A top Mormon leader reaffirmed the religion’s opposition to same-sex marriage on Saturday during a church conference — and reminded followers watching around the world that children should be raised in families led by a married man and woman no matter what becomes the norm in a “declining world.”

The speech by Dallin H. Oaks, a member of a top governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, followed a push in recent years by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to uphold theological opposition to same-sex marriage amid widespread social acceptance while trying to foster an empathetic stance toward LGBT people.