The decision rolled back a 2015 rule that had ripped congregations apart by declaring that church members in same-sex marriages were apostates and subject to excommunication, and that children of same-sex couples were banned from rituals like baptisms and baby-naming ceremonies.
The change signals an attempt to heal the rift and represents a broader effort by the church’s newest president to bring the church closer to the American mainstream.
The decision, delivered by President Dallin H. Oaks, stops short of ending the church’s teaching that acting on same-sex attraction is sinful.
“While we cannot change the Lord’s doctrine, we want our members and our policies to be considerate of those struggling with the challenges of mortality,” the First Presidency, the church’s highest governing body, said Thursday.
“While we still consider such a marriage to be a serious transgression, it will not be treated as apostasy for purposes of Church discipline,” the statement said. “Instead, the immoral conduct in heterosexual or homosexual relationships will be treated in the same way.”
The policy adopted in 2015 allowed children of same-sex couples to join the church only after they reached the age of 18 and moved out of their parents’ homes. They also had to disavow same-sex relationships and receive approval from the church’s leadership.
The new policy rolls back those restrictions, and requires that same-sex parents give permission for their children to be baptized and acknowledge the commitments the child is making to the church.
The decision came nearly eight months after the church’s newest president, Russell M. Nelson said he had received a revelation that the church should no longer be referred to as Mormon, but by its full name. Many observers saw it as a sign that the church aimed to align itself with mainstream American Christianity.
While LGBT advocacy groups, like the Human Rights Campaign, cautiously welcomed the news, they also noted it was only a first step.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.