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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that as of next year, it will no longer participate in the Boy Scouts' programs for older teenagers. The church, which has at times 

, will be withdrawing from formal involvement in programs geared toward 

.
"We express sincere appreciation and gratitude to all adult leaders who have supported young men in these programs and are grateful for our long-standing and continuing partnership with the Boy Scouts of America and Scouts Canada," the First Presidency, the church's highest governing body, told church leaders in 

 Thursday.
Yet, as the church explains in 

, "young men ages 14 to 18 are not being served well by the 

 programs, which have historically been difficult to implement within the Church."
Those programs specifically promise "adventure" and 

Members of the Mormon Church, which has had a formal relationship with the Boy Scouts of America for more than a century, have evinced some displeasure with the organization's admittance of openly gay leaders and transgender boys in recent years

In its announcement materials, the church addressed these changes but specifically did not attribute its decision to them:

In a statement emailed to NPR, the Boy Scouts expressed appreciation for its long-standing relationship with the church, which was "the first partner to sponsor Scouting in the U.S." and — as NPR's Howard Berkes notes — remains the country's single largest sponsor of Boy Scout troops.

"Although thousands of youth and leaders who participate in Venturing crews nationwide embrace and support the program, we recognize that not all programs are a perfect fit for all partners," the Boy Scouts' statement reads.

"We anticipate that many youth from the LDS Church will continue to participate in Scouting beyond the age of 14 as young men work to earn the Eagle Scout rank," it continues. "The BSA values our ongoing partnership with the LDS Church in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts programming and look forward to our continued efforts to extend the benefits of Scouting to as many youth and families as possible."

More than 300,000 Mormon boys participate in the Scouts, and many older teenagers may continue to do so. The church's decision to end its formal involvement is not by any stretch a ban, and the church will continue to charter Scouting programs for younger boys.


Still, the move marks a significant shift for a church that has long been interwoven with the youth institution — so interwoven that 

 the decision could mean that between 130,000 and 180,000 teenagers will leave the organization.
"Basically," Brigham Young University associate professor Quin Monson, a Mormon himself, 

Religion and Faith

Colin Dwyer

Author

The church said that "young men ages 14-18 are not being served well" by those programs. Though the church has been resistant to the Scouts' recent LGBT policies, it did not cite that as the reason.

Mormon Church will withdraw from Boy Scouts' programs for older teens

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