--- description: Their children must be excluded from blessings and baptisms until they move from their households. title: Mormon Church Now Says Married Gay Couples Are Apostates image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd1e37d58f49c6802/69886feb8e060104c546333f/gettyimages-186461974.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mormon Church Now Says Married Same-Sex Couples Are Apostates  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2015 4:40 PM CUT  The Salt Lake Temple in Utah The Salt Lake Temple in UtahBill Bachmann—Getty Images/Gallo Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2015 4:40 PM CUT A handbook of the Church of the Latter-day Saints nows states that members of the church in married same-sex couples are apostates and that their children must be excluded from blessings and baptisms until they move from their homes, according to [revisions](https://www.scribd.com/document%5Fdownloads/288692551?extension=pdf&from=embed&source=embed "undefined") to the handbook that was leaked online. The revisions to Handbook 1, a guide to lay leaders of the church, were released on social media Thursday, the Salt Lake _Tribune_ [reports](http://www.sltrib.com/home/3144035-155/new-mormon-policy-would-make-apostates "undefined"), and a spokesperson for the church confirmed the stricter position on same-sex couples. Children of same-sex couples may not be blessed or baptized until they have received permission to do so from the religion’s leadership. In order to gain that permission, children must disavow same-sex co-habitation and marriage, reach the age of 18, and have moved out of the household, the _Tribune_ reports. Eric Hawkins, a spokesperson for the LDS church, told NBC _News_ officials have [been working on the revision](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mormon-church-bars-children-same-sex-couples-baptism-blessings-n458416 "undefined") since court rulings over the past year legalized same-sex marriage. The handbook now lists people “in a same-gender marriage” as apostates, whereas policy before said same-sex marriage may require discipline, the the Washington _Post_ [reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/11/05/mormon-church-to-exclude-children-of-same-sex-couples-from-getting-blessed-and-baptized-until-they-are-18/ "undefined"). “Church handbooks are policy and procedural guides for lay leaders who must administer the church in many varied circumstances throughout the world,” LDS spokesperson Eric Hawkins [said in a statement](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/11/05/mormon-church-to-exclude-children-of-same-sex-couples-from-getting-blessed-and-baptized-until-they-are-18/ "undefined") to the _Post_. “The church has long been on record as opposing same-sex marriages. While it respects the law of the land, and acknowledges the right of others to think and act differently, it does not perform or accept same-sex marriage within its membership.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4102825/mormon-church-same-sex-marriage-apostacy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4102825/mormon-church-same-sex-marriage-apostacy/"},"headline":"Mormon Church Now Says Married Same-Sex Couples Are Apostates","datePublished":"2015-11-06T16:40:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:24:40.209Z","description":"Children of the couple must be excluded from blessings and baptisms.","url":"https://time.com/4102825/mormon-church-same-sex-marriage-apostacy/","keywords":["Mormon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd1e37d58f49c6802/69886feb8e060104c546333f/gettyimages-186461974.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd1e37d58f49c6802/69886feb8e060104c546333f/gettyimages-186461974.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mormon-church-same-sex-marriage-LDS-temple","caption":"Mormon Church Rules Same-sex couples are apostates","creditText":"Bill Bachmann—Getty Images/Gallo Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4102825/mormon-church-same-sex-marriage-apostacy/","name":"Mormon Church Now Says Married Same-Sex Couples Are Apostates"}}]}] ```