Why did YouTuber Luke Nichols from Outdoor Boys quit the platform? New role in LDS church explored

Former YouTuber Luke Nichols from Outdoor Boys is going viral after it was revealed that he is among the men appointed to the Young Men General Advisory Council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The official X handle of the LDS Church announced the news on December 9 and shared photos of the 14 men selected to serve on the advisory council.

Nichols uploaded a four-minute-long video titled "Goodbye" on his YouTube channel, Outdoor Boys, in May 2025. He announced that he was quitting the platform due to "overwhelming" attention from fans.

The 47-year-old claimed that fans were trying to contact him, meet and take pictures with him, even when he was with his family. Nichols shared that he and his wife decided it would be best to stop the content creation so they can lead "normal lives."

YouTuber OutdoorBoys has been appointed to the Young Men General Advisory Council of the LDS Church

He announced an indefinite hiatus from content creation earlier this year to live a "normal life" pic.twitter.com/ECytGezSKc

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 9, 2025

Luke Nichols created his first YouTube channel, Catfish and Carp, in 2013. He uploaded videos on fishing tips.

Luke's most popular channel, Outdoor Boys, was created in May 2015. It focused on his outdoor adventures with his three sons, Thomas, Nate, and Jacob. The channel currently has over 18 million subscribers.

The official Instagram page has more than 1.4 million followers, and on Facebook, it has nearly 640,000 followers. The former YouTuber also created a channel for his son, Thomas. Outdoor Tom has over 1.6 million subscribers.

After Nichols' retirement from the platform, he announced in November that he would upload the three unfinished videos he had. The same month, he posted them on Outdoor Boys.

Outdoor Boys' Luke Nichols' new role at the LDS Church explored

Church Newsroom reported on December 9 that, along with the former content creator, the rest of the Young Men General Advisory Council members came from varied fields, including education, ministry, technology, public service, business and sports.

The 13 other members are Agbor T. Agbor, Derral E. Eves, Richard P. Kaufusi, Daniel E. Mendoza García, John Hilton III, G. Sheldon Martin, Steve K. Mutombo, Rogelio Osuna, Walter G. Queiroz Jr., Clinton E. Udy, Parker Aaron Walbeck, Anthony R. Sweat and Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita.

The Young Men General Advisory Council is responsible for guiding young men aged 12 to 18 in the LDS Church. The official website states that the council "counsels, inspires, and instructs" the men in the congregation and makes sure the Young Men General Presidency is fulfilling its duties.

The 14 new members started their service on December 1. The news of the former YouTuber joining the council seemingly surprised Outdoor Boys fans, who said it was a "wild lore upgrade."

"He went from 'let's build a shelter in the woods' to 'let's build character in teenagers.' Wild lore upgrade," one netizen noted.

"Respect to anyone who can walk away from the algorithm when they're on top," one fan wrote.

Stay tuned for more updates on Outdoor Boys.