After taking such a strong stand, what will Mormons do now that same-sex marriage is the law across the US?

Many Mormons felt anxious when a constitutional right to same-sex marriage was announced by the US Supreme Court. After all, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had vocally opposed same-sex marriage. In California, the Church famously encouraged Mormons to campaign for Proposition 8, and their influence was instrumental in its passage.

So what will Mormons do now? Will Mormons refuse to cater or photograph or bake cakes for same-sex weddings? Will they escalate their opposition to same-sex marriage through civil disobedience or something similar? The answer may surprise you.

The Mormon Dilemma

Mormonism isn’t a passive lifestyle. Practicing Mormons don’t just believe in doing (“thou shalt”) and not doing (“thou shalt not”) certain things. To understand the Mormon mindset you have to check their scriptures, which are as fundamental to Mormons as the Constitution should be to Americans:

Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. (DC 88:81.)

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. (DC 58:27-8.)

When you see those young men and women with name badges, they are doing this “testify and warn” thing, though not about political issues. Instead, it’s the rank-and-file members that are encouraged to be “anxiously engaged” in supporting causes and leaders they feel best represent their personal opinions of good government.

But when the government establishes something that Mormons believe is “bad government” or even destructive, what will they do?

Not the First Time

OK, so according to the dissenters, the Mormons were right about judicial overreach. So what? Why would that be such a big deal to Mormons?

Concerns of “Calamity” and “Destruction” Ahead

Their “keystone” scripture, The Book of Mormon, helps us understand why “judicial fiat” feels so threatening to a Latter-day Saint:

And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges. (Alma 10:27, emphasis added.)

… they had altered and trampled under their feet the laws of Mosiah, or that which the Lord commanded him to give unto the people; and they saw that their laws had become corrupted, and that they had become a wicked people…. (Helaman 4:22, emphasis added.)

For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted. (Helaman 5:2, emphasis added.)

Then, just 20 years ago, LDS “prophets, seers, and revelators” unanimously warned the world that “the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World.) This proclamation included a plea “to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society,” specifically urging “responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed” to make this happen.

The word “calamity” itself is significant. If you search the word “calamity” in LDS scripture, the prophetic meaning of that warning comes pointedly into focus. And yes, “prophetic” literally means “predicting the future” to a practicing Mormon.

So all of the following are connected to Latter-day Saints:

• Judicial and legal fiat,
• Corruption and disrespect of law,
• The disintegration of traditional families, and
• Threat of impending calamity and destruction.

Although they don’t run around with signs warning that the end is near, Mormons do believe they see a clear and present danger. In fact, The Book of Mormon describes the outcome of societies that followed this path at least four times in horrifying, heart-wrenching detail.

On top of all that, since Mormons see the US Constitution as a divinely-inspired document in spite of the painful compromises required to pull it together. Anything that threatens or redefines constitutional norms is an even greater concern.

Concern, Never Hatred

This explains why, for most Mormons, opposing same-sex marriage was never hatred of gays. On the contrary, the LDS Church stood with gays with the Boy Scouts of America, health care, probate law, and housing non-discrimination legislation. But when it came to marriage, Mormons saw a fundamentally different purpose and implication:

“We reject the modern idea that marriage is a relationship that exists primarily for the fulfillment of the individuals who enter into it….. We focus on the well-being of children, not just ourselves.” (As He Thinketh In His Heart, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, 8 Feb 2013.)

LDS leaders further disagreed that studies properly demonstrate no harm to children in same-sex-parent households. Instead, they insist that “traditional marriage provides the most solid and well-established social identity for children” among other benefits. (The Divine Institution of Marriage, see citations.)

So, seeing an irreconcilable clash between same-sex marriage and the interests of children—and therefore the family, and therefore society in general—the Church tried to steer society away from that path. Instead of hatred, it was someone reluctantly but bravely sounding an unpopular warning while taking a verbal beating.

The Official LDS Church Announcement

This brings us to the SCOTUS ruling. So what can and will Mormons will do about it now? The answer is almost astonishing given the depth of their concerns.

On the day of the ruling the Church made the following announcement:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges that following today’s ruling by the Supreme Court, same-sex marriages are now legal in the United States. The Court’s decision does not alter the Lord’s doctrine that marriage is a union between a man and a woman ordained by God. While showing respect for those who think differently, the Church will continue to teach and promote marriage between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine and practice.

This brief, carefully-worded statement says far more than it seems, especially in the light of LDS teachings. Pay attention to:

1. The Church “acknowledges” that such marriages “are now legal in the United States.”
2. The decision “does not alter the Lord’s doctrine.”
3. The Church will “show respect for those who think differently.”
4. The Church will continue to “teach and promote marriage between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine and practice.” (Emphasis mine throughout.)

This is a clear blueprint to Latter-day Saints who want to follow their leadership. And make no mistake: following their leadership is an essential part of LDS doctrine and practice as long as that leadership follows well-established “principles of righteousness.” (See DC 121:36,41-42.)

Here are the implications of each point.

1. The Church “Acknowledges” That Such Marriages “Are Now Legal”

If their Church officially acknowledges something as the bona fide law of the land, what does that mean to an individual Mormon? This is a more significant statement than many realize.

“In the case of a conflict between the requirements made by the revealed word of God, and those imposed by the secular law, which of these authorities would the members of the Church be bound to obey? … Pending the overruling by [God] in favor of religious liberty, it is the duty of the saints to submit themselves to the laws of their country.” (The Articles of Faith, 12th ed. [1924], 422, 423], cited in Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual 2015 ed., Lesson 143.)

So should an individual Mormon cater a same-sex wedding? If the laws require it, then based on this principle, my understanding is “yes,” because it has at that point been removed from their right of personal conscience by the laws of the land. Catering or photographing is no longer condoning or promoting that form of marriage if “equal protection” requires the catering. And as we saw before, Mormons hold law as almost sacred:

“The three significant words used in the 12th Article of Faith express the proper attitude of the membership of the Church toward law. These words are—obey, honor, and sustain…. Obedience implies a higher attitude than mere submission…. We are obedient only from a sense of right; submissive from a sense of necessity….. To sustain signifies to hold up; to keep from falling. To sustain the law, therefore, is to refrain from saying or doing anything which will weaken it or make it ineffective.” (President David O. McKay, Conference Report, Apr. 1937, p. 28, cited in Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Student Manual, 2002 ed., Section 134.)

Nevertheless, they should use every proper method, as citizens or subjects of their several governments, to secure for themselves and for all men the boon of freedom in religious service. It is not required of them to suffer without protest [the] imposition by lawless persecutors, or through the operation of unjust laws; but their protests should be offered in legal and proper order. The saints have practically demonstrated their acceptance of the doctrine that it is better to suffer evil than to do wrong by purely human opposition to unjust authority” (The Articles of Faith, 12th ed. [1924], 422, 423]).

And “sustaining the law” doesn’t mean abandoning their “testify and warn” duty. Just four days after the SCOTUS decision the Church announced:

… we are responsible to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to illuminate the great blessings that flow from heeding God’s commandments as well as the inevitable consequences of ignoring them. We invite all to pray that people everywhere will have their hearts softened to the truths God established in the beginning, and that wisdom will be granted to those who are called upon to decide issues critical to society’s future. (News release, 30 June 2015, Church Leaders Counsel Members After Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Decision.)

Protest, teach, and warn? Yes.

Defy or undermine? No.

2. “Does Not Alter” the Lord’s Doctrine