Sexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Encyclopedia
Sexuality has a prominent role within the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Adherents believe that gender
is defined in the pre-existence
, and that part of the purpose of life is for men and woman to be sealed together, forming bonds that allow them to progress eternally together in the afterlife. They believe that sexual relations within this framework are healthy and necessary, and that these relations can continue in the afterlife. In contrast with some Orthodox Christian movements, sexuality in Mormon theology is neither a product of Original Sin nor a "necessary evil;" however, because of the tremendous power of sexuality both for good and for evil, its expression is subject to strict commandments—specifically, that there are to be no sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage, as defined by the church and by law.
, which is a code of morality
and modesty
. Under this code, all members are taught to be "morally clean in their thoughts, words, and actions" and to abstain from pornography. Violations of this code include "adultery
, being without natural affection
, lust
fulness, infidelity
, incontinence
, filthy communications
, impurity, inordinate affection, fornication
. They included all sexual relations outside marriage—petting
, sex perversion
, masturbation
, and preoccupation with sex in one’s thoughts and talking."
Though Celestial marriage
is the only form of marriage recognized as a sacrament, the church permits sex within most government-recognized marital unions, the most notable exceptions being same-sex marriage
, common law marriage, and polygamy
. The church is sensitive about its historical relationship with polygamy
, and entry into a polygamous marriage, even where legal, will result in excommunication. The church's teachings are ambiguous about the scope of allowable sexual behavior
between legally married couples (i.e. the Church leaves it to the couples to decide what is appropriate). The law of chastity has also been interpreted to include various standards of modesty
, which vary according to cultural norms
of the time. Serious offenses of the law of chastity may result in church discipline, including a possible excommunication
, in which a member loses their church membership and privileges, but may still continue to attend meetings.
LGBT
members of the church are expected to keep the law of chastity
. The church characterizes its church discipline policy as neutral regarding sexual orientation. If they desire to enter into a heterosexual marriage, they should first learn to deal with their homosexual feelings; otherwise, they must remain celibate. Gay or lesbian sex, in any form, whether the participants are married or not, is grounds for excommunication. Gay or lesbian sex will result in an automatic special annotation to a person's permanent membership record. Also, gay or lesbian sex will normally bar a person, permanently, from serving a mission.
, and is a particular instance of a sealing which binds people together in the afterlife. Celestial marriage is considered to be a requirement for entry into the highest "degree" of the Celestial Kingdom (the highest of the three Latter Day Saint heaven
s), and is thought to allow the participants to continue to have children in the afterlife and becomes gods. According to LDS belief, the continuance of a celestial marriage in the afterlife is contingent upon the couple remaining righteous. In rare cases, a couple's marital union may be "made sure" through the ritual of the second anointing
.
In the 1800s, the practice of celestial marriage included plural marriage
, a form of polygamy
. According to a consensus of historians, the practice of plural marriage was taught by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
, and introduced formally to the public in 1852 by Brigham Young
, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The practice became famous during the 19th century when it was opposed and outlawed by the United States
government, resulting in an intense legal conflict, culminating in LDS Church president Wilford Woodruff
issuing an 1890 Manifesto
discontinuing new official plural marriages in LDS temples
. Nevertheless, unofficial plural marriage continued within the LDS Church after 1890 for some years, often in Mexico
. In 1904, the church issued a Second Manifesto
discontinuing the official practice worldwide. These manifestos did not automatically divorce existing plural unions, however, and some Mormon couples continued to live together as plural families until about the 1930s.
The LDS Church now thoroughly embraces monogamy
and the nuclear family
. Members who are found practicing polygamy or associating with sympathetic groups are now excommunicated
. Moreover, beginning in the late 20th century, the LDS Church has begun to favor political and legal measures banning marriage other than between one man and one woman.
The LDS Church does, however, recognize some theological aspects of its former polygamy doctrine. Although both men and women may enter a celestial marriage with only one partner at a time, a man may be sealed to more than one woman. If his first wife dies, he may enter another celestial marriage, and be sealed to both his living wife and deceased wife or wives. A woman, however, may only be sealed to one man during her lifetime. Many Mormons believe that all these marriages will be valid in the eternities and the husband and all his sealed wives will live together in the afterlife as a polygamous family.
While not accorded the theological significance of a celestial marriage, the LDS Church does—to a large extent—recognize civil marriages or marriages performed within other religious traditions. In the 1870s, a prominent Mormon writer wrote that Mormons considered such a marriage to be "no marriage at all." Today, however, some non-celestial marriages are respected and recognized as valid by the church, but such marriages must be legal according to the government where the marriage is performed, and must not be a same-sex marriage
, polygamous marriage
, common law marriage, or other type of non-ceremonial marriages in non-common law
countries. Moreover, such marriages are thought to last only for this life, and not the next. In countries where celestial marriage is not recognized by the government, it must be preceded by a civil marriage.
The church has supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and polygamous marriage in the United States
, and has stated that it "favors measures that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and that do not confer legal status on any other sexual relationship." The church's position is that government recognition of such rights will "undermine the divinely created institution of the family".
and lesbian
members under condition that they attempt to live the church moral code. It teaches that homosexual feelings, as distinct from behavior, may sometimes seem to be inborn, and that although these feelings are sometimes unwanted, they can and should be controlled. The Church’s law of chastity
forbids extramarital sex, which would include all forms of sexual activity gay and straight outside of marriage. Consistently breaking the law of chastity may result in excommunication
. Nevertheless, Latter-day Saints who identify themselves as gay or lesbian may remain in good standing in the Church, without ramification, if they abstain from homosexual relations.
In addition to opposing gay and lesbian sex, the church also opposes and campaigns against the extension of marital rights to gay and lesbian families that would, in its opinion, undermine the tradition of heterosexual monogamous marriage . The issue of same-sex marriage
remains one of the Church’s foremost political concerns.
In 2008, the Church began a major campaign for Proposition 8
on the California ballot which would define marriage between heterosexual couples. The church took a great deal of criticism for this action but at the same time mobilized uncounted numbers of its membership to donate time and money towards the initiative. The political organization ProtectMarriage.com
, the official proponents of Proposition 8, estimate that about half the donations they received came from LDS sources, and that "eighty to ninety percent" of the early volunteers going door-to-door were LDS.
" states that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal
, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose..."
The LDS Church teaches that gender
is inherently linked to sex, but the church has no official policy on the status of intersex
persons. Transgender
persons are accepted in the church and may be baptized, but may not receive the priesthood
or enter the temple
if they are considering or have undergone elective sex reassignment surgery
.
In "Strengthening Our Families: An In-Depth Look at the Proclamation on the Family" a book compiled by The School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, it states,
In "Helping and Healing Our Families" Robert L. Millet
states,
David A. Bednar
stated “[Gender] in large measure defines who we are, why we are here upon the earth, and what we are to do and become. For divine purposes, male and female spirits are different, distinctive, and complementary. … The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females were needed to implement the plan of happiness”.
M. Russell Ballard
taught, “The premortal and mortal natures of men and women were specified by God Himself. … [Sometimes women] ask: ‘Is a woman’s value dependent exclusively upon her role as a wife and mother?’ The answer is simple and obvious: No. … Every righteous man and woman has a significant role to play in the onward march of the kingdom of God."
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
is defined in the pre-existence
Pre-existence
Pre-existence , beforelife, or pre-mortal existence refers to the belief that each individual human soul existed before conception, and at conception one of these pre-existent souls enters, or is placed by God, in the body...
, and that part of the purpose of life is for men and woman to be sealed together, forming bonds that allow them to progress eternally together in the afterlife. They believe that sexual relations within this framework are healthy and necessary, and that these relations can continue in the afterlife. In contrast with some Orthodox Christian movements, sexuality in Mormon theology is neither a product of Original Sin nor a "necessary evil;" however, because of the tremendous power of sexuality both for good and for evil, its expression is subject to strict commandments—specifically, that there are to be no sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage, as defined by the church and by law.
Chastity
The LDS Church teaches that members must obey what it calls the law of chastityLaw of Chastity
The law of chastity is a moral code defined by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . According to the church, chastity means abstinence from sexual relations before marriage, and complete fidelity to one's husband or wife during marriage...
, which is a code of morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
and modesty
Modesty
Standards of modesty are aspects of the culture of a country or people, at a given point in time, and is a measure against which an individual in society may be judged....
. Under this code, all members are taught to be "morally clean in their thoughts, words, and actions" and to abstain from pornography. Violations of this code include "adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, being without natural affection
Maternal bond
The maternal bond is typically the relationship between a mother and her child.While it typically occurs due to pregnancy and childbirth, it may also occur between a woman and an unrelated child, such as in adoption...
, lust
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
fulness, infidelity
Infidelity
In many intimate relationships in many cultures there is usually an express or implied expectation of exclusivity, especially in sexual matters. Infidelity most commonly refers to a breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity.Infidelity can occur in relation to physical intimacy and/or...
, incontinence
Incontinence (philosophy)
Incontinence is often used by philosophers to translate the Greek term Akrasia . Often used to refer to a lacking in moderation or self-control, especially related to sexual desire...
, filthy communications
Sexting
Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between mobile phones. The term was first popularized in early 21st century, and is a portmanteau of sex and texting, where the latter is meant in the wide sense of sending a text possibly with...
, impurity, inordinate affection, fornication
Fornication
Fornication typically refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. For many people, the term carries a moral or religious association, but the significance of sexual acts to which the term is applied varies between religions, societies and cultures. The...
. They included all sexual relations outside marriage—petting
Non-penetrative sex
Non-penetrative sex is sexual activity without vaginal, anal, or oral penetration, as opposed to the penetrative aspects of those activities...
, sex perversion
Perversion
Perversion is a concept describing those types of human behavior that are a serious deviation from what is considered to be orthodox or normal. Although it can refer to varying forms of deviation, it is most often used to describe sexual behaviors that are seen by an individual as abnormal,...
, masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
, and preoccupation with sex in one’s thoughts and talking."
Though Celestial marriage
Celestial marriage
Celestial marriage is a doctrine of Mormonism, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and branches of Mormon fundamentalism.Within Mormonism, celestial marriage is an ordinance associated with a covenant that always...
is the only form of marriage recognized as a sacrament, the church permits sex within most government-recognized marital unions, the most notable exceptions being same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, common law marriage, and polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
. The church is sensitive about its historical relationship with polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, and entry into a polygamous marriage, even where legal, will result in excommunication. The church's teachings are ambiguous about the scope of allowable sexual behavior
Human sexual behavior
Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...
between legally married couples (i.e. the Church leaves it to the couples to decide what is appropriate). The law of chastity has also been interpreted to include various standards of modesty
Modesty
Standards of modesty are aspects of the culture of a country or people, at a given point in time, and is a measure against which an individual in society may be judged....
, which vary according to cultural norms
Norm (sociology)
Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...
of the time. Serious offenses of the law of chastity may result in church discipline, including a possible excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
, in which a member loses their church membership and privileges, but may still continue to attend meetings.
LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
members of the church are expected to keep the law of chastity
Law of Chastity
The law of chastity is a moral code defined by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . According to the church, chastity means abstinence from sexual relations before marriage, and complete fidelity to one's husband or wife during marriage...
. The church characterizes its church discipline policy as neutral regarding sexual orientation. If they desire to enter into a heterosexual marriage, they should first learn to deal with their homosexual feelings; otherwise, they must remain celibate. Gay or lesbian sex, in any form, whether the participants are married or not, is grounds for excommunication. Gay or lesbian sex will result in an automatic special annotation to a person's permanent membership record. Also, gay or lesbian sex will normally bar a person, permanently, from serving a mission.
Marriage
From the 1830s, marriage has been a central and distinctive component of LDS theology. LDS doctrine on marriage begins with the theory that, if performed by a person who has the requisite priesthood authority, a marriage may continue in the afterlife. Such a marriage is called a celestial marriageCelestial marriage
Celestial marriage is a doctrine of Mormonism, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and branches of Mormon fundamentalism.Within Mormonism, celestial marriage is an ordinance associated with a covenant that always...
, and is a particular instance of a sealing which binds people together in the afterlife. Celestial marriage is considered to be a requirement for entry into the highest "degree" of the Celestial Kingdom (the highest of the three Latter Day Saint heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
s), and is thought to allow the participants to continue to have children in the afterlife and becomes gods. According to LDS belief, the continuance of a celestial marriage in the afterlife is contingent upon the couple remaining righteous. In rare cases, a couple's marital union may be "made sure" through the ritual of the second anointing
Second Anointing
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the second anointing, also known historically and in Latter Day Saint scripture as the fulness of the priesthood, is an obscure and relatively rare ordinance usually conducted in temples as extension of the Nauvoo Endowment ceremony. Founder Joseph Smith, Jr...
.
In the 1800s, the practice of celestial marriage included plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
, a form of polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
. According to a consensus of historians, the practice of plural marriage was taught by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, and introduced formally to the public in 1852 by Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The practice became famous during the 19th century when it was opposed and outlawed by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government, resulting in an intense legal conflict, culminating in LDS Church president Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff, Sr. was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 until his death...
issuing an 1890 Manifesto
1890 Manifesto
The "1890 Manifesto", sometimes simply called "The Manifesto", is a statement which officially disavowed the continuing practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
discontinuing new official plural marriages in LDS temples
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
. Nevertheless, unofficial plural marriage continued within the LDS Church after 1890 for some years, often in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In 1904, the church issued a Second Manifesto
Second Manifesto
The "Second Manifesto" was a 1904 declaration made by Joseph F. Smith, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , in which Smith stated the church was no longer sanctioning marriages that violated the laws of the land and set down the principle that those entering into or...
discontinuing the official practice worldwide. These manifestos did not automatically divorce existing plural unions, however, and some Mormon couples continued to live together as plural families until about the 1930s.
The LDS Church now thoroughly embraces monogamy
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
and the nuclear family
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
. Members who are found practicing polygamy or associating with sympathetic groups are now excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
. Moreover, beginning in the late 20th century, the LDS Church has begun to favor political and legal measures banning marriage other than between one man and one woman.
The LDS Church does, however, recognize some theological aspects of its former polygamy doctrine. Although both men and women may enter a celestial marriage with only one partner at a time, a man may be sealed to more than one woman. If his first wife dies, he may enter another celestial marriage, and be sealed to both his living wife and deceased wife or wives. A woman, however, may only be sealed to one man during her lifetime. Many Mormons believe that all these marriages will be valid in the eternities and the husband and all his sealed wives will live together in the afterlife as a polygamous family.
While not accorded the theological significance of a celestial marriage, the LDS Church does—to a large extent—recognize civil marriages or marriages performed within other religious traditions. In the 1870s, a prominent Mormon writer wrote that Mormons considered such a marriage to be "no marriage at all." Today, however, some non-celestial marriages are respected and recognized as valid by the church, but such marriages must be legal according to the government where the marriage is performed, and must not be a same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, polygamous marriage
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, common law marriage, or other type of non-ceremonial marriages in non-common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
countries. Moreover, such marriages are thought to last only for this life, and not the next. In countries where celestial marriage is not recognized by the government, it must be preceded by a civil marriage.
The church has supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and polygamous marriage in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and has stated that it "favors measures that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and that do not confer legal status on any other sexual relationship." The church's position is that government recognition of such rights will "undermine the divinely created institution of the family".
Sexual orientation
The church recognizes and officially welcomes its gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
members under condition that they attempt to live the church moral code. It teaches that homosexual feelings, as distinct from behavior, may sometimes seem to be inborn, and that although these feelings are sometimes unwanted, they can and should be controlled. The Church’s law of chastity
Law of Chastity
The law of chastity is a moral code defined by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . According to the church, chastity means abstinence from sexual relations before marriage, and complete fidelity to one's husband or wife during marriage...
forbids extramarital sex, which would include all forms of sexual activity gay and straight outside of marriage. Consistently breaking the law of chastity may result in excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
. Nevertheless, Latter-day Saints who identify themselves as gay or lesbian may remain in good standing in the Church, without ramification, if they abstain from homosexual relations.
In addition to opposing gay and lesbian sex, the church also opposes and campaigns against the extension of marital rights to gay and lesbian families that would, in its opinion, undermine the tradition of heterosexual monogamous marriage . The issue of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
remains one of the Church’s foremost political concerns.
In 2008, the Church began a major campaign for Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
on the California ballot which would define marriage between heterosexual couples. The church took a great deal of criticism for this action but at the same time mobilized uncounted numbers of its membership to donate time and money towards the initiative. The political organization ProtectMarriage.com
ProtectMarriage.com
ProtectMarriage.com is a coalition of conservative and religious American political activist groups aligned against same-sex marriage. The coalition's stated goal is to "defend and restore the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman." Beginning in 2001 as Proposition 22 Legal Defense...
, the official proponents of Proposition 8, estimate that about half the donations they received came from LDS sources, and that "eighty to ninety percent" of the early volunteers going door-to-door were LDS.
Gender
"The Family: A Proclamation to the WorldThe Family: A Proclamation to the World
"The Family: A Proclamation to the World" is a 1995 statement issued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints —whose adherents are known as Mormons—which defined the official position of the church on family, gender roles, and human sexuality. First announced by church president Gordon B...
" states that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal
Pre-existence
Pre-existence , beforelife, or pre-mortal existence refers to the belief that each individual human soul existed before conception, and at conception one of these pre-existent souls enters, or is placed by God, in the body...
, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose..."
The LDS Church teaches that gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
is inherently linked to sex, but the church has no official policy on the status of intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
persons. Transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
persons are accepted in the church and may be baptized, but may not receive the priesthood
Priesthood (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the priesthood is the power and authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of humankind...
or enter the temple
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
if they are considering or have undergone elective sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
.
In "Strengthening Our Families: An In-Depth Look at the Proclamation on the Family" a book compiled by The School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, it states,
"Although we do not fully understand the eternal nature of gender, we should acknowledge its meaning and purpose, and humbly seek to understand and appreciate the nature of divine gender distinctions in God's plan for His children."Furthermore, it stated,
"God created us male and female. This is not a mistake or a variety of genetic or hormonal chance. What we call gender is an essential characteristic of our existence prior to our birth. Gender is part of our eternal identity and essential to our eternal progression. Although we may not know all the reasons why this is so, we do know some of the reasons why gender is essential to our eternal progression. To achieve our exaltation, an eternal marriage between a man and a woman is necessary... The sexual union between a married man and woman is, among other things, the means God has ordained to bring His spirit children into mortality, which is an essential step in the plan of salvation."
In "Helping and Healing Our Families" Robert L. Millet
Robert L. Millet
Dr. Robert L. Millet is a professor of ancient scripture and emeritus Dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah...
states,
"Over the last four decades, we have observed widespread consideration of ideas and worldviews that are destructive of individuals and families."He then discusses instances such as when men have been instructed to be stoic, or stern, to hide their emotions, etc. He continues,
"In general we could say that men and women, in and out of the Church, have been taunted and titillated with views concerning man, woman, priesthood, and family that are at odds with the revealed word and thus with 'things as they really are, and... as they really will be' (Jacob 4:13)... No person who revolts against the divinely established role and calling he or she was given before the foundations of this earth were laid can be happy or find real fulfillment, not here or in eternity."
David A. Bednar
David A. Bednar
-External links:*, lds.org**...
stated “[Gender] in large measure defines who we are, why we are here upon the earth, and what we are to do and become. For divine purposes, male and female spirits are different, distinctive, and complementary. … The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females were needed to implement the plan of happiness”.
M. Russell Ballard
M. Russell Ballard
Melvin Russell Ballard, Jr. is an American businessman and a religious leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was called to serve in the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1985. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Ballard is accepted by the church members as a...
taught, “The premortal and mortal natures of men and women were specified by God Himself. … [Sometimes women] ask: ‘Is a woman’s value dependent exclusively upon her role as a wife and mother?’ The answer is simple and obvious: No. … Every righteous man and woman has a significant role to play in the onward march of the kingdom of God."
See also
- Christian views on contraception: Mormonism
- Christianity and abortion: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints