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3 Questions with Bob Evans: BSA Commissioner Dahlquist on the LDS Church and Scouting

Posted at 10:26 PM, May 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-15 00:26:42-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- It came as a big surprise to some but not to others when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced they will no longer offer the Varsity and Venturing Scouting programs starting in 2018.

The LDS Church will instead develop a global program for young men ages 14-18 that can be implemented anywhere in the world.

Charles Dahlquist served as the President of the LDS Church's Young Men's organization from 2004 to 2009, and now he is the National Commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America. This week he joined Bob Evans for 3 Questions.

  1. Why is it that the Venturing and Varsity Scout programs did not catch on within the LDS Church?
  2. How important is Scouting to the LDS Church?
  3. From your perspective as the National Commissioner of the BSA, where do you see this relationship going with the LDS Church? There are those who say the two are diverging.

See below for the extended interview with Charles Dahlquist.