The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) has endorsed the Boy Scouts of
America's (BSA) proposal to end its ban on gay scouts but not
leaders.
The BSA will submit its proposal to its
National Council at a meeting to be held in Texas next month.
In announcing its proposal last week,
the Boy Scouts said that results from surveys on the issue found that
parents under the age of 50 and a majority of teenagers oppose the
current policy of excluding gays.
“The current BSA proposal
constructively addresses a number of important issues that have been
part of the ongoing dialogue, including consistent standards for all
BSA partners, recognition that Scouting exists to serve and benefit
youth rather than Scout leaders, a single standard of moral purity
for youth in the program, and a renewed emphasis for Scouts to honor
their duty to God,” the Salt Lake City-based church said
in a statement.
The Mormon church sponsors more
Scouting troops than other other religious group and the Boy Scouts'
Great Lake Council is one of the largest in the country.