Homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Homosexuality And The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints

The Christian law of chastity as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) states that any sexual relations outside of opposite-sex marriage are contrary to God's plan for His children. Included within the principles of the law of chastity is the avoidance of homosexual behavior. Violating the law of chastity may result in church discipline. Members of the church who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual may remain in good standing in the church if they abstain from all homosexual relations and from heterosexual relations outside of opposite-sex marriage. Although no one is forbidden from attending LDS Church Sunday worship services, acquiring and maintaining membership in the church, and receiving a temple recommend, is dependent upon the personal observance of its teachings, including the law of chastity.

The LDS Church historically taught that the practice of homosexuality, meaning sexual behavior with someone of the same sex, was a choice or a curable mental illness. Recent leadership has indicated that it may not be a conscious choice and that it may be treatable. The church teaches that regardless of the cause of same sex attraction, one can and must avoid all immoral relationships, including homosexual relations.

The LDS Church opposes and campaigns against government recognition of same-sex marriage, believing it would undermine church doctrine and teachings regarding marriage and the family. The issue of same-sex marriage has in recent years become one of the church's foremost political concerns, with church members representing as much as 80 to 90 percent of the early volunteers who walked door-to-door in election precincts and 50% of the campaign funds to California Proposition 8 (2008). The LDS Church supported a Salt Lake City ordinance protecting members of the LGBT community against discrimination in employment and housing while allowing religious institutions to consider lifestyles in actions such as hiring or providing university accommodations, while at the same time reaffirming that it remained "unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman."

In December 2012, the Church launched the website titled "Love One Another: A Discussion on Same-Sex Attraction" at MormonsAndGays.org "in an effort to encourage understanding and civil conversation about same-sex attraction."