In his General Conference address to the body of the Mormon Church, President Dallin H. Oaks reiterated the position of the Church’s anti-LGBT stance on same-sex marriage and “gender confusion” as outlined in a 1995 “revelation.”

“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” was issued 23 years ago; its words still apply today, Oaks said in his remarks.

“Our knowledge of God’s revealed plan of salvation requires us to oppose many of the current social and legal pressures to retreat from traditional marriage or to make changes that confuse or alter gender or homogenize the differences between men and women. We know that the relationships, identities, and functions of men and women are essential to accomplish God’s great plan.”

Oaks went on to talk about the opposition the Church faces when it stands firm on these social issues and of course “Satan” cane into the mix.

“Our positions on these fundamentals frequently provoke opposition to the Church. We consider that inevitable. Opposition is part of the plan, and Satan’s (the Adversary’s) most strenuous opposition is directed at whatever is most important to God’s plan. He seeks to destroy God’s work,” he said.

“He also seeks to confuse gender, to distort marriage, and to discourage childbearing—especially by parents who will raise children in truth,” Oaks said.

Although the Proclamation presents no new doctrines or policies, it provides an official statement of the church on gender and sex.

Doctrinal assertions

• Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.
• The family is ordained of God and central to God’s plan.
• All human beings are created in the image of God.
• As a beloved spirit son or daughter of Heavenly Parents, each person has a divine nature and destiny.
• Gender is an essential characteristic of human identity before, during, and after life on Earth.
• “In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan.”
• “Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”
• God will hold parents accountable for the way in which they fulfill responsibilities to their families.
• “Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”

Items of counsel

• God’s commandment to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.
• Sexual relations are sacred and properly take place only between a man and a woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
• Procreation is divinely appointed, and therefore life is sacred and an important part of God’s plan.
• Parents have “a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.”
• Parents’ responsibilities toward their children include rearing them “in love and righteousness,” providing “for their physical and spiritual needs,” and teaching “them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens.”
• Happiness and success come through following the teachings of Jesus and through “faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”
• “By divine design fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.”
• “Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.”
• “Fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”
• Citizens and officers of government should “promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”

Warnings

• Those who commit adultery or “abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”
• Disintegration of the family will bring “calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

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