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Views on birth control in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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See also: Sexuality and Mormonism, Mormonism and women § Reproductive rights, Law of Chastity, Religion and birth control, and Christian views on contraception

A package of birth control pills.

Views on birth control in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have changed over the course of the church's history. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) have gone from historically condemning the use of any birth control as sinful, to allowing it in the present day. LDS leaders regularly spoke out against birth control into the 1970s, and gradually in the 1980s and 1990s, leaders stopped overtly teaching against it.

The church currently opposes elective abortions and discourages surgical sterilization. The church-owned insurance company which insures church employees did not provide coverage for any form of birth control until 2023, and continues to deny coverage for surgical sterilization except in certain circumstances.

History

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Leaders of the church have gone from historically condemning the use of any birth control as sinful, to allowing it in the present day.[1]: 16, 30, 33  In the past the use of birth control methods including artificial contraception was explicitly condemned by LDS Church leaders. Members were encouraged to have many children by early LDS leaders such as Brigham Young who stated in 1856, "It is the duty of every righteous man and woman to prepare tabernacles for all the spirits they can."[2]: 161 [3]: 17 [4] Church members have had the highest birth rate of any US religious group.[5][6]

1900—1949

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Beginning in July 1916, apostles were quoted in a church magazine stating that birth control was a "pernicious doctrine" and that "limiting the number of children in a family...is sinful".[1]: 21 [3]: 16 [7]: 364, 368  The same article said God wanted women to exercise their "sacred power of procreation to its utmost limit", and one top leader said his wife had birthed fifteen children and that anything less than that would have fallen short of her duty.[2]: 163 [7]: 364–365  The next year in the magazine birth control was deemed an evil "crime of race suicide" and "one of the greatest crimes of the world".[3]: 17 [8]: 71 [9] Previous statements were given an official endorsement by the highest governing body of the church, the First Presidency.[3]: 18 [8]: 68, 71 

The first time that any approval of a non-abstinence fertility control method was publicly expressed occurred in a 1942 church magazine article in which apostle John A. Widtsoe mentioned the rhythm method as an acceptable means of spacing children.[10]: 187–188 [2]: 165 [11]

1950—1999

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LDS leaders regularly spoke out against birth control into the 1970s, and gradually in the 1980s and 1990s, leaders stopped overtly teaching against it.[9] In his influential 1956 treatise Doctrines of Salvation, then apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, who became a church president, called birth control a wickedness that leads to damnation and caused the downfall of nations. He further stated that a Latter-day Saint couple that deliberately prevents themselves from having more children after their second or third child is guilty of iniquity which must be punished.[12][3]: 17 [13] The 1958 edition of Bruce R. McConkie's popular book Mormon Doctrine stated that all those using condoms or other artificial contraception are "in rebellion against God and are guilty of gross wickedness."[2]: 166 [14]: 12 [15]: 81 

The BYU Honor Code in 1968 stated that "the Church does not approve of any form of birth control."[16] In 1969, the First Presidency reemphasized it was "contrary to the teachings of the Church artificially to curtail or prevent the birth of children", though, for the first time there was a clarification that men should be considerate to "conserve" the "health and strength" of their wives when planning families since they carry the "greater responsibility" for bearing and rearing children.[1]: 27 [9] Other discussions of the topic include those by Ezra Taft Benson, who also became a church president. He stated that those that advocate for birth control perpetuate types of government that cause famine.[17][18]: 540  In 1987 he taught that couples should not prevent births for selfish reasons,[19][20][21] and that a sterilization operation could "jeapordiz[e] your exaltation."[18]: 541 [22][23]

By 1990 birth control was still considered forbidden by church leaders.[6] In 1995 the Family Proclamation was released by top leaders as a near-scripture directive on family, and many adherents interpret part of it as of 2023 as encouraging them to have as many children as possible.[24] In 1998 an update to the previous 1989 version of the Church Handbook "mark[ed] a significant break" from past teachings on family planning.[25] It explicitly stated the decision of the number children was up to the couple, and no longer encouraged couples to have as many children as possible.[26][27][28]

2000—Present

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As recently as 2003, a church manual was published containing a quote from the late church president Spencer W. Kimball stating that the church does not "condone nor approve of" measures of contraception which greatly "limit the family".[9][29] Historically, the church discouraged surgical sterilization, like vasectomies and tubal ligation, and encouraged members to only use these options for serious medical conditions after discussing it with a bishop.[30]

Current views

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General birth control

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As of 2023, the church stance is that when planning for their family, a couple's decisions regarding birth control is ultimately up to them. The church maintains that it is a responsibility and privilege for couples who can, to have children.[31][30] Couples are encouraged to prayerfully consider issues such as mental well-being and financial capabilities for supporting children.[32][33]

Surgical sterilization

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Present church policy regarding surgeries such as vasectomies and tubal ligation is, like with general birth control, ultimately the decision of the affected couple.[32][31] However, the church does still express discouragement towards such methods, and entreats individuals to pray about such decisions before going through with surgical methods of birth control. In the church's General Handbook, it is acknowledged that such surgeries are sometimes medically necessary for reasons unrelated to birth control.[30] In 2020, the church's General Handbook was modified and language regarding surgical sterilization softened from "strongly discourages" to state it was discouraged.[30]

Abortion

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See also: Sexuality and the LDS Church § Abortion, and Mormonism and women § Reproductive rights
Shown here is the typical pharmaceutical abortifacient regimen for early medical abortions (200 mg mifepristone and 800 μg misoprostol).

The LDS Church opposes elective abortions "for personal or social convenience".[34]: 45 [30] It also states that abortions are acceptable in cases of rape, incest, danger to the health or life of the mother, or where the fetus will not survive beyond birth.[35][30][33] In a 2011 US-wide Pew poll, of the 600 LDS-identifying respondents, 27% said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 70% said it should be illegal in all or most cases.[36] The church has no official position on when life begins (i.e. when it believes the spirit enters the body),[37][38][39] but does state that ordinances such as naming and blessing children and sealing them to their parents are not needed for stillborn or miscarried children.[40]

As of 2019 baptismal candidates who confess during a baptismal interview to having had or encouraging an abortion require special clearance from a full-time mission president before baptism.[41][42][43] In the 1800s top leaders Brigham Young and Erastus Snow both denounced abortion.[34]: 39–40  In the early 1900s Joseph Fielding Smith called it murder.[34]: 43 

Church insurance and birth control

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Before 2023 the church's insurance company, Deseret Mutual Benefits Administrators, which provides coverage for its employees did not cover any form of birth control.[31][44] In 2023, the church company began covering many types of birth control except emergency contraception (i.e. the-morning-after pill).[31] However, it still does not cover any sterilization (whether by vasectomy or tubal ligation) for a couple unless the woman has already had five children or is over forty.[45][46][31]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Bush Jr., Lester E. (Fall 1976). "Birth Control Among the Mormons: An Introduction to an Insistent Question" (PDF). Dialogue. 10 (2). University of Illinois Press. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Proctor, Melissa. "Bodies, Babies, and Birth Control". Dialogue. 36 (3). University of Illinois Press.
  3. ^ a b c d e Peterson, Erlend D. (August 1971). Attitudes Concerning Birth Control and Abortion As Related to LDS Religiosity of Brigham Young University Students (Master of Science thesis). Brigham Young University.
  4. ^ Young, Brigham (1857). "The People of God Disciplined By Trials—Atonement By the Shedding of Blood—Our Heavenly Father—A Privilege Given to All the Married Sisters in Utah". Journal of Discourses. Vol. 4. p. 56 – via BYU.
  5. ^ Lipka, Michael (May 22, 2015). "Mormons more likely to marry, have more children than other U.S. religious groups". Pew Research Center.
  6. ^ a b Conley, L.J. (October 1990). "Childbearing and childrearing practices in Mormonism". Neonatal Network. 9 (3). Springer Publishing. Abstract. ISSN 0730-0832. PMID 2215445.
  7. ^ a b "Birth Control". Relief Society Magazine. 3 (7). LDS Church. July 1916 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ a b "Birth Control". Relief Society Magazine. 4 (2). LDS Church. February 1917 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ a b c d Riess, Jana (June 15, 2019). "The incredible shrinking Mormon American family". Religion News Service.
  10. ^ Bush, Lester E. (1994). "Ethical Issues in Reproductive Medicine". Multiply and Replenish: Mormon Essays on Sex and Family. Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books. ISBN 978-1560850502. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ^ Widtsoe, John A. (December 1942). "Evidences and Reconciliations: Should Birth Control Be Practiced?". Improvement Era. Vol. 45, no. 12. LDS Church. pp. 801, 831 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ Teachings Concerning Birth Control and Family Size: First Presidency Statements and Church Handbook of Instructions (PDF). Brigham Young University-Idaho. May 2004. p. 3. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ Smith, Joseph Fielding (1954), McConkie, Bruce R. (ed.), Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith, vol. 2, Bookcraft, pp. 273–274 – via Internet Archive, Birth control is wickedness. The abuse of this holy covenant [to be fruitful and multiply] has been the primary cause for the downfall of nations. ... When a man and a woman are married and they agree, or covenant, to limit their offspring to two or three, and practice devices to accomplish this purpose, they are guilty of iniquity which eventually must be punished. Unfortunately this evil doctrine is being taught as a virtue by many people who consider themselves cultured and highly educated. It has even crept in among members of the Church and has been advocated in some of the classes within the Church. It should be understood definitely that this kind of doctrine is not only not advocated by the authorities of the Church, but also is condemned by them as wickedness in the sight of the Lord. ... Possibly no greater sin could be committed by the people who have embraced this gospel than to prevent or to destroy life in the manner indicated. ... Birth control leads to damnation.
  14. ^ Dye, David A. (2007). Changes in Mormon Doctrine: A Comparison of the 1958 & 1966 versions of Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie. Lulu Press. ISBN 9781257255009.
  15. ^ McConkie, Bruce R. (1958). Mormon Doctrine (1st ed.). Bookcraft – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ Wilkinon, Ernest L. "Presidential Files, Memorandum: Conference Held with First Presidency" (18 August 1967). L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library, Box: 271, Folder 22, p. 2. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  17. ^ Benson, Ezra Taft (June 1969). "To the Humble Followers of Christ". Improvement Era. Vol. 72, no. 6. p. 44 – via Internet Archive. The world teaches birth control. Tragically, many of our sisters subscribe to its pills and practices when they could easily provide earthly tabernacles for more of our Father's children. ... True to form, many of the people who desire to frustrate God's purposes of giving mortal tabernacles to his spirit children through worldwide birth control are the very same people who support the kinds of government that perpetuate famine.
  18. ^ a b Benson, Ezra Taft (October 1, 1988). The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. ISBN 978-0884946397 – via Google Books.
  19. ^ Riess, Jana (March 1, 2023). "LDS Church's slow shift away from demonizing working mothers". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ "President Benson Lauds Blessings of Motherhood". Ensign. LDS Church. May 1987. Do not curtail the number of children for personal or selfish reasons. Material possessions, social convenience, and so-called professional advantages are nothing compared to a righteous posterity.
  21. ^ "To the Mothers in Zion". Eternal Marriage Student Manual. LDS Church. 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  22. ^ Burton, Rulon (April 1, 1994). We Believe: Doctrines and Principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tabernacle Books. p. 263. ISBN 978-0964069602 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ Benson, Ezra Taft (1974). God, Family, Country: Our Three Greatest Loyalties. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. p. 224. ISBN 978-0877475415 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ Brandley, Ben; Spencer, Leland G. (January 1, 2023). "Rhetorics of Allonormativity: The Case of Asexual Latter-day Saints". Southern Communication Journal. 88 (1). Southern States Communication Association: 5–6. doi:10.1080/1041794X.2022.2108891. ISSN 1041-794X. S2CID 251430422.
  25. ^ Anderson, Vern (December 5, 1998). "LDS Handbook Says Family Size Up to Couple, God". The Salt Lake Tribune. Associated Press. pp. A1, A6. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ McKeever, Bill; Johnson, Eric (May 2000). Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints. Baker Books. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-8010-6335-0 – via Google Books.
  27. ^ "Mormonism". Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Macmillan Publishers. 2000 – via Encyclopedia.com. Of any LDS ecclesiastical teaching on medical ethics, the position and rationale regarding contraception has undergone the most extensive revision in the past quarter century.
  28. ^ Campbell, Courtney S. (2021). Mormonism, Medicine, and Bioethics. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-19-753852-4 – via Google Books.
  29. ^ "Birth Control". Eternal Marriage Student Manual. LDS Church. 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  30. ^ a b c d e f "Section 38.6.4 Abortion". General Handbook. LDS Church. 2023.
  31. ^ a b c d e Kemsley, Tamarra (January 28, 2023). "At last, LDS Church employees to get insurance coverage for birth control". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  32. ^ a b Fletcher Stack, Peggy (August 1, 2020). "LDS Church tweaks policies on 'moral issues' ranging from birth control to surrogacy and medical marijuana". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  33. ^ a b "Gospel Topics: Birth Control". LDS Church. 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  34. ^ a b c "The Other Crime: Abortion and Contraception in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Utah". Dialogue. University of Illinois Press. April 2020.
  35. ^ Apgar, Blake; Kemsley, Tamarra (June 24, 2022). "LDS Church, Catholics, other Utah faith leaders react to Roe v. Wade being overturned". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  36. ^ "Views about abortion among Mormons". Pew Research Center. 2011.
  37. ^ Keller, Jeffrey E. (1985). "When Does the Spirit Enter the Body?" (PDF). Sunstone. Vol. 10, no. 2. pp. 42–44.
  38. ^ Condie, Kent C. (Spring 2006). "Premortal Spirits: Implications for Cloning, Abortion, Evolution, and Extinction". Dialogue. 39 (1). University of Illinois Press: 47.
  39. ^ Fletcher Stack, Peggy (August 11, 2007). "Nurse: LDS beliefs open door to stem-cell research". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah.
  40. ^ Fletcher Stack, Peggy (December 18, 2020). "LDS handbook adds warning against prejudice and misinformation, revises entries on sex abuse, conversion therapy, stillborn babies and more". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  41. ^ Gedicks, Frederick Mark (July 31, 2008). "Church Discipline and the Regulation of Membership in the Mormon Church". Ecclesiastical Law Journal. 7 (32). Cambridge University Press: 43. doi:10.1017/S0956618X00004920. S2CID 143228475.
  42. ^ Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (March 2019 ed.). LDS Church. p. 210.
  43. ^ Kimball, Edward L. (1996). "Confession in LDS Doctrine and Practice". BYU Studies Quarterly. 36 (2). Brigham Young University: 12.
  44. ^ Westlund, Tessa Lara (February 8, 2019). "Federal sparring over contraceptive coverage doesn't impact Y employee, student benefits". Daily Universe. Brigham Young University. DMBA does not cover any form of contraceptives for BYU students or employees, according to its plan summary, and has not done so historically. The Church's website says its stance on birth control is that 'the decision of how many children to have and when to have them is a private matter for the husband and wife.' The summary from DMBA does not cite an official reason why DMBA doesn't cover birth control.
  45. ^ Brooks, Joanna (August 8, 2012). "LDS Church and the Birth Control Controversy". Religion Dispatches. Somerville, Massachusetts: Political Research Associates.
  46. ^ White, Katherine A. (July 1999). "Crisis of Conscience: Reconciling Religious Health Care Providers' Beliefs and Patients' Rights". Stanford Law Review. 51 (6). Stanford, California: Stanford University: 1711. doi:10.2307/1229534. JSTOR 1229534. PMID 10558539. 45. Telephone Interview with David Call, supra note 7. The Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators HMO (DMBA) does not cover sterilizations until a woman has had five children or reached the age of forty. While the DMBA policy does not directly refer to LDS church doctrine, the policy is set by the DMBA Ethical Advisory Committee, which has issued guidelines stating that the DMBA will provide benefits consistent with LDS church teachings.
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