Non-Typical Solutions

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865679711/Mormons-drop-Scout-programs-for-older-teens.html SALT LAKE CITY — The LDS Church, the oldest and largest charter organization of the Boy Scouts of America, will drop Scouting from its Young Men's program for boys ages 14 through 17. Today, about 1 in 6 American Scouts is Mormon. Effective Jan. 1, the move will carve as many 180,000 Mormon boys from the Varsity and Venturing Scout programs in the United States and Canada, replacing them with activities created for boys in those age groups by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church will continue to sponsor Cub Scouts for boys 8 to 10 and Boy Scout programs for those 11 through 13 in those two countries, but statements released by the church about the announcement signaled that it may drop those programs in the future, too. The overhaul is stunning, because Scouting has been an indelible, seemingly inseparable, part of the LDS Church's Young Men program for 104 years, but it isn't a major surprise. Church leaders quietly have considered dropping Scouting from its Young Men and Primary programs for many years for multiple reasons. Church leaders announced the change and the reasons for it via statements in a question-and-answer-style statement on mormonnewsroom.org early Thursday morning. Why? The church released a letter from the First Presidency that explained the decision is part of "the church's ongoing effort to evaluate and improve its service to families and young people worldwide." The mormonnewsroom.org statement shared more detail. "In most congregations in the United States and Canada, young men ages 14-18 are not being served well by the Varsity or Venturing programs, which have historically been difficult to implement within the church," the statement said. "This change will allow youth and leaders to implement a simplified program that meets local needs while providing activities that balance spiritual, social, physical and intellectual development goals for young men." The BSA released a statement on Thursday that said in part, "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. 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." BrandView It's easy being green: 5 watering tips for a healthy lawn and a thick wallet Sponsored by It's easy being green: 5 watering tips for a healthy lawn and a thick wallet Pampered grass is happier grass, and happier grass is greener, and greener grass means a greener wallet too. Church leaders long have wrestled with concerns about inequity within the church caused by Scouting. Hundreds of thousands of LDS boys in other countries did not have access to Scouting, and the church has spent more on American boys than girls because of its financial commitment to the Boy Scouts of America. Discussions about those issues began before highly publicized controversies over BSA decisions to accept gay Scout leaders and gay and transgender Scouts and long before last week's news that Scouting has considered admitting girls to more of its programs. The church said Thursday those issues weren't part of the decision because "BSA has always allowed the Church to operate its programs in ways that are consistent with our standards and beliefs." Four years ago, when BSA voted to admit openly gay scouts into troops, LDS leaders noted that the church always admitted gay scouts and would continue to do so. However, when BSA voted to allow openly gay scout leaders in July 2015, the church publicly said for the first time that it was re-considering the Scouting program. "The church has always welcomed all boys to its Scouting units regardless of sexual orientation," the statement said. "However, the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America." That 2015 statement clearly stated that Scouting didn't meet the needs of most of the international church's young men. A month later, church leaders decided to continue with Scouting for American and Canadian boys and young men after BSA affirmed "the right of all religious chartered organizations to select their Scout leaders in accordance with their religious beliefs." Close partners The LDS Church has been a major part of the BSA since it became the first chartered BSA organization in 1913. "The church partnership with the BSA was a blessing to the relatively new Scouting organization," LDS-BSA relationships director Mark Francis said last month at the annual LDS-BSA Relationships Seminar in Salt Lake City. "In addition, the willingness of the BSA to accept the church as a chartered partner during a time when there was not a favorable view of the Mormons was also an act of goodwill. Collectively, we have the capacity to solve the toughest problems and find solutions to benefit everyone." Since 1931, an LDS apostle has served on the BSA's National Executive Board. LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson, who holds Scouting's highest honor — the Silver Buffalo Award — has been a member of the BSA National Executive Board for 47 years. The BSA has honored his vast contributions to Scouting twice in the past year by naming buildings for him. In October, the Thomas S. Monson Lodge opened at the Hinckley Scout Ranch in Utah, and construction is underway on the BSA's Thomas S. Monson Leadership Excellence Complex at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is currently on the BSA's national board along with Brother Stephen W. Owen, the general Young Men president, and Sister Joy D. Jones, the general Primary president. The current national commissioner of the BSA is Charles Dahlquist, a former general Young Men president in the church and a former member of the General Church Scouting Committee. "As much as I hate to see these young men move out of Scouting," Dahlquist said, "I have the belief that this will be a wonderful, unifying opportunity for Latter-day Saint youth, to be able to reach their potential in ways that we have not seen possible." What's next? The LDS Church makes an annual lump sum payment to BSA to help cover the participation of its boys and young men. The church will make the exact same payment to BSA in 2018 that it did this year so that BSA will not experience any immediate financial hit. The First Presidency said young men who want to continue to work toward "the rank of Eagle Scout or Queen Scout should be encouraged and supported and should be properly registered as Scouts." A Queen's Venturer Scout is the Canadian equivalent to BSA's Eagle rank. The problem of creating a program for all of the church's boys and young men around the world remains. The church's Thursday statement alluded in multiple places to working toward programs that could replace Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. For example, it said the church is sticking with the Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs because they "currently meet the development program needs of boys from ages 8 through 13." The statement noted that "previous statements have indicated that the church wants a program that serves all young men around the world." It also noted that "the church continues to look for ways to meet the spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual needs of young men around the world." While the church's Thursday statement said it hasn't completed "the global program" that will serve young men around the world, it does have activities prepared to replace the Varsity and Venturing programs. Those activities that can be seen at lds.org/youth/activities and ymactivities.lds.org. They have been in place since 2013 as a resource for youth and their leaders around the world. "When followed, these activities can provide better opportunities for spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual growth," the church's statement said. Brother Owen, the general Young Men president, called leaders Monday at both the BSA and Scouts Canada, informing them of the church's decision. The changes address the disparity of funding and activities between the church’s Young Men and Young Women programs. "Church leaders have long been aware of this concern," the faith's statement said on Thursday morning. "This new program brings the spending into balance for youth ages 14 through 18. This will continue to be a factor in the ongoing exploration and creation of a worldwide youth program." 176 comments on this story Today, about 470,000 LDS boys and young men participate in Scouting programs in the United States and Canada. As of August 2015, that represented nearly 17 percent of Boy Scouts in America. More than 280,000 LDS boys and young men are between the ages of 8-13 will remain associated with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

I posted in the Trail Cam section about the tree stand and I am curious.......after summer goes by and the fall hunts finish up......and my late bull elk hunt arrives.......is it OK to sit in the stand if it is still hanging on the tree???

Cool idea WyGuy if I had some I'd give them to you.....all that I have are too big for your project!!!

Looks like you had a great trip in the pines!!!!

Looks like alot of fun.....I think we are going to go out camping this weekend as well pretending we are looking for turkey!!! That is one ugly caterpillar!!!!

I am jealous.......no ladder necessary!!!

You guys are brave.....I would never use another persons stand but I would never be equipped to go up high on a tree like that either.......and heaven forbid if it made something tingle!!!

Man I would love to get the same PM....I don't have a tag but hunted down south many years ago and am curious what the scoop is just for fun!!! Good luck on your hunt Surefire........God forbidden country down there with some jewel animals in it......well....used to be I guess!!!

I know nothing about tree stands and have never been in one.....just puzzles me to find this one like this.....haven't really encountered one I guess. I would never go up that high......for fear of getting to anxious and falling out!!!

Man that is one nasty looking dog....good job!!!!

Almost makes you feel warm and fuzzy and wanna take one home for a pet right??? Very cool pic!!!

Tink......another one just hit the ground and I had to go back to work!!!! Cool finds!!!

Rag Horn.....can't believe you would even ask what lake to take those boys after seeing this lunker!!!

I'm guessing from what I know about Raghorn, two things....he is gonna be excited preparing for the hunt and getting out in the woods and........he isn't going to be too picky about size!!! Just happy to have a tag and who said there would be bulls in the Cedars???? I know where a couple are!!! Looking forward to kicking the hills with you Raghorn!!!

First off....I have found very few antlers in my wanderings but this weekend had the opportunity to take three of my boys and one of my grandsons out turkey/antler hunting/elk scouting!!! Friday AM worked a lazy ridge and draw where we have found turkey before, while in the draw we looked at a well beaten trail in the bottom of the drainage and considered setting up a trail cam just for fun but decided to wait and see if we found "better" prospects! Saturday, during the heat of the day we decide we really want to set the trail cam up on that well beaten trail so we go hike back in up the well beaten trail to a spot we like! As we are setting up the trail cam which took all 5 of us, Max my 7 year old grandson is running all over the place throwing pine cones at squirrels and eventually becomes our photo dummy to determine if we like the pictures! After trying several different locations as we are putting the finishing touches on the setup I look over and not 50 yards from where we are setting up this camera I see a tine sticking up, dropping my jaw holler at my oldest son and said, "Would you look over there between those two trees?" All of us adults gather around to laugh.....we have only passed this antler 3-4 times plus played in front of it for the last 45 minutes. So my oldest son grabs Max and decides to take him on one more antler hunt!!! By far the funnest antler hunt ever to watch that 7 year old come alive as he spotted those tines sticking up!!! So in my book this becomes my all time ATL favorite!!!

How does what should be a funny-encounter thread about a sloppy mess of unprepared wannabe turkey hunter, workin' his lazy road hunter tactical skills like a big dog (a true professional) unwind into this? Lordy Lordy - I don't know 270 and Nature Girl, but I can only imagine if their collective memories are being invoked. Nothing to gain. Time to holster the keyboard and walk away..... Once the handle on the flusher gets touched the swirl just continues downward!!! Glad you still got your turkey! We had an embarrassing encounter turkey hunting! Middle of the day we were headed from one turkey spot to another, there is a waterhole about 50 yards off the FS 300 and I stop and tell my grandson and son #3 to run up to the tank and look for turkey poop!!! All the sudden they come running back..........there was a blind with decoys off to the side that we didn't see when we pulled up. We threw the truck into drive and got out of there......I apologize to whoever that was we ran over your stand!!!!

If you recognize this waterhole and tree stand I am interested in touching base with you to make sure or try to make sure we don't run over each other during elk season! I realize the grilling I am going to get for even asking but somebody will maybe PM me and make sure we don't conflict!!! Thanks Lets pretend this stand stays up in the tree clear until the late bull hunt and after attempts to communicate with stand owner there is no response or dialogue. Can I sit in the stand for my hunt??? Or does that cross the line of ethics??? I really didn't want to use that word but........

Thanks to those of you who helped in the "twitter" voting!!! http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2017/04/26/snowflake-junior-high-samsung-contest-win/100955262/

This little piggy went to market.......little buggers gotta be tough to survive.....sorry about the thieves but dang good pictures!!!

Have a great story to add with this ATL........to be shared later!!! Can you find it???

Here is a whitetail jackalope compliments of tomgobbler!!!!

Dang....that just went to my Friday half day schedule for kids to watch!!! Thanks for sharing that is very "educational"......

she got drawn for the early bull hunt 2 years ago, I got drawn last year for the early hunt bull hunt and signed my tag over to her. and surprise surprise I got drawn this year again for the early bull hunt and will sign it over to her. I look at it this way I get go go hunting either way, Ive killed enough shoot in my life let the kids have fun. its not about killing its about having a good time with your kids. Win, win all the way around!!!

That is lit up.....dang!!!!