Mormon Church Calls ‘Respect For Marrige Act’ The ‘Best Way Forward’

The affirmation comes despite the church’s previous moves to fight LGBT infiltration in the culture. The LDS made the declaration in a Tuesday statement published on its official website.

According to the statement, while the church’s doctrine “related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged,” it believes the so-called Respect for Marriage Act protecting homosexual unions under federal law “is the best way forward.”

If passed by Congress, the legislation would federally codify a radical redefinition marriage at odds with all major religions. Catholic bishops, including San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas — along with leading conservative organizations — have warned the measure would pave the way for discrimination against Christians and others who support the traditional understanding of marriage.

As LifeSiteNews has reported, bipartisan carveouts for religious liberty have focused solely protecting religious nonprofits from being compelled to solemnize or celebrate a same-sex “marriage” opposed with that group’s religious beliefs. Notably lacking is any language shielding Christians or other people of faith who simply reject homosexual unions as a form of “marriage.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, issued a stark warning Tuesday that “the misnamed Respect for Marriage Act will accelerate the persecution” of Christians who support traditional marriage “to a level no one ever dreamed.”

Arguing that the legislation’s language is “light years more radical than” the redefinition of marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), green lighting crackdowns on “parents, charities, adoption agencies, teachers, Christian schools, counselors, and Bible-believing professionals,” Perkins said “the government would be declaring open season on anyone who believes in marriage as it’s always been: the union of a man and woman.”

Regardless, the LDS Church appeared to accept the narrow safeguards afforded in the radical legislation.

In its Tuesday statement, the church said it is “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,” the statement continued. “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.” ✪