QUOTE: “Filled with compassion for all, and especially for the children, we wrestled at length to understand the Lord’s will in this matter. Ever mindful of God’s plan of salvation and of His hope for eternal life for each of His children, we considered countless permutations and combinations of possible scenarios that could arise. We met repeatedly in the temple in fasting and prayer and sought further direction and inspiration. And then, when the Lord inspired His prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, to declare the mind of the Lord and the will of the Lord, each of us during that sacred moment felt a spiritual confirmation. It was our privilege as Apostles to sustain what had been revealed to President Monson. Revelation from the Lord to His servants is a sacred process.” -President Russell M. Nelson, 10 January 2016. [source]
NEW CHURCH POLICY: “A natural or adopted child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship, whether the couple is married or cohabiting, may be baptized and confirmed, ordained, or recommended for missionary service only as follows: A mission president or a stake president may request approval from the Office of the First Presidency to baptize and confirm, ordain, or recommend missionary service for a child of a parent who has lived or is living in a same-gender relationship when he is satisfied by personal interviews that both of the following requirements are met: 1. The child accepts and is committed to live the teachings and doctrine of the Church, and specifically disavows the practice of same-gender cohabitation and marriage. 2. The child is of legal age and does not live with a parent who has lived or currently lives in a same-gender cohabitation relationship or marriage.” –LDS Church Handbook 1, section 16.13. Added 3 November 2015. [source]
CHURCH POLICY CLARIFICATION: “The provisions of Handbook 1, Section 16.13, that restrict priesthood ordinances for minors, apply only to those children whose primary residence is with a couple living in a same-gender marriage or similar relationship. … When a child living with such a same-gender couple has already been baptized and is actively participating in the Church, provisions of Section 16.13 do not require that his or her membership activities or priesthood privileges be curtailed or that further ordinances be withheld.” -Letter from the First Presidency, 13 November 2015. [source]
COMMENTARY: We have to take them at their word. They wrestled with this question for many days and considered countless permutations of language, and then, when Jesus confirmed to the prophet exactly what he wanted the revelation to say, and they all witnessed the truth of the revelation, they wrote a letter a few days later saying the words didn’t mean what they actually said. This is modern revelation, folks, directly from the mouths of the prophets. I would claim it’s a load of rubbish. But what do I know? I’m just another apostate.
