Mormon Church Issues Statement On Respect For Marriage Act

SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has nearly a dozen places of worship in Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Murrieta and Temecula, took a position Tuesday on the Respect for Marriage Act — a day before the U.S. Senate passed the bill with a bipartisan vote.

If signed into law by President Joe Biden, the bill will repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and will require the federal government to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial marriages in the United States.

The Utah-based Mormon church's Tuesday statement about the Respect for Marriage Act opened with no surprises: "The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged," it read.

But the statement continued, "We are grateful for the continuing efforts of those who work to ensure the Respect for Marriage Act includes appropriate religious freedom protections while respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

"We believe this approach is the way forward. As we work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious freedom together with the rights of LGBTQ individuals, much can be accomplished to heal relationships and foster greater understanding," the statement concluded.

The position is a shift.

In 2008, when Californians were asked to consider Proposition 8 — to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in the Golden State — the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a letter to church leaders statewide. The letter was to be read to all congregations on June 29, 2008.

In part, the letter read, "We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman. Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage."

In Southwest Riverside County, the runup to the November 2008 election saw thousands of "Yes on 8" demonstrators line the area's most highly trafficked streets. Conservative Evangelical Christians, Mormons, Catholic families and others were among the crowds carrying signs and chanting slogans calling for the "Yes on 8" vote.

Their effort was successful. In Riverside County, Prop. 8 passed with 64.61% of voters who turned out casting a "yes" ballot. Statewide, the measure also passed, but by a slimmer margin.

Prop. 8 was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by a federal court, and on June 26, 2013, that ruling took effect.

Despite the Mormon church weighing in — then and now — it has long maintained a position of neutrality in matters of party politics. But issues that the church believes "have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church" are another matter, according to its website.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it reserves the right "as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way," to address those issues.