Who says Anything Goes? Mormon Church Bars Same-Sex Couples and Their Children

Mormon Church Bars Same-Sex Couples and Their Children

By LAURIE GOODSTEINNOV. 6, 2015

The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah. Credit Kim Raff for The New York Times

Children of same-sex couples will not be able to join the Mormon Church until they turn 18 — and only if they move out of their parents’ homes, disavow all same-sex relationships and receive approval from the church’s top leadership as part of a new policy adopted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In addition, Mormons in same-sex marriages will be considered apostates and subject to excommunication, a more rigid approach than the church has taken in the past.