The November Policy (2015-2019): Children of LGBTQ Parents
In November 2015, the Church quietly updated its General Handbook to classify members in same-sex marriages as "apostates" -- the highest level of doctrinal violation -- and to prohibit the children of same-sex couples from receiving infant blessings and, when older, from baptism and confirmation until they turned 18, moved out of the parental home, disavowed same-sex relationships, and received First Presidency approval.
The policy was not publicly announced. It was leaked by a Church employee and confirmed by a Church spokesperson the following day. The stated rationale was to prevent "family conflict."
The policy was reversed in April 2019, with then-President Russell M. Nelson calling it a "revelation." No apology was issued to families affected. The apostasy classification for same-sex married members was also removed at that time.
During the policy's four years, an estimated 1,000+ LGBTQ members left the Church. At least four suicides were publicly attributed in part to the policy by family members.
Disciplinary Councils: How Members Are Excommunicated
Excommunication (now formally called "withdrawal of membership") strips a member of all ordinances, callings, and institutional standing. The process is conducted by a "membership council" -- a closed hearing of male leadership at the ward or stake level.
Grounds for councils include apostasy, serious transgression while holding leadership positions, and behavior the Church defines as "predatory" -- which has also been applied to public criticism of Church leadership.
Notable excommunications in recent decades have included scholars, historians, and feminist activists who published academic work critical of Church history or policy. The 1993 excommunications of six Mormon intellectuals -- known as the "September Six" -- drew widespread media attention and were explicitly linked by Church leaders to their public writings.
Members subject to councils have no right to outside legal counsel, no right to cross-examine accusers, and no independent appeal process beyond Church leadership.
Temple Recommends: Gating Access to Family Ceremonies
Temple attendance requires a current recommend -- a card obtained through a two-interview process with a bishop and stake president. The interviews include questions about tithing, sexual behavior, adherence to the Word of Wisdom, support for Church leadership, and affiliation with any group whose teachings conflict with the Church.
Members who fail any portion of these criteria are denied access to temple ceremonies. This has practical consequences beyond individual spirituality: non-recommended family members cannot attend the temple marriages of their children or siblings, even as observers. They wait outside.
The Church has partially addressed this by allowing civil ceremonies before temple sealings in some countries where law requires it, but in the United States, members who prioritize an inclusive ceremony for non-member family must choose between a civil ceremony first (historically a punishable deviation) or excluding family from their wedding entirely.
In 2019, the Church updated its policy to allow civil ceremonies before sealings in the US without penalty -- a change driven by member pressure. Prior to this, members who married civilly first were required to wait a year before receiving a temple sealing.
LGBTQ Members: The Current Institutional Position
As of 2024, the Church's stated position is that same-sex attraction is not a sin, but that same-sex sexual behavior is. LGBTQ members may attend church and receive a temple recommend only if they remain celibate and do not enter same-sex relationships.
The Church does not perform same-sex sealings and excommunicates members who enter legally recognized same-sex marriages. In many Utah wards, LGBTQ members in relationships are counseled to divorce or separate as a condition of continued full fellowship.
The Church officially discourages but does not explicitly ban conversion therapy -- a practice that major medical and psychiatric organizations including the American Psychological Association classify as ineffective and harmful. Affiliated programs such as "Evergreen International" operated for decades with institutional support before being quietly discontinued.