Why Latter-day Saints support the amended Respect for Marriage Act – By Tad Walch (Deseret News) / Nov 28, 2022
A look inside the rationale behind the church’s position on the Respect for Marriage Act, which is back in Congress this week
When the U.S. Senate reconvenes this week following Thanksgiving break, it is expected to take up a final vote on — and pass — an amended Respect for Marriage Act that would codify same-sex marriage in federal law and provide protections for religious expression — a balanced approach supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The church announced its support for the bill’s amendment process Nov. 15, startling some who wondered if it was a departure from the faith’s firm doctrine that marriage is between a man and a woman — it isn’t — and observers who remember the church’s opposition to earlier ballot propositions for same-sex marriage.
But the fact that, as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., said, the church provided “thoughtful suggestions and contributions” to the religious freedom amendments to the Respect for Marriage Act was no surprise to those who have watched carefully as church leaders have spent more than a decade carving out a solution to one of America’s most divisive issues.
