The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints on Monday acknowledged that the issue of gay marriage is
largely settled in Utah.
More than 1,300 gay and lesbian couples
exchanged vows in December before a ruling striking down the state's
marriage ban was placed on hold. Weddings resume on Monday after the
Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in the case.
(Related: Gay
couples begin marrying in six states.)
The decision, the church said in a
statement, “will have no effect on the doctrinal position or
practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which
is that only marriage between a man and a woman is acceptable to
God.”
“Nevertheless,” the church added,
“respectful coexistence is possible with those with different
values. As far as the civil law is concerned, the courts have
spoken.”
The Mormon Church faced a backlash in
2008 over its heavy involvement in passage of Proposition 8, the
California constitutional amendment approved by voters in response to
a state Supreme Court ruling striking down California's law limiting
marriage to heterosexual unions. A Supreme Court decision handed
down last year dealt a fatal blow to Proposition 8.
According to The
Salt Lake Tribune, the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City's
response was to dig in its heels.
The Supreme Court's decision “is just
keeping us in the same relative position,” Bishop John C. Wester
said. “We don't know what is going to happen in the future.”
“I don't see this as a permanent
solution,” he said.
The Mormon Church also called for
civility in its news release, saying it would “encourage our people
to be persons of good will toward all, rejecting persecution of any
kind based on race, ethnicity, religion, religious belief or
non-belief, and differences in sexual orientation.”