Revised Mormon gay policy triggers firestorm of protest

But its leaders have said sex should only happen between a wedded couple, and that they can not sanction same-sex marriage. The rules also make gay marriages a sin worthy of expulsion. But the guidelines for children marked a jarring shift from the religion's recent push to carve out a more compassionate stance on LGBT issues.

"The surprising impact has been the amount of people who are confused and troubled and disturbed and, frankly, repulsed", Mormon scholar Patrick Mason told Reuters.

LGBT Mormons advocates are stating that the uproar they are seeing is unprecedented. They are saying: 'This doesn't feel right.

"I just can't have my name on this organization any longer, ' she said".

The event was sparked by a leaked change in a confidential handbook sent out by email to leaders of the church's 30,000 congregations around the world, the Times reports.

On Friday, the LDS church issued a statement that says the policy only affects children whose "primary residence" is with a same-sex couple, and that children who have already been baptised and live with a same-sex couple should not be affected, although decisions about their future lie in the hands of "local leaders". They clarified that the rules apply only to children living primarily with a same-sex couple. They also are not retroactive for children who have already been baptized. "It's nearly like they now have to choose between a gay father and a church that they love". Leaders gave multiple speeches preaching a "fairness for all" approach that encourages compassion for gays while protecting religious liberties.

"With the Supreme Court's decision in the United States, there was a need for a distinction to be made between what may be legal and what may be the law of the Church and the law of the Lord", he said on the church's website.

The Mormon church is standing behind its new rules targeting gay members and their children that generated widespread blowback from members, while providing more explanation about them. The couple says the judge cited research that children do better when they are raised by heterosexual couples.

"We are obligated to act... for the welfare of both adults and children", the letter explains.

Blake Atkin, an attorney from Clifton, Idaho, is among those who support the new rules.

Montgomery said the news left her son sobbing and forced her and her husband to consider leaving a religion they've belonged to for generations.

Significant policy changes like this one in the Church of Latter-day Saints require the unanimity of the three-member first presidency and the 12-member quorum of apostles. "They are welcome to attend church meetings and participate in church activities", said a letter signed by Mormon church president Thomas S. Monson and his top two counselors.

On Monday, a prominent Utah LGBT group hosted a "Family Homo Evening", a play on the Mormon ritual of family home nights where gay-supporting Mormons gathered to show solidarity. One group called on guest performers scheduled to join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concerts to boycott the event.

Naugle said that in addition to the 1,700 people who contacted him directly, other Utah residents are attending a mass-resignation march and rally in Salt Lake City on Saturday.