# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1935_S116
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

‘104 Proceedings of Thirty-Sixth Regular Convention,

ranging from qualified approval of some fraternities to unqualified
disapproval of all of them. .

C. In 1934 the Board completed a tabulation of replies to s
“dance questionnaire.” The purpose of the inquiry was to discover
somewhat reliable facts regarding the prevalence of dancing among
our young people. Of the individual pastors and pastoral conferences
who returned signed replies, 94 per cent. stated that they publicly
denounced dancing as sinful.

\ D. The lay member of our Board is able because of his layman’s
status to establish free and unrestrained contacts with young people.
From them he learns to know facts and problems of which pastors
and teachers are frequently unaware. Occasional articles by members
of the Board in the Lutheran Witness discuss these dangers and sound
a warning to our young people and their elders. In the opinion of
the Board there seems to be a growing tendency to disregard the really
binding significance of a betrothal.

E. Boy Scouts. — The Board has continued its efforts to bring
about the elimination of everything objectionable in this movement
so far as it touches our congregations. This was in accordance with
this resolution of the 1932 convention: “Resolved that the Board for
Young People’s Work be requested to continue its study of this and
similar organizations” (p.110). Through correspondence and per-
sonal contact we have brought our objections to the attention of Boy
Scout headquarters. Since then official letters have gone out from
headquarters to Scout executives announcing a revision of practise,
for instance, with respect to religious services at camp. Also with
regard to other features the Boy Scout authorities have proved them-
selves as anxious to understand, accept, and endorse our viewpoint as
.Missouri Synod Lutherans. Organizations within. the Boy Scout
movement have come under the survey of your Committee partly
through inquiries of pastors and partly from Boy Scout headquarters
directly. Our experience with these subsidiary organizations has
made clear 1) the dangers which ‘inhere in every secular system, but
also 2) the unwearied willingness of the Boy Scout authorities to
eliminate those features which are contrary to our principles. Never-
theless, your Committee does not recommend to Synod that it approve
of the Boy Scout movement. We do not overlook the fact that in
non-Lutheran troops there continues to be the constant danger of
unionism because these troops are under the influence of denomina-
tions which are incurably unionistic. We believe, for this reason,
that those pastors who prohibit their boys from joining non-Lutheran
or sectarian troops or troops under sectarian influence are to be com-
mended. On the other hand, it does not appear to your Board as
within the province of a church-body to pass resolutions of recom-