The state of Scouting in Utah

Date: Category:US Views:1 Comment:0

Members of troop 007 react as they perform during a campsite inspection at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.

Deep in grizzly country just outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, more than 160 boys and girls seated on planed logs overlooking the rippling Lake of the Woods sang campfire songs as flames danced in the falling darkness.

A spark of lightning broke through the starless sky, followed by a crack of thunder and a rush of wind. Moments later, the heavens opened. The downpour started to extinguish the fire but didn’t dampen the spirits of those gathered in the Wyoming woods at a storied outpost known as Camp Loll in late July.

State of Scouting_RG_2687.JPG
Staff members perform skits at the campfire bowl during the opening night of scout camp at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

The singing continued:

On my honor, I’ll do my best, to do my duty to God. On my honor, I’ll do my best, to serve my country as I may. On my honor, I’ll do my best, to do a good turn each day, to keep my body strengthened, to keep my mind awakened, to follow paths of righteousness. On my honor, I’ll do my best.

Like those Scouts in the rain-soaked pines, Boy Scouts of America — rebranded just this year as Scouting America — weathered a major storm that saw enrollment plummet when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ended its 105-year affiliation with the organization after 2019. Overnight, 400,000 Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, including nearly 190,000 in Utah, were without packs and troops.

State of Scouting_RG_1858.JPG
Scouts trying to earn their rifle shooting merit badge watch as rifle range coordinator Jacob Dansie demonstrates how to fire a rifle at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

That same year, the organization had another monumental shift, allowing girls age 11-17 to join and changing its name from Boy Scouts to Scouts BSA. In addition to Scouts BSA, Scouting America includes Cub Scouts, Venturing/Sea Scouts and Exploring. Girls could join Cub Scouts starting in 2018.

While boys and girls Scout troops are generally separate, the organization launched a pilot program last year allowing coed troops. Several in Utah are participating.

It isn’t unusual for adult leaders out and about in their Scout uniforms to have someone ask, “Scouting’s still a thing?” One scoutmaster, Merinda Reeder, had a person comment on how authentic her “costume” looked. It was October.

Allen Endicott, Scout executive for the Ogden-based Crossroads of the West Council, gets that question several times a week.

“I think that’s a misunderstanding in our area because of the change with the largest faith-based organization in the community.”

“Scouting,” he said, “is doing just fine in Utah.”

State of Scouting_RG_2400.JPG
Members of the advanced camper experience program make their way back from doing a cold plunge at polar bear falls at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

For anyone who thought otherwise, the dissolution did not mark the end of Scouting in Utah, the state that consistently produced the most Eagle Scouts. It has survived, maybe even thrived in new ways, amid transformational change. While some in the Beehive State silently, maybe even openly, cheered what one Scouter called the “great divorce,” others went to work to help Scouting regain its footing.

So, what is the state of Scouting in Utah?

To answer that question, Deseret News talked to dozens of Scouts, Scout leaders and parents, attended troop meetings and spent a couple of days at Scout camp.

What happened after the church and Scouting parted ways?

State of Scouting_RG_1573.JPG
Scouts look on during the morning flag ceremony at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

The numbers tell a story, but not the whole story.

Prior to 2019, Latter-day Saint boys at age 12 were automatically enrolled in Scouting, which served as the church’s program to help strengthen young men through age 17. Troops in Utah consisted of boys living in the same neighborhood who attended the same church congregation, called a ward. Some boys embraced Scouting, some were lukewarm and others didn’t participate, but all were on the membership rolls at the church’s expense.

Adult men were called by their ward bishops to serve as scoutmasters and assistant scoutmasters. Some had interest and experience in Scouting, some did not.

State of Scouting_RG_3247.JPG
A scout participating in the ACE program rappels down Keyho near Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

When the Church of Jesus Christ ended its formal partnership with Scouting, there were 186,287 youth registered across three councils covering Utah, southern Idaho and western Wyoming. Those councils merged in 2020 to form the Crossroads of the West Council — with enrollment totaling 6,898 boys and girls.

In 2024, the council reported 6,107 youth in its programs, including 2,393 Cub Scouts and 3,200 Scouts BSA. It marked a 3.35% increase over the previous year and the highest total since 2020. Of that total, about 20% are girls, and their numbers have risen each of the past four years, while the number of boys has declined.

State of Scouting_RG_1221.JPG
A scout from Troop 1293 smiles as he stands in formation during a flag ceremony at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

In 2019, Utah produced 9,723 Eagle Scouts — 4,000 more than the year before — as Latter-day Saint boys no doubt rushed to tie that final knot before the church and BSA separated. Those numbers, too, have dropped dramatically — from the thousands each year to the hundreds.

Last year, 334 boys and 34 girls earned Eagle Scout awards. And like membership overall, the number of boys reaching the highest rank is dropping, while it’s on the rise for girls.

Nationally in 2019, Scouting America reported nearly 2.1 million participants, including nearly 1.2 million Cub Scouts and 798,516 Scouts BSA. Today, that number is around 1 million in all of its programs.

What the numbers don’t say

State of Scouting_RG_2502.JPG
Troops and staff line up for a flag ceremony at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Numbers aren’t everything. They don’t account for what the emblem stitched on the Life Scout patch represents: heart. The red heart on the badge — one rank below Eagle — symbolizes that the ideals of Scouting have become part of a Scout’s life and character. Scouting still has heart.

To a person, everyone interviewed for this story noted the biggest difference between the program now and five years ago is that boys — and girls — want to be there, as do their leaders. They’re fully invested.

Individual troops in Utah are larger and in some cases, stronger now. They have become more religiously, ethnically, culturally, geographically and gender diverse. “It’s been really inspiring as a microcosm of our society,” said Bonnie Marsh, scoutmaster for a Draper-based Troop 3444.

State of Scouting_RG_1683.JPG
Scouts stand in formation as camp staff give announcements during the morning flag ceremony at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Instead of one church sponsoring thousands of troops, other organizations stepped in such as service clubs, various faith denominations, businesses, foundations, nonprofits and parents.

Troops have fewer constraints. Scouts can travel farther for summer camp. The emphasis isn’t only on rank advancement but on individuals getting what they want from the program. The sponsors often provide a place to meet but no money, so fundraising is a constant, whether it’s selling popcorn and beef jerky or holding a spaghetti dinner.

“Scouts has changed a lot and not at all at the same time,” said 21-year-old college student Thatcher Eames, an Eagle Scout who has spent two-thirds of his life in the program, including seven years working on the Camp Loll staff — paid and volunteer. “Scouts have evolved. We’ve changed kind of our rules and our culture as the rules and culture of our society have changed.”

State of Scouting_RG_3664.JPG
Scouts play a game where they attempt to silently sneak up and grab a stick laying on the ground during a merit badge lesson at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Eames, who grew up in Ogden, called the inclusion of girls a “drastic” change but “in the end it felt natural. It felt like what should have happened all along. Now, I don’t even think twice about all of the changes that we’ve gone through. Every moment it feels like the right place where we’re supposed to be.”

Kids today join Scouts for all sorts of reasons: to make new friends, learn life skills, serve the community, achieve goals, enjoy nature and the outdoors and to have experiences they can’t get in other settings. They’re trading video game controllers for canoe paddles.

“I like video games, too,” said 16-year-old Stephen Kennedy, the senior patrol leader in Troop 1444 in Draper. “But in Scouting you get to actually do stuff instead of just pretending to do stuff.”

A difficult end

State of Scouting_RG_2455.JPG
Members of Troop 1293, which is sponsored by the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake, from West Jordan sit in their campsite at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Longtime Scout leader Michael Nebeker was more than disappointed when the church withdrew from Scouting and still harbors some hard feelings, though he said “at some point you’ve got to forgive people.”

Nebeker started a troop for Karen and Karenni refugees from Myanmar in 2008 and has been involved ever since. Even though it wasn’t affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ, the troop dissolved.

“I come at this with great passion for providing activities,” he said, adding Scouting also is devoted to respect for nature and caring for the planet. “And I love the diversity of these kids and the diversity of religions.”

Nebeker now leads Muslim troops chartered by the Khadeeja Islamic Center in West Valley City. The boys and girls come from countries in Africa, the Middle East and other regions. Some of their Scout leaders are, like him, Latter-day Saints.

“A lot of people said, ‘Oh, thank goodness we’re done with Scouts and all that work.’ What are we here for? You think this is easy for us? We’re exhausted. And why do we do it? Because we’re called to do it,” he said, eating a hamburger his Scouts cooked using halal beef as required by Islamic dietary laws.

“Nobody called me on the phone and said will you do this. . . . This calling came from God. Unmistakable.”

Aaron Torres was disappointed when the church and Scouting parted ways. The program in his Sugar House ward was active and vibrant, producing 10 Eagle Scouts in the final month before the separation. His son and oldest daughter have achieved the rank and his younger daughter is on her way.

State of Scouting_RG_2621.JPG
Troops file into the campfire bowl overlooking the Lake of the Woods at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

“The reason I was not too happy about it is because I think the kids needed it. About half the kids were there because they were forced to be there, even though I think they all got something out of it. There was another half that wanted to be there. But as a whole, all of them benefitted from it,” said Torres, who served a couple of stints as a scoutmaster.

Still, he said the program is better in some ways because it’s less restrictive and more open to troops operating how they see best. And it’s all volunteer, he said, not “voluntold,” including the kids.

In a May 2018 statement announcing the end to its partnership with Scouting, the church said the program benefited hundreds of thousands of Latter-day Saint boys and young men. The statement said the church continues to support the goals and values reflected in the Scout Oath and Scout Law and “expresses its profound desire for Scouting’s continuing and growing success in the years ahead.”

State of Scouting_RG_3172.JPG
Scouts look on as the camp staff perform skits during the morning flag ceremony at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_3824.JPG
Thatcher Eames poses for a portrait at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_3477.JPG
Rifle range coordinator Jacob Dansie helps a scout aim his rifle during the rifle shooting merit badge class at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_1965.JPG
A scout from troop 1293 reflects light with a mirror as he works on a merit badge at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_1744.JPG
A scout rappels down Keyho near Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_2385.JPG
Scouts participate in a polar plunge at Polar Bear Falls at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_1203.JPG
Stamps sit on a table at the handicraft station at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_3720.JPG
Jodi Orme poses for a portrait at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_1281.JPG
Scouts make their way down the dock as they prepare to take their swim test at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
State of Scouting_RG_0910.JPG
A scout leaves their campsite to gather more supplies from their trailer during move in at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Sunday, July 20, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Endicott said the church does a lot of good for the community and for Scouting.

“I want the LDS church to be successful. I want Scouting to be successful,” he said. “I have grandkids who benefit from all these things. There’s no animosity, not in our council, not in our organization. We appreciate the good that goes on.”

Many Latter-day Saint youth groups now go to former Scout camps that were converted to youth camps after the number of Scouts diminished. The activities are largely the same as at Scout camps. In all, about 31,000 young people from various organizations, including Scouts, participated in a camp this summer, Endicott said.

Duty to God

State of Scouting_RG_1552.JPG
Lafe Conner does the scout salute during the morning flag ceremony at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

The essence of Scouting has not changed. Its mission to help young people make ethical and moral decisions over their lifetimes is still at the core.

On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Duty to God remains a cornerstone. While the organization is nonsectarian, it encourages Scouts to explore their faith and fulfill their religious obligations in their chosen tradition.

David Craner, a Scout leader in Lehi, said that hasn’t changed in the 27 years he has been part of Scouting. The goal, he said, is not becoming an Eagle but to focus on a duty to others and to God, regardless of the religion a Scout belongs to. He said there’s always an opportunity to encourage them to look at the sky, to hear God or the Holy Ghost or the Great Spirit.

Scout Meeting_KM_725.JPG
Zach Kambalov, Dash Eaton and Ryder Samways make the Scout sign during a Boy Scouts of America Troop 220 meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

The Bountiful Community Church founded Troop 220 in Bountiful in 1954. It’s currently made up of 45 boys of various faiths. They say grace over meals on campouts and hold a devotional or “Scouts’ Own” on Sunday mornings as they break camp. It’s a short, informal gathering for reflection and spiritual development.

“It’s not a preaching opportunity. It’s a sharing opportunity,” said Brett Sutherland, one of the troop’s adult leaders.

Anthony Gomez, 18, who earned his Eagle award in January, said faith has played a role in his time in the troop.

“It’s helped me become closer to God,” he said. “It’s really just helped have a greater appreciation for the world.”

He recalled a camp where he spoke at the Scouts’ Own after his troop had restored a campsite for terminally ill people. “It really helped put into perspective how fortunate I and the rest of the troop are,” Gomez said.

Endicott said prayers are common at all types of Scout gatherings and a routine part of his council’s executive board meetings.

"I think it’s really a great blessing to be able to be involved with an organization that no matter what faith background you have, we have a commonality that we reverence a supreme being," he said. “I’m grateful for that opportunity.”

Scout Meeting_KM_457.JPG
Noah DeCaria runs during a Sharks and Minnows game at a Boy Scouts of America Troop 220 meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Scout Meeting_KM_425.JPG
Micheal Lamb practices making a splint for leg injuries during a Boy Scouts of America Troop 220 meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Scout Meeting_KM_738.JPG
Evan Aase and Jamir Groll help teach younger scouts about first aid during a Boy Scouts of America Troop 220 meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Scout Meeting_KM_1013.JPG
Zach Kambalov checks a sling on Tennyson Schild as they learn about first aid during a Boy Scouts of America Troop 220 meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Scout Meeting_KM_613.JPG
Simon Carreno plays Sharks and Minnows during a Boy Scouts of America Troop 220 meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Here a troop, there a troop

On any given week night in Utah there’s a Scout meeting somewhere. On any given weekend there’s a campout, winter, spring, summer or fall.

The girls in a Springville-based Troop 712 — all in full uniform, save one pink skirt — gathered on a recent Monday evening in a hip meeting room at Wavtronix, a radar traffic detection company in Springville that sponsors the unit. A security guard ambled through the high-tech machinery as the girls prayed, saluted the flag and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Oath and Scout Law — standard procedure for a troop meeting. Then they got down to business.

State of Scouting_RG_1510.JPG
Patches litter a scouts uniform at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Crowded around a table, the eight girls debated what merit badges to pursue over the next few months. Pottery? Reptile and Amphibian? (Each could take the frogs for a weekend.) Cooking? Welding? Horsemanship?

Reeder, their scoutmaster, mostly lets the girls manage themselves, giving guidance here and there.

“We’re open to all adventures. I try really hard not to say no when they want to do something. Instead, we try and figure out how to get from where we are to where we need to be, whether it’s raising money, whether it’s learning skills, whatever it is to get where their dreams and goals lie,” she told me.

Next year, the troop is going to Sea Base in the Florida Keys for summer camp.

Scout Meeting_KM_970.JPG
Tennyson Schild practices making a splint on Zach Kambalov as Troop 220 learns about first aid during a meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

In a large room at the Bountiful Elks Lodge, Troop 220 spent an evening going over first aid in preparation for an event called Bike the Bear, a 50-mile bike ride around Bear Lake on the Utah-Idaho border. The 30 boys broke into patrols — smaller groups that work as a team — to take instruction, not from the adults in the room, but from the more senior boys.

On another recent evening 40 Scouts — 30 boys in Troop 1444 and 10 girls in Troop 3444 — streamed into the parking lot of the Corner Canyon Church in Draper that teaches that the Bible is the ultimate authority and guide, not any particular denomination or creed. They checked their camping gear and loaded it into a trailer for their weeklong adventure in Idaho. The troop isn’t coed but the boys and girls do activities together, including camping.

Anders Marr, 13, whose military family recently moved to Utah from Germany, admitted to a “bit of a love-hate relationship” with camping. It’s fun being with friends, he said, but it can be cold sleeping in a tent. He tries to get to sleep as fast as he can.

After Kaelyn Armijo’s family moved to Utah from Florida, the 15-year-old and her sister joined Scouts to make friends, and she said, “It’s definitely worked out.” She’s also learning to enjoy camping.

“I thought, ‘Oh bugs, gross, dirt, camp showers,’ but it’s really not that bad. You have so much fun that you don’t even worry about getting dirty or about bugs," she said. And she doesn’t believe girls and boys are much different in that regard, “but I think girls are more taught to care about that kind of thing.”

Craner said he doesn’t see much difference between boys and girls when it comes to camping, other than girls sing better around the campfire.

Troop 1111 in Riverdale decided to combine boys and girls last year under Scouting America’s pilot program. They spent a week together at Camp Loll. Jenna Hall is the senior patrol leader, elected by her peers.

“I like having one troop. We always did everything together anyway,” the 15-year-old said. She conceded boys can be annoying but “annoying in a good way.”

For his part, Miles Callantine, 14, a patrol leader in the troop, said girls can “sometimes” be annoying. But he described coed as “pretty cool. It brings everyone together as one big troop.” He regularly receives an email from Scouting America to provide feedback on how it’s going.

The girls take part

When she was 7, Kestle Eames watched her older brother, Thatcher, head off to Scout camp with their dad.

“I would get so jealous,” she said. And when they returned, “It was magical. They had all these cool stories.”

When Scouting opened up for girls, she immediately joined. Now 17, she’s close to becoming an Eagle Scout.

For her, Scouting is all about respecting different cultures and people. She has made friends and connections with those she wouldn’t necessarily reach out to at school. “Here, we’re all Scouts,” she said. They’re all working to become better versions of themselves, she said, and live the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

Eames said she also has learned respect for nature and wildlife. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in the woods or on the beach, you pick up the litter, even if it’s not yours.”

State of Scouting_RG_1140.JPG
Talon Crandall leads members of the advanced camper experience program back from a cold plunge at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Liz Reeder remembers being told she could never become an Eagle Scout because she’s a girl. She watched the Scouts in her ward not really take advantage of what the organization has to offer.

“It was really frustrating to me seeing boys show up not in uniform and it felt like all they did was basketball. They weren’t getting the same experiences that I feel like Scouts currently in the units are getting,” she said.

When girls were allowed to join, she was one of the first and was a founding member of her troop. “I was so excited,” she said. She finally achieved that Eagle award at 18 and, now at 19, serves as assistant scoutmaster alongside her mother.

State of Scouting_RG_2240.JPG
Scouts sit in their merit badge class at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Girls have flourished in Scouting. Troop members in Spanish Fork sport neon green T-shirts that read, “I Scout Like a Girl! Try to Keep Up.” One of their male leaders, Jed Anderson, can’t wear that shirt. His reads, “I Scout with the Girls. I try to keep up.”

“We’ve got nerds. We’ve got prissy misses. We’ve got athletes. We’ve got a wrestler. They run the whole spectrum,” Anderson said, adding they mesh well together.

And while some troops have gone coed, this one doesn’t want to mix girls and boys, according to one of its other leaders.

“The girls would take over. That’s just the nature of girls. I don’t want the girls to overrun the boys,” said Sheryl Winterton, whose granddaughters urged her to start a troop when she moved to Utah in 2020. “I want the boys to still have their leadership time and their leadership opportunity.”

The value of camping

State of Scouting_RG_1111.JPG
Scouts from troop 1111 lift water onto a camp stove as they prepare breakfast at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

Camping remains a hallmark of Scouting. Some troops do a weekend campout — which might include Sunday now — once a month. Nearly every troop goes on a weeklong summer camp. As one Provo scoutmaster, Brad Woods said, “There’s no Scouting without the outing.”

Lafe Conner practically grew up at Scout camp. His father, Delose, worked as a camp staff member for 50 years, including 30 years as director of Camp Loll. His mother, Janice, worked as the business manager. Delose would probably still be there had cancer not claimed him in 2022. The mantle at Loll now rests on his son.

Conner met his wife, Diane, at, of course, Scout camp: Cherry Valley on Catalina Island off the coast of California. They’ve spent the past 31 summers running camps.

He said he’d be “surprised and confused” if someone were to tell him Scouting is dead in Utah.

State of Scouting_RG_3784.JPG
Lafe Conner and his wife, Diane, pose for a portrait at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

It’s hard to argue from his vantage point in the Wyoming wilderness. He works closely with hundreds of adults and thousands of youth across the state who are dedicated to the organization. Opened in 1958, Camp Loll remains a very traditional Scout camp with swimming, canoeing, knot-tying, shooting, Native American lore, slapstick skits and silly songs.

In the week the Deseret News was at Loll with a photographer in late July, there were 13 troops from five states, including six from Utah, 166 Scouts, 70 adult leaders and 55 staff members, some as young as 14. About 70% of the troops over the summer are from Utah.

State of Scouting_RG_2016.JPG
Scouts swim in Lake of the Woods during free time at Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

“Every time I put on my uniform and go out into the community I meet people who say, ‘I was a Scout, or my son or my brother was an Eagle Scout.’ And now I also meet people who say, ‘My daughter or my granddaughter is a Scout,’” said Conner, a high school biology teacher.

Conner also notes that Scouting can’t die in Utah because it’s not just a Utah thing. Scouting America is one of 176 national scouting organizations that belong to the World Organization of the Scouting Movement that reaches all parts of the globe. The 57 million Scouts and volunteer leaders represent all religions, all nationalities, languages and cultures. He said it unites Scout worldwide “through our shared values and vision for a life lived close to nature and in service of God and our fellow man.”

State of Scouting_RG_1153.JPG
The 12 tenets of scout law hang from a sign near the entrance to Camp Loll in Teton County, Wyoming, on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

Those ideals espoused in Scouting seem to have become lost in our divisive society. Some might even find them outdated or old-fashioned.

“Yeah, but they like that,” Conner said of those attracted to the program. “It’s one of the draws of it . . . Maybe that is old-fashioned, but I think that’s a good thing about it. Not everything that’s new is good.”

Gomez, of Bountiful Troop 220, agrees, saying, “yes it’s old, but that’s the charm of it”

“It’s really going back to what made, to what put together this state and the nation. It’s such a great link to our past that I don’t think it should ever go away or it ever should be discounted as old or not cool anymore,” he said.

Scout Meeting_KM_708.JPG
Briant Smith, 15, talks to other scouts from a podium during a Troop 220 meeting at the Bountiful Elks Lodge in Bountiful on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Young men and women, Conner said, are hungry for the things Scouting offers: friendship, adventure and a sense of purpose, value and connection. “The old values are still alive and the organization is being infused with a great new energy and desire.”

Bukari Abdi, of Troop 1293 in West Valley City, heard an announcement about Scouts over the loud speaker at the Khadeeja mosque. He pestered his mom until she signed him up. The Scout Law has come to mean something to him.

“I guess it’s shaped me into being a better person,” the 13-year-old said thoughtfully. And as an added bonus he says he’s “cleaner . . . not letting crust sit on my fingers. I like to wash my hands a lot more now.”

Comments

I want to comment

◎Welcome to participate in the discussion, please express your views and exchange your opinions here.