Mormon leaders double down on transgender exclusion in new handbook update

The policy revision prioritizes “biological sex at birth” while tightening limits on who can participate in religious rituals

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The Mormon Church recently updated its General Handbook—the book that spells out their rules and policies—and they have made it explicitly clear that transgender people are not welcome within their walls. Literally.

(Image via Adobe Express)

That was already the case in 2024, when they updated their terms and conditions to say Mormon leaders should discourage transitioning and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes your anatomy at birth is “an essential characteristic in Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness.” In practice, that meant trans people “cannot work with children, serve as teachers in their congregation or fill any gender-specific assignments, such as president of the women’s Relief Society.”

But the latest revision goes even further. It’s not just about what roles they can have in the LDS church. It’s about whether members are even allowed to participate in regular rituals.

There are only three paragraphs in the section but each one’s worse than the one before.

Temple ordinances are received according to a person’s biological sex at birth. Worthy members who do not pursue surgical, medical, or social transition away from their biological sex at birth may receive a temple recommend and temple ordinances…

The new rules say that if you’re trans, you better not do anything about it, or else. Only cis-gender people and trans people willing to lie about who they are are allowed to receive a temple recommend (the certificate of good standing that allows them to enter Mormon temples and which must be renewed every couple of years) and temple ordinances (the sacred rituals that only members are allowed to participate in). You’re not really a full member of the Church if you can’t do these things.

But wait! If you’re transgender and transitioned, the Mormon Church wants you to know it’s not too late for you! You can receive all those perks… as long as you hit Ctrl-Z on your existence.

Members who have taken steps to transition and then transition back to their biological sex at birth and are worthy and committed to keeping God’s commandments may receive a temple recommend and temple ordinances.

There you have it. For the three (?) people who are transgender Mormons who have also taken steps to “detransition,” you’re good to go! You’re back in the LDS church’s good graces!

The final paragraph aims to remind people that the Mormon Church loves trans people.

Bishops counsel with the stake president to address individual circumstances with sensitivity and Christlike love. Stake and mission presidents seek counsel from the Area Presidency.

Make sure you address trans people with sensitivity and “Christlike love”… before you kick them out of the building for the crime of being who they are.

It’s so perfectly in line with Mormon bigotry, isn’t it? After all, this is the religion that still condemns same-sex marriage, and forbids same-sex romantic behavior of any kind, and helped fund the passage of California’s Prop 8 in 2008, and promoted conversion “therapy,” and continues to urge gay people to simply suppress their sexual desires.

What about intersex people? Non-binary people? Don’t ask. The Mormon Church can’t handle that kind of nuance.

By the way, a later section of the Handbook clarifies that if you did participate in a sacred ritual as a trans person, but no one caught you at the time, it doesn’t count.

All temple ordinances are received according to a person’s biological sex at birth… If a person receives a temple ordinance for a gender that does not match his or her biological sex at birth, that ordinance is not valid.

When this occurs, the temple ordinance must be repeated so the person receives the correct ordinance. First Presidency approval is required before repeating the ordinance.

It’s so ridiculously petty of them to have a software upgrade that amounts to making sure no one can pull the Air Bud rule on them: “Ain't no rule says a dog can't play basketball.”

As Laurie Lee Hall, a trans woman who was excommunicated by the LDS church, told the Salt Lake Tribune:

This is a “doubling down that seems quite unnecessary,” she says. “This is specifically focusing on a very narrow exception to the point of vindictiveness, codifying the exception to the exception.”

If MAGA-supporting Republican officials in Utah are allowed to remain in good standing within the LDS church, but trans people are treated as second-class members—able to give their money but unable to participate in the sacred programs—the religion cannot possibly pretend to exist on any sort of moral high ground.

Most Christian churches love to say they welcome everyone because everyone’s a sinner, even if they treat certain harmless sins as worse than others. That’s not the case here. The Mormon Church is explicitly saying certain believers don’t count as real members by nature of who they are. Unless they’re willing to lie or express shame about their gender identity, the Church wants little to do with them. (Though donations from trans people will still be accepted.)

Of course, the proper response to all of this is for anyone who is or loves or knows a trans people to leave the Church for good. Don’t give them your time. Don’t give them your money. Unfortunately, there are far too many Mormons who don’t see bigotry like this as a dealbreaker. Only 31% of Mormons say greater social acceptance of trans people is a positive change, according to the Pew Research Center. And yet how many of those third of Mormons are willing to stand by their own values? Members who believe in dignity and fairness cannot treat this as a minor internal matter.

Policies like this persist precisely because too many LDS members tolerate them.

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