Young Men (organization)
Based on Wikipedia: Young Men (organization)
In March 1843, amidst the turmoil of Nauvoo, Illinois, a group of teenage boys gathered under the supervision of Apostle Heber C. Kimball to form what would become one of the most enduring youth structures in American religious history. They called themselves the Young Gentlemen's and Young Ladies' Relief Society, acting on the direct advice of Joseph Smith just months before his death. This was not merely a social club; it was an experiment in anticipatory socialization, designed to take boys at the precipice of adulthood and steer them toward specific spiritual and civic roles. Today, that 19th-century experiment has evolved into the Young Men organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a program that shepherds males from age twelve to eighteen through a rigorous curriculum of priesthood duties, physical challenges, and community service. To understand the modern Young Men is to trace a century and a half of institutional adaptation, where the core mission of character building has survived mergers, splits, name changes, and a complete overhaul of its relationship with American Scouting.
The DNA of this organization was forged in the 19th-century belief that young men needed more than just Sunday worship; they required a dedicated arena to develop their gifts. By 1854, Apostle Lorenzo Snow had organized the Polysophical Society, explicitly encouraging young Latter-day Saints to join groups that would sharpen their minds and voices. However, it was in 1875, under the direction of church president Brigham Young, that the modern blueprint emerged with the formation of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA). Young intended this body to be the male counterpart to the Young Ladies' Cooperative Retrenchment Association (later renamed the Young Ladies' National Mutual Improvement Association in 1877). The mandate was clear and ambitious: to "help young men develop their gifts, to stand up and speak, and to bear testimony."
The organizational machinery grew quickly. A central committee led by Junius F. Wells formed in 1876 to oversee instruction and conduct missionary work. By 1880, President John Taylor established a general superintendency (later the General Presidency) to provide centralized leadership. The structure was not static; in 1901, the YMMIA bifurcated into junior and senior classes to better address the developmental gaps between younger boys and young men on the cusp of adulthood. Yet, the most significant shift in the organization's identity occurred when it looked outward to a secular parallel.
In 1911, recognizing the success of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), the church created the YMMIA Scouts. This was not a casual adoption but a strategic integration. On May 21, 1913, the YMMIA officially merged with the BSA, making the LDS Church the first chartering organization for the national movement. John H. Taylor became the first LDS Scout Commissioner. The alignment was so tight that by 1928, the Boy Scouts were named the church's official youth program for boys ages twelve to sixteen. For nearly a century, the badge and the priesthood quorum were inextricably linked. A young man could not fully participate in his religious advancement without engaging with the scouting curriculum. This symbiosis defined generations of American Mormon masculinity, where hiking, first aid, and camping were not just hobbies but spiritual prerequisites.
However, the path was rarely a straight line. The mid-20th century brought periods of consolidation that tested the organization's distinct identity. In the 1970s, in an effort to streamline leadership, the church briefly merged the Young Men (YMMIA) with the Aaronic priesthood and the young women's organizations. For two years, from 1972 to 1974, this combined entity was known as the Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women. The name itself reveals the confusion of the era; it attempted to unify boys and girls under a single administrative umbrella, with leadership shared between the presiding bishopric and a joint presidency. It was a bold experiment in gender integration within youth programming, but it proved short-lived.
By June 1974, the consolidation was reversed. An independent Young Women organization was established, and the boys' program reverted to its historical roots, though with a new name: Aaronic Priesthood. The logic was clear; while spiritual goals were shared, the distinct needs of adolescent males required separate programming. That same year, 1974, marked another structural shift when the church eliminated the YMMIA General Presidency, placing the organization under the direct direction of the Presiding Bishopric. It took until May 1977 for the name to settle finally into simply Young Men, and a general presidency was reinstated to guide the global effort.
The leadership composition of this body also evolved, reflecting broader changes in how the church viewed its administrative hierarchy. Between 1979 and 2004, the Young Men General Presidency was exclusively composed of Seventies, who are high-ranking church authorities known as general authorities. This ensured that the program's direction was set by men with extensive experience in global church administration. However, the landscape changed during the April 2004 general conference when Thomas S. Monson, a counselor in the First Presidency, announced a pivotal decision: members of the Quorums of the Seventy would no longer serve in the general presidencies of the Sunday School and Young Men. This move signaled a shift toward localizing leadership and perhaps bringing the perspective of the organization closer to the day-to-day realities of ward-level youth, rather than viewing it solely through the lens of high-level administration.
For most of its history, the Young Men were synonymous with Scouting in North America. But the winds of change blew again in the late 2010s. As of January 1, 2018, the church began withdrawing from Varsity and Venturing scouting programs, retaining only Cub Scouts for boys ages eight to thirteen and Boy Scouts for those up to age sixteen. This was the prelude to a total decoupling. In May 2018, the church announced it would completely withdraw from all BSA programs by the end of 2019. The reasons were complex, involving shifting cultural tides within the scouting organization and the church's desire for greater autonomy over its youth curriculum.
The final nail in the coffin for the Scouting era came in October 2019, when the church announced that ward Young Men presidencies would be discontinued as of January 1, 2020. In their place, the church implemented a new Children and Youth Program. This was not merely a renaming; it was a fundamental restructuring. The program aimed to unify the youth experience across age groups and genders in local congregations while maintaining distinct classes for instruction. As of the start of 2020, eligible young men could attend regional "For the Strength of Youth" conferences every other year, replacing some of the large-scale scouting jamborees that had defined the previous century.
Today, the Young Men organization remains a pillar of the local congregation, focused on males ages twelve to eighteen. The structure is deeply tied to the Aaronic Priesthood, a specific tier of religious authority within the church hierarchy. Upon turning twelve, a young man is ordained a Deacon; at fourteen, he becomes a Teacher; and by sixteen, he advances to the office of Priest. These are not merely titles but functional roles with real responsibilities. Deacons assist in passing the sacrament (communion) during worship services. Teachers prepare the meeting rooms and ensure order. Priests have the authority to bless the sacrament and perform baptisms.
The leadership structure is a blend of lay priesthood holders and adult mentors. In each congregation, known as a ward or branch, the organization is led by the bishop (or branch president) and his counselors. For the Deacons and Teachers quorums, the presidents are young men chosen from within their own ranks, assisted by two counselors and a secretary who are also peers. The Priests quorum is unique; its president is the bishop himself, though he typically appoints two young men to assist him as junior leaders, along with a youth secretary. This structure creates a deliberate mentorship dynamic where older boys learn leadership directly from church officials while simultaneously guiding younger peers.
The rhythm of Young Men life extends well beyond Sunday worship services. On weekday evenings, the organization convenes for activity periods lasting an hour to ninety minutes. These are not idle hangouts but structured events designed to foster teamwork, physical fitness, and spiritual growth. Once a month, these activities often merge with the Young Women organization, creating a safe space for young men and women to interact in supervised group settings. The calendar is punctuated by larger gatherings: annual or biannual youth camps that immerse participants in outdoor challenges, and the aforementioned regional conferences.
The geographic scope of the program is vast, though its implementation varies. While the United States and Canada had a long history with the Boy Scouts of America, Young Men organizations in other countries never participated in Scouting to the same degree. In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, local groups often partnered with alternative programs like the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. This diversity highlights the organization's adaptability; while the core spiritual objectives remain constant, the extracurricular vehicles used to achieve them shift based on cultural context.
The legacy of the Young Men is one of continuity through change. From the informal meetings in Nauvoo in 1843 to the highly structured Children and Youth Program of 2026, the organization has survived by constantly re-evaluating how best to serve its members. The transition away from Scouting was perhaps the most dramatic recent shift, ending a relationship that had lasted over a century. It forced local leaders to invent new traditions and find new ways to teach resilience and leadership without the familiar framework of merit badges and uniform patches.
Critics might argue that such frequent restructuring creates instability for youth who crave consistency. However, proponents point out that the core mission—helping young men develop their gifts, speak with confidence, and serve their communities—has remained remarkably steady even as the administrative scaffolding shifted beneath it. The 1970s merger attempt showed what happened when distinct identities were blurred; the subsequent return to a separate Young Men organization reinforced the belief that boys and girls have different developmental needs that require tailored approaches.
The current program, with its emphasis on priesthood offices starting at age twelve, places a heavy burden of responsibility on young teenagers. They are not just participants; they are active ministers in their own right. A twelve-year-old Deacon is expected to handle the sacred elements of worship with care. A sixteen-year-old Priest may be called upon to baptize a friend or family member. This early immersion in leadership roles is the "anticipatory socialization" that Joseph Smith originally envisioned, training young men for future leadership in both church and society.
As we look at the organization today, it stands as a testament to the longevity of religious youth movements when they balance tradition with innovation. The Young Men are no longer just the "YMMIA Scouts" or the "Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women." They are simply the Young Men, a distinct group within a global faith, navigating the complexities of modern adolescence while holding fast to 19th-century ideals of character and service. The journey from the dusty streets of Nauvoo to the digital age has been long, marked by organizational pivots that sometimes seemed abrupt but were always aimed at the same destination: the development of young men capable of standing up and speaking for what they believe.
The history of this organization is also a history of the church itself. When the YMMIA was formed in 1875, the church was expanding westward, establishing communities on the frontier. The need for organized youth groups mirrored the need to build stable, moral societies in new territories. When the program merged with Scouting in 1913, it reflected a period of American optimism and faith in civic institutions. When it separated in 2019, it signaled a move toward a more insular, self-sufficient identity for the church's youth.
Ultimately, the Young Men organization is about the transition from boyhood to manhood within a specific spiritual framework. It acknowledges that this transition requires more than just biological aging; it requires community, instruction, and ritual. Whether through the hiking trails of the BSA era or the activity nights of the 2020s program, the goal remains the same: to provide a structure where young men can fail safely, learn from their mistakes, and grow into the roles expected of them. The names on the plaques in meetinghouses have changed—Junius F. Wells, Lorenzo Snow, Brigham Young, Thomas S. Monson—but the faces of the boys entering those doors are as varied and hopeful now as they were nearly two centuries ago.
The story of the Young Men is far from over. As the Children and Youth Program settles into its second decade in 2026, new challenges will undoubtedly arise. The digital age presents distractions that Joseph Smith could never have imagined. Social dynamics among adolescents are more complex than ever. Yet, the organizational DNA forged in Nauvoo—adaptability, a focus on youth agency, and a commitment to holistic development—suggests that the Young Men will continue to evolve. They may shed the scout uniform one last time or adopt new technologies for their activities, but the fundamental purpose of helping young men "stand up and speak" remains the beating heart of the organization.