The Mormon Church Implies Trans People are Unclean and Unworthy
Updates to official Mormon handbook work to ostracize trans people.
by Mira Lazine
Daily Femail is Assigned Media’s newest column, offering real opinions delivered with a satirical tone to address last week’s biggest news stories. Written by Mira Lazine, the column aims to humorously mock right-wing tabloids while also providing quality reporting every Tuesday.
The Church of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, released its latest rendition of their official handbook. This handbook gives insight into how the central Church chooses to approach trans people - in perhaps the most hostile way possible.
The handbook, and official statements and press releases from the church itself, aren’t openly claiming to hate trans people. In fact, officially the church claims no ideological position on trans people. They state in section 38.6.23 of their handbook that trans people “should be treated with sensitivity, kindness, compassion, and Christlike love. All are children of God and have divine worth.”
Yet, just a few paragraphs down, they explicitly state, “church leaders counsel against pursuing surgical, medical, or social transition away from one’s biological sex at birth.” This comes after them drawing a line between “worthy” individuals who have not undergone any transition, social or otherwise, and trans people who choose to undergo any type of transition.
They continue, “Leaders advise that [transitioning] will result in some Church membership restrictions. These restrictions include receiving or exercising the priesthood, receiving or using a temple recommend, and serving in some Church callings.”
These restrictions are particularly vast. Those who transitioned cannot work with children in relationship to the church, serve as teachers, become a priest, or be in any gender-specific assignments, which includes a ban on trans people using the restroom that they identify with. There is an exception to this rule - that trans people keep a “trusted person” outside their preferred restroom while they’re using it.
The restrictions that may be the most limiting to trans members of the Church, however, is that they cannot receive a temple recommend and cannot be baptized without special permission from top leaders in the faith. A temple recommend is a certificate that allows Mormons to enter sacred places of worship that are often restricted from the general public. According to the handbook, “The Lord promises that if those who enter His house are clean, His presence will be there.”
Any implications of this are left up to the reader.
As for how this affects other groups, readers of the Daily Femail might also wonder about the church’s stance on detransitioners. Readers are encouraged not to worry as the church has an answer for this, “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 enjoy all the privileges of Church membership.” Incredibly fortunate for the large number of Mormon detransitioners out there.
If all of this wasn’t enough, trans people will also receive an “annotation” on their membership records, something typically reserved for people who committed some type of crime.
Remember, the church does not take an ideological position on trans people. They also do not take a position on the “causes of gender dysphoria.” There are no contradictions here whatsoever, just as There Is No War In Ba Sing Se.
This policy from the church may not surprise many readers who characterize the religion as being entirely oppositional to transgender rights. However, many different localities have been comparatively more supportive of trans people for quite some time, with prior policies leaving it up to individual bishops on how best to approach trans people.
For instance, Laurie Lee Hall, a trans woman based near Louisville, Kentucky, had been excommunicated from the church after transitioning in 2017. She nevertheless participated in local activities by the church and even was placed in women-specific events, where she formed a community with other women. But these new guidelines make her participate with men.
“While I’ve had some separation from the church in terms of my membership and beliefs, I’ve enjoyed at least a social connection with the women at church. Now, none of that is going to be possible.” She said to the Associated Press. She describes how congregating with men would “put a target” on her for being trans.
Of the new policies, she said, “It implies that a trans member is somehow a danger to others. It’s dehumanizing and far too toxic to handle for members who are still in the process of reconciling their gender identity with their faith.”
Is a valued member of the community not “clean” enough for the church simply because she’s trans? If that’s the case, the real question is where the filth actually lies. The hint is, it’s not with trans people nor everyday Mormons.
Nevertheless, Daily Femail again asks readers to worry not, because the Church says trans people “are encouraged to seek counsel from their bishop. Bishops counsel with the stake president to address individual circumstances with sensitivity and Christlike love.”
Perfect for all the trans people who want to be told how “unworthy” they are, a favorite pass-time among many members of the alphabet mafia.
Michael Soto, President of Equality Arizona and a trans man who grew up in the LDS church, said on the Salt Lake Tribune’s Mormon Land podcast of these new policies, "I've heard a lot of hurt and disappointment [from trans people]... If people don't feel that the policies align with who they are, with keeping their families safe, they're going to leave those churches and states. Some trans folks will try to stay in the church and live with these policies, some will leave... It does make me sad for the church community, because it does mean there will be a loss in trans people who want to participate. I think it's a loss for the community and the church."
Soto, however, expresses hope that the policies will change. He works with people inside the church to bridge the gap for trans people, in an attempt to show that trans people are actually real people with genuine emotions and deserve rights.
In support of this, he references the church’s stance from 2015 that classifies same-sex couples as “apostates,” restricting many rights for gay people in the church. This policy was walked back on a few years later, and Soto has hope that the policy will change, thanks in large part to the work of trans people within the church who choose to stay and enact change from the inside.
Whether the church can truly change again remains to be seen. What also remains to be seen is just how clean and worthy trans people need to be in order to actually participate as full people. Perhaps the church just wants trans people to pray the trans away - as we all know, that famously works every single time.
Mira Lazine is a freelance journalist covering transgender issues, politics, and science. She can be found on Twitter, Mastodon, and BlueSky, @MiraLazine