Mormon church says kids with same-sex parents can’t be blessed, baptized

Salt Lake City — In a major policy announcement, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says children living in a same-sex household may not be blessed as babies or baptized.

The decision, which was released Thursday, takes effect immediately, LDS church spokesman Eric Hawkins told 2News.

"A natural or adopted child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship, whether the couple is married or cohabiting, may not receive a name and a blessing," the policy reads.

Natural or adopted children living in a same-sex household will only be allowed to be baptized once they are 18, disavow the practice of same-sex cohabitation or marriage, and stop living within the household, according to the policy. Such baptism would still require the approval of the church's governing First Presidency.

This comes on the same day the LDS church announced to its leaders that participating in a same-sex marriage falls under the definition of apostasy.