The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church, has added its policy against
same-sex relationships to its recently updated manual for
missionaries.
According to NPR
affiliate KUER, the church's “Preach My Gospel” manual now
includes the so-called “November Policy,” which was released in
November, 2015 following the Supreme Court's landmark Obergefell
ruling. In that case, the high court ruled that gay and lesbian
couples have a constitutional right to marry.
Under the policy, gay married Mormons
are considered apostates, which could lead to excommunication.
Additionally, the children of parents in gay or lesbian
relationships, married or cohabiting, cannot join the Mormon Church
until they turn 18 and then only if they are no longer living with
their parents, disavow same-sex relationships and receive approval
from the church's highest leaders.
The Mormon Church was active in
supporting state marriage bans that excluded gay couples –
primarily in California and Hawaii. In 2009, the church backed an
LGBT protections ordinance in Salt Lake City, which was widely seen
as a step toward greater acceptance of the LGBT community.
The church, however, has remained
opposed to same-sex unions.
(Related: Elder
D. Todd Christofferson: Gay marriage not a right that exists in the
Mormon Church.)