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Mormon Church And Boy Scouts Ending 105-Year Partnership

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Mike Brest Reporter
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The Mormon church and the Boy Scouts of America will end its 105-year relationship at the end of 2019, the church announced Monday.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) explained the break up as a result of their expansion overseas. They said that with more members outside the United States, they should be focusing on a youth organization that supports those outside America.

“The Boy Scouts of America deeply appreciates the long-standing relationship we’ve had with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” the statement read.

“We jointly express our gratitude to the thousands of Scout leaders who have selflessly served over the years in Church-sponsored Scouting units and wish the Church all the best as it prepares to introduce the new program in 2020.”

Although it was not acknowledged in the statement, the Boy Scouts announced last week that they’ll be dropping “boy” from its name and will be henceforth known as The Scouts of America in an effort to be more inclusive.

The church plans on remaining involved and invested in the program throughout this year and the next.

BSA has seen a dramatic drop in membership in recent years.

Back in 2015, BSA decided to allow gay troop leaders. At the time, that sparked a significant debate within the church, but Mormon leaders decided to stay because the BSA said religious groups could pick troop leaders in line with their faith.