I am an Eagle Scout, I had great leaders who taught me tons of life skills, the Boy Scout Program has been good too me. But in light of their adjusting moral standards I don't see any need for the Church to remain partnering with them.
Non-Mormons, let me clarify. I am not saying that the Church should no be accepting of everyone, that's not the point. But the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormons, is a Church of principle. They do as God commands because it is a Church led by Jesus Christ himself. I believe that, and that's not up for debate. But we as a Church are accepting of every person that walks on this earth and we view them as our brothers and sisters. Members of the Church are taught to love one another despite our differences. "Love the sinner, hate the sin." And I try to live my life in accordance to that.
I feel as if the Church has adequate programs, to separate itself from the BSA. The Duty to God program is amazing. It has all the ingredients to transition a boy into a man. From the Aaronic to the Melchizedec. Time to take up the uniform of the Priesthood and retire the uniform of the Scout.
I think one of the coolest things that would happen is that it would put the power of the quorum back into the hand of the youth and their presidencies. We have become so focused on the path of the Eagle that I believe we skip over the spiritual growth of each boy. The Duty to God program should incorporate a lot of the lessons taught in scouting. There should be camp outs and first aid training, hiking, swimming, education. But there should also be more service oriented goals. Give the boys a guideline to work with and let them plan it themselves.
Don't misunderstand me avid scouters, my time as a Boy Scout was great! But I knew many boys who felt differently, who felt pushed, and forced to do a program they weren't even planning on finishing. Think of how many young men were only at Scouts on Tuesday nights because they had to be, and had no desire to be there other than hang out with the boys their age.
All in all, with the Church moving toward a more "Teach by the Spirit" approach when it comes to youth, I feel the scouting program hinders the ability to plan activities that will strengthen the youth according to the needs of the quorum.
At the end of the day, I will stand by whatever the Church decides, because I know it is a Church ran by Christ himself. I have no ill feelings to my friends and family who choose to live a lifestyle different than mine. But these are my opinions, take em' if you want them. The funny thing about opinions is that they are free, and worth about as much too. ;)