Mormons reaffirm beliefs about marriage, gender

Mandated time for Sunday worship reduced by an hour

SALT LAKE CITY — A top-ranking Mormon leader reaffirmed the faith’s opposition to same-sex marriage and belief that a person’s gender is God-given and eternal.

Dallin H. Oaks is a member of a top leadership panel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said Saturday at a church conference that the religion must oppose social and legal pressures to “retreat from traditional marriage or to make changes that confuse or alter gender or homogenize the differences between men and women.”

Oaks said those relationships and identities are “essential to accomplish God’s great plan.”

The comments align with past positions by the Utah-based faith, which has tried to take a more welcoming stance to LGBTQ people while sticking with fundamental opposition to same-sex marriage and transgender operations.

Mormons will also start spending less time at church each Sunday — two hours instead of three — after a change announced Saturday aimed at making worship more manageable.

The switch, beginning in January, is a significant one for Mormons, who since 1980 have been expected to attend all three hours each Sunday to be considered active members.

The news brought applause from members, with some posting celebratory memes on social media. It came during The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ twice-yearly conference.

“The senior leaders of the church have been aware for many years that for some of our precious members, a three-hour Sunday schedule at church can be difficult,” said Quentin L. Cook, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, church leaders who help run the faith. “This is particularly true for parents with small children, primary children, elderly members, new converts and others.”

The three-hour commitment is a hefty one compared with some other religions’ Sunday services. Many Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches, for instance, offer weekly worship that lasts about an hour or an hour and a half, along with voluntary classes and other weekly gatherings.