On the second and final day of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' General Conference,
apostle Dallin H. Oaks blamed the legalization of gay marriage and
other “policy changes to establish behaviors contrary to God's
decrees about sexual morality” on political and social pressures,
including America's dropping birthrates, later marriages and rising
rates of cohabitation.
These pressures “have already
permitted same-gender marriages in various states and nations,”
Oaks told 20,000 Mormons gathered in the Conference Center in
downtown Salt Lake City and millions more watching worldwide. “Other
pressures would confuse gender or homogenize those differences
between men and women that are essential to accomplish God's great
plan for happiness,” Oaks
said.
Same-sex attraction is not a sin
according to Mormon teachings, but acting on it is.
“[U]nlike other organizations that
can change their policies and even their doctrines, our policies are
determined by the truths God has declared to be unchangeable,” he
added.
After the church faced a backlash in
2008 over its heavy involvement in passage of Proposition 8,
California's now-defunct gay marriage ban, the church appeared to
retreat to the sidelines. But last month, local leaders in Hawaii
called on Mormons in the state to get involved in the debate once
again as lawmakers prepare to consider a bill which seeks to make
Hawaii the 14th state to allow gay couples to marry.
(Related: Mormons
called on to join gay marriage debate in Hawaii.)