SALT LAKE CITY – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement Tuesday after the Supreme Court of the United States announced it would not hear an appeal regarding the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, thereby making it legal in Utah.

Tuesday’s announcement by the Supreme Court “will have no effect on the doctrinal position or practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is that only marriage between a man and a woman is acceptable to God,” the statement said.

The statement also encourages church members “to be persons of good will toward all, rejecting persecution of any kind based on race, ethnicity, religious belief or non-belief, and differences in sexual orientation.”

Read the full statement below:

Church Responds to Supreme Court Announcement

Court Chooses Not to Hear Same-Sex Marriage Cases



Salt Lake City — The succession of federal court decisions in recent months, culminating in today’s announcement by the Supreme Court, will have no effect on the doctrinal position or practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is that only marriage between a man and a woman is acceptable to God. In prizing freedom of conscience and Constitutional guarantees of the free exercise of religion, we will continue to teach that standard and uphold it in our religious practices.

Nevertheless, respectful coexistence is possible with those with differing values. As far as the civil law is concerned, the courts have spoken. Church leaders will continue to encourage our people to be persons of good will toward all, rejecting persecution of any kind based on race, ethnicity, religious belief or non-belief, and differences in sexual orientation.