The Mormon church is famously (or infamously) known for not allowing or supporting same-sex relationships or marriages. There is a trail of history showing the church to be opposed to honoring same-sex couples in society. They vehemently opposed Prop 8, and mobilized membership to work on continuing to outlaw same-sex marriages in the state of California. They made policies in 2015 that excluded same-sex positive families from church participation and even membership, which they later reversed, but not without claiming God as the author of the exclusionary policies.
The United Methodist Church this week announced that they are lifting their ban on LGBQT clergy as well as lifting the ban on clergy performing same-sex marriages. Is this something that the LDS Church could ever do? Many think not, because current leaders claim it is contrary to church doctrines, but we have been here before. There are multiple precedents to sweeping changes even in the Mormon church. First, remember the Manifesto that stopped the church from practicing polygamous marriages in 1890. The US Government was on the verge of seizing all church property and placing virtually all church leadership in prison due to polygamy being illegal. Church President Wilford Woodruff shared that Jesus revealed to him that they should stop the practice, and they did. Second, remember the church lifting the priesthood ban in 1978 with Official Declaration 2. Before 1978, the church and doctrine did not allow members with dark skin to be ordained or attend the temple. The church caved to social pressures and the church president, Spencer W. Kimball received revelation to lift the ban, and the previous doctrines were even quietly disavowed (eventually).
Could the church though, one day, follow the example of their previous changes and the Methodist change on same-sex relationship bans?
The LDS Track Record
The LDS Church previously taught that same-sex attraction is a curable condition, but now states that “individuals do not choose to have such attractions” and that therapy focusing on “a change in sexual orientation” is “unethical.”
Those who do not act on their sexual identity, “enjoy full fellowship in the church, which includes holding the priesthood, carrying out callings, and attending the temple.” The Church considers Mormons who act on feelings of same-sex attraction to have disobeyed church teachings on morality and thus are subject to ecclesiastical discipline…
Same-sex marriages are not allowed in the LDS Church and sexual activity is grounds for being denied access to the temple, ordination and other aspects of church membership. The Church has a history of campaigning against marriage equality since the 1990s and the issue has become one of the church’s foremost political concerns.
Human Rights Campaign: Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saint
Prop 8 in 2008
In 2008, the LDS Church played a significant role in supporting Proposition 8, a ballot initiative in California that aimed to define marriage as between one man and one woman. The church encouraged its members to donate time and money to the campaign, and leaders spoke out in favor of the measure. This involvement sparked controversy and criticism both within and outside the church.
2015 November Policy of Exclusion
The 2015 November policy, also known as the LDS Church’s policy of exclusion, was a controversial policy change that targeted individuals in same-sex marriages and their children. The policy classified individuals in same-sex marriages as apostates and barred their children from receiving baby blessings, baptism, and other ordinances until they turned 18 and disavowed same-sex marriage. This policy sparked significant criticism both within and outside the LDS Church and was later reversed by church leadership revelations in 2019.
Polygamy until 1890(-ish)
Polygamy, or the practice of having multiple spouses, was embraced by early leaders and members of the Mormon Church in the 19th century. It was considered a central tenet of their religious beliefs and members could not achieve the highest echelons of heaven without practicing polygamy. However, the practice faced increasing opposition from the US government and broader society due to moral, legal, and political concerns.
Polygamy became mainstream Mormon practice, but the secretive polyandry practices of Joseph Smith never did. These were even wilder and involved Joseph marrying women who were already married, thus turning his inner circle essentially into one big open marriage. The only reason or explanation he gave for this behavior is that he was forced to marry these women by an angel with a drawn or flaming sword!
In 1890, under pressure from the US government, particularly the Edmunds-Tucker Act threatening confiscation of church property, and to improve the church’s public image, LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff issued the “Manifesto,” officially ending the practice of polygamy. This declaration was later canonized as Official Declaration 1 in the LDS Church’s Doctrine and Covenants.
The Manifesto was issued in response to the anti-polygamy policies of the federal government of the United States, and most especially the Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887. This law disincorporated the LDS Church and authorized the federal government to seize all of the church’s assets. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the provisions of the Edmunds–Tucker Act in Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States in May 1890.
In April 1889, Woodruff, the president of the church, began privately refusing the permission that was required to contract new plural marriages. In October 1889, Woodruff publicly admitted that he was no longer approving new polygamous marriages, and in answer to a reporter’s question of what the LDS Church’s attitude was toward the law against polygamy, Woodruff stated, “We mean to obey it. We have no thought of evading it or ignoring it.” Because it had been Mormon practice for over 25 years to either evade or ignore anti-polygamy laws, Woodruff’s statement was a signal that a change in church policy was developing.
In February 1890, the Supreme Court had already ruled in Davis v. Beason that a law in Idaho Territory which disenfranchised individuals who practiced or believed in plural marriage was constitutional. That decision left the Mormons no further legal recourse to their current marriage practices and made it unlikely that without change Utah Territory would be granted statehood.
Woodruff later said that on the night of September 23, 1890, he received a revelation from Jesus Christ that the church should cease the practice of plural marriage. The following morning, he reported this to some of the general authorities and placed the hand-written draft on a table. George Reynolds would later recount that he, Charles W. Penrose, and John R. Winder modified Woodruff’s draft into the current language accepted by the general authorities and presented to the church as a whole. Woodruff announced the Manifesto on September 25 by publishing it in the church-owned Deseret Weekly in Salt Lake City. On October 6, 1890, it was formally accepted by the church membership, though many held reservations or abstained from voting.
Utah ratified its constitution in November 1895 and was granted statehood on January 4, 1896. One of the conditions for granting Utah statehood was that a ban on polygamy be written into their state constitution.
Wikipedia, 1890 Manifesto, Background
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890_Manifesto
Though polygamy officially stopped, it continued in many “unsanctioned” events. Not to mention all the previous polygamous marriages continued to hold, and the church continues to uphold polygamy in heaven. The current church president, Russell M. Nelson, is polygamously married in heaven to his first wife and mother of his children, as well as his second wife. Member of the First Presidency, Dallin H. Oaks, is also polygamously married in heaven to multiple women. This is an allowance that is only allowed to men in the church, as women may only be sealed to one man, but men can be sealed to multiple women. The church essentially still practices heavenly polygamy.
The complicated views on marriage are deeply ingrained in the doctrines and practices of the church. They do their best to distance themselves from the fundamentalist groups who still practice polygamy (such as Warren Jeffs), but they can’t deny the past, or even the current doctrine of the church makes polygamy the definition of celestial marriage. Gordon B. Hinckley has even proclaimed that there is no such thing as a fundamentalist Mormon, which the FLDS community may beg to differ.
Religious Same-Sex Changes
The United Methodist Church just repealed its ban on LGBTQ clergy and officiating at same-sex weddings. This is a big deal.
The United Methodist Church, one of the largest Protestant denominations in the U.S., has voted to repeal its ban on LGBTQ clergy as well as prohibitions on its ministers from officiating at same-sex weddings.
Delegates overwhelmingly approved the changes, 692 to 51, during the United Methodist Church’s General Conference.
United Methodist Church lifts bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings. Jason DeRose, NPR, May 1, 2024
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/01/1248468256/united-methodist-church-lifts-bans-on-lgbtq-clergy-and-same-sex-weddings
This United Methodist Church change shows that churches can change. It’s reminiscent of when the Mormon church lifted the 100+ year-old discriminatory priesthood ban in 1978 and started the long (and needlessly slow) process of changing its racist policies and doctrines. A process that is still in process today. Before June 1978, the church taught as doctrine that African peoples were descendants of less worthy lineage who were not allowed to hold the priesthood in the church. They were thus refused admittance to the temple where members participate in the pinnacle of worship. The church still today discourages interracial marriage in manuals, though church president Russell M. Nelson has established a friendly relationship with the NAACP for the first time.
We can’t forget that the church was involved in lawsuits prior to lifting the priesthood ban against the NAACP. The church-sponsored Boy Scout troops were discriminatory due to requiring the scout troop leadership positions to reflect the priesthood quorums of the youth, which naturally excluded any black members. Members were excommunicated for siding with the NAACP on the matter. Today the church would be happy for everyone to forget this and focus solely on the 5 million dollar donations the church has made toward NAACP scholarships.
Celebrating Change
The Reversal of the Priesthood ban is now remembered with celebration and praise. Members and leaders often reminisce about when the revelation lifting the ban was announced and talk about their tears of joy. This is exactly what happened when the United Methodist Church announced the same-sex ban lifting. Attendants were celebrating, cheering, and singing. Compare the celebrations and cheering to the similar rejoicing expressed when the LDS church lifted the ban on black members.
Methodists Celebrating Lifting Same-Sex Ban
Shortly after the vote today in Charlotte, spontaneous celebrations erupted on the conference center floor. Hundreds of people began cheering and singing.
United Methodist Church lifts bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings. Jason DeRose, NPR, May 1, 2024
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/01/1248468256/united-methodist-church-lifts-bans-on-lgbtq-clergy-and-same-sex-weddings
Applause broke out in parts of the convention hall Wednesday after the vote. A group of observers from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups embraced, some in tears. “Thanks be to God,” said one.
United Methodists repeal long-standing ban on LGBTQ+ clergy. By Peter Smith, LA Times, May 1, 2024
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-05-01/united-methodists-repeal-long-standing-ban-on-lgbtq-clergy
Mormons Celebrating Lifting Priesthood Ban
Here’s how the Institute manual praises the Official Declaration 2 with stories of members in Africa being brought to tears by the announcement.
![In Ghana, Joseph William Billy Johnson “heard the news [of the priesthood ban being lifted in June 1978] around midnight at the end of a hard day when he was compelled to tune his radio to BBC before going to bed. ‘I jumped and started crying and rejoicing in the Lord with tears’ - Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual for Institute, Chapter 56: Official Declaration 2 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/mormon-priesthood-ban-lifted-to-rejoicing-and-tears.jpg?resize=640%2C640&ssl=1)
For black men of African descent, ordination to the priesthood meant that they could baptize their children, administer priesthood blessings, and serve as home teachers and full-time missionaries. The revelation also extended to all black Church members the blessings of temple ordinances, including the opportunity to be sealed for eternity as families…
In Ghana, Joseph William Billy Johnson “heard the news around midnight at the end of a hard day when he was compelled to tune his radio to BBC before going to bed.
“‘I jumped and started crying and rejoicing in the Lord with tears that now is the time that the Lord will send missionaries to Ghana and to other parts of Africa to receive the priesthood,’ he remembered. ‘I was so happy indeed.’
Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual for Institute, Chapter 56: Official Declaration 2
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual-2017/chapter-56-official-declaration-2?lang=eng
As well as the story President Dallin H. Oaks shared on the ‘Be One’ celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the change:
He told me about the revelation on the priesthood, which was just being announced. We exchanged expressions of joy, and I walked back to the hillside. I sat down on the pile of dirt we had been moving and beckoned to my sons. As I told them that all worthy male members of the Church could now be ordained to the priesthood, I wept for joy. That is the scene etched in my memory of this unforgettable announcement 40 years ago — sitting on a pile of dirt and weeping as I told my sons of this divine revelation.
President Oaks’ full remarks from the LDS Church’s ‘Be One’ celebration, June 1, 2018
https://www.thechurchnews.com/2018/6/2/23221509/president-oaks-full-remarks-from-the-lds-churchs-be-one-celebration/
Continual Change
The Mormon church could make a similar change, and will likely be made to change as before. There is precedence for this. Both the Manifesto, which stopped the church-sanctioned practice of polygamy, and the 1978 Official Declaration, which stopped a ban on members of African descent, came counter to what was believed, understood, and taught as doctrine in the church. It’s easy to celebrate past actions of the church which have aged nicely and fit into our current society. It would be great to be on the right side of history. How much more could these changes be celebrated if the church weren’t obviously forced to change? What if they were ahead of the times for once? It’s already too late to be ahead of the times with respecting same-sex marriages and relationships, but the church could still make the inevitable change before being forced to do so. This would be a huge step to show the leaders truly are inspired or at least wise and have foresight if not insightful revelation from a loving God.
The past changes were not timely, and the actions can not truly be viewed as inspired or truly motivated by love and understanding. Once the social and financial pressures became too great, the church president received a convenient revelation from God helping them align to society and government requirements. We may not be far off from the same thing happening with same-sex marriage. There are even proposals from members that detail how the doctrine could be viewed or slightly tweaked to allow same-sex marriage and policies could be created to fit the more open-minded definition of marriage (much like the church wanted to do in the 1800s).
Many expect this to be just a matter of time as the world comes to terms with same-sex relationships, and the church leadership rotates through, eventually the leaders will be normalized to it and find some way to make it work. That, or the more likely situation that has prompted the other changes, they will be forced into reevaluating and finding a new position by legal issues and social pressure, such as retaining tax-exempt status or keeping the private University accreditations in place.
Church leadership still requires considerable internal change for any progress here though, since the current leaders are well known for their rallying cries to defend the fundamental doctrines and policies of family. They ask for more musket fire to defend the church’s views. The musket fire imagery is a violent metaphor at best, and sly encouragement at worst from top leaders who should know better. It does show that this change may be farther off than other denominations, like the United Methodist Church for example.
To see this happen in the Mormon church, we either need to (1) wait for the bigoted leaders of today to leave their places to younger leaders with less bigoted hearts, or (2) the church may be forced to act by outside forces, either the world governments or social pressures, or (3) witness the current leaders have a sincere change of heart. The first two being the most likely of the options, since we have the history to show it has already occurred. The government required if of the church with polygamy and the Manifesto in 1890, and in 1978 with the priesthood ban lifting, the combination of social pressures and the desire for international church growth and senior leaders being replaced with less racist leaders (all obviously men of their times).
What do you think? Is it possible that the church changes (again) to alter doctrine – by redefining doctrine 1984 style so it was never doctrine but only folklore and speculation from leaders who should have known better? Will future leaders dismiss the homophobic statements of church leaders and the actions such as sanctioned conversion and shock therapy at BYU as tragic mistakes of men of their times? Will members one day celebrate the tears of joy they felt when the living prophet conveniently announced God’s directive to truly love and to begin the long journey to becoming a truly inclusive institution?
Share your thoughts and your experience with the church and same-sex, LGBTQ issues. Will Mormons be able to celebrate inclusive changes in regard to LGBQT individuals and marriages within the church? Let us know your thoughts or predictions in the comments or alternatively share your whole I was a Mormon story by creating a profile on wasmormon.org today!
More reading:
- https://www.npr.org/2024/05/01/1248468256/united-methodist-church-lifts-bans-on-lgbtq-clergy-and-same-sex-weddings
- https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-05-01/united-methodists-repeal-long-standing-ban-on-lgbtq-clergy
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_the_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
- https://www.reddit.com/r/mormon/comments/o6h0q7/prediction_on_samesex_marriage_and_support_for/
- https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saint
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/same-sex-marriage
- https://apnews.com/article/religion-relationships-gay-rights-utah-07847f4b7e3e96d81c10a298a199b860
- https://apnews.com/article/methodists-lgbtq-samesex-marriage-gay-rights-e3a7677a3b025b07211153179727c255