too smart to need maps. It's truly sick when adolescents die in an attempt to rescue the arrogant, completely ignorant leaders. At least all rescue personnel are on high alert when scouts are in the canyon, but it's no guarantee that they can be rescued in time.

Wake up call to parents: The search and rescue team stock zip-up shrouds for the dead children recovered in the Grand Canyon so the bodies can be transported. It is devastating for rescue personnel to recover and transport scout casualties. I can't even imagine how their families suffer.

Note to LDS Scout parents: DO NOT RISK YOUR CHILD'S LIFE IN LDS TRIPS TO THE GRAND CANYON! The death rate should be zero. It is not. Every emergency agency is aware of this, and you should be.

There seems to be a very casual attitude about lightning here in Utah despite the deaths. My son is in football, and last summer when a storm rolled in they just kept playing despite lightning strikes at the end of the field. They only stopped when the hail became so large it was hurting the players.

I told my son to go to the car if that ever happens, it's not worth it to die, even if the coach gets pissed. I live in Eagle Mountain and lighting never sends people to safety. Kids are at the park still playing, riding bikes, etc.

Maybe I worry too much, but it is my kid, and I only have one so no replacements.

Grew up in MI and always went camping with YW and stuff, and we were pretty careful. Never anyone dead or hurt.....Thank goodness my son never wanted to go to scouts!

nomomomo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Maybe I worry too much, but it is my kid, and I
> only have one so no replacements.
>

No other children can replace one who died. Maybe this was a joke? If so--tasteless.


Anagrammy

Having worked for the USFS, and working closely with the BLM and NPS I can tell you that the scariest words a land management agency ever hears is "Mormon Scout Troop". Even if you don't need to call in search and rescue, they destroy shit.