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Commentary: Mormons and the Boy Scouts, once joined at the hip, are now heading down different trails

It is a common stereotype, though one not far from the truth, that the average Mormon boy is an Eagle Scout.

There are certainly a lot of them. Recent statistics suggest that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes up about 20 percent of the Boy Scouts of America enrollment. This has been a long and interdependent relationship: The BSA provided a wholesome structure for Mormon boys, with typically half the LDS Church’s weekly activities nights dedicated to some Scouting initiative, and the Utah-based faith provided a continuous stream of boys (and money) for the national institution.