Am I the only one who thinks this?

Disclaimer: I love the Church and its programs... but I'm human too.

So once a year or so, a particular meeting occurs in every ward I've been in that irks me to no end. It's always the same... the Bishopric pulls in all the adults together for third meeting of the day. Then they go into a long speech about...the benefits of scouting. How Scouting is sooooooo great for these young men who will eventually become Priesthood holders! It teaches boys everything they need to know about life! It makes them respectable young men!

They shut the doors so no one can escape... and pass out donation envelopes

Every year, I sit in my seat and bite my tongue hard enough that it's bleeding so I don't accidentally blurt out what's running through my head... "But what about the girls?"

By "girls", I mean the cute little Activity Day 8-11 year olds, and the Young Women. I'm a Mia Maid adviser, and recently, I asked some of my girls what they would really like to do for activities because I know when I was their age, I got really bored of crafts and cooking all the time. Their reply? They wanted to do "what the boys do," as in fun stuff like camping, hiking, shooting, fishing, sports, etc.

They basically want to do things that Boy Scouts do... but we're asked to help fund only the boys. And we're asked a lot. The suggested donation was $158 dollars, so one boy could be a Scout for a year. We live in a pretty poor area, and most families in the ward would have a very rough time coming up with that money. Fortunately I missed this meeting this year as I had to be with my girls, probably a good thing.

I asked my husband, who is a Scout leader, where that money actually goes. He says since all they've done recently in the past several months is sit around and talk about merit badges, that money has paid for the badges. He's just as frustrated as I am, because he isn't allowed to teach the boys how to survive and care for themselves in the wilderness. The Scout's new policy on "surviving" is "staying where you are until someone finds you." He can't teach them how to build a fort, look for food, water, anything.

I agree with the Church that a strong program needs to be in place for the boys to keep them close to God and help them become respectable citizens. The Boy Scout program is separate from the Church... but young Mormon boys are strongly encouraged to attend. But I also believe that an equally strong program needs to be in place for all the girls. Girls are more independent now than they have been in generations past, and they're equally susceptible to temptations.

Activity Day girls meet once, maybe twice a month, whereas the same age group for boys meets every week. I asked once why the Church doesn't invest in Girl Scouts, and I was told the program was "too liberal". Maybe that's my problem, I did Girl Scouts for years!

Young Woman's is great... but it could be better. These girls want to learn more than how to be good homemakers someday. They want to go on field trips too and learn to be strong individuals. We have so many girls in our group that are either the only members in their families or come from very inactive homes. Activities need to be fun for them so they'll want to come back. I don't want them to be bored.

I know tithing pays for the Young Woman activities, but if we're asked to donate to the boys, shouldn't we keep it even?

Just some thoughts.