Gender and mormonism

An official statement made in 1995 by the LDS Church's First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles states that "gender is an essential characteristic of individual pre-mortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose". The LDS Church has no official policy on the status of intersex persons. Transgender persons are accepted in the church and may be baptized, but may not receive the priesthood or enter the temple if they are considering or have undergone elective sex reassignment surgery. Within the church, there have also been a number of unofficial statements regarding gender. For example, "Strengthening Our Families: An In-Depth Look at the Proclamation on the Family" (a book compiled by the School of Family Life at the church-owned Brigham Young University) states, "Although we do not fully understand the eternal nature of gender, we should acknowledge its meaning and purpose, and humbly seek to understand and appreciate the nature of divine gender distinctions in God's plan for His children." The book also states: "God created us male and female. This is not a mistake or a variety of genetic or hormonal chance. What we call gender is an essential characteristic of our existence prior to our birth. Gender is part of our eternal identity and essential to our eternal progression. Although we may not know all the reasons why this is so, we do know some of the reasons why gender is essential to our eternal progression. To achieve our exaltation, an eternal marriage between a man and a woman is necessary .... The sexual union between a married man and woman is, among other things, the means God has ordained to bring His spirit children into mortality, which is an essential step in the plan of salvation." In a contribution to a work on the church's 1995 official statement, Robert L. Millet writes that "[o]ver the last four decades, we have observed widespread consideration of ideas and worldviews that are destructive of individuals and families." He then discusses instances such as when men have been instructed to be stoic, or stern, to hide their emotions. He continues: "In general we could say that men and women, in and out of the Church, have been taunted and titillated with views concerning man, woman, priesthood, and family that are at odds with the revealed word and thus with 'things as they really are, and ... as they really will be' (Jacob 4:13) .... No person who revolts against the divinely established role and calling he or she was given before the foundations of this earth were laid can be happy or find real fulfillment, not here or in eternity." Apostle David A. Bednar stated: "[Gender] in large measure defines who we are, why we are here upon the earth, and what we are to do and become. For divine purposes, male and female spirits are different, distinctive, and complementary. … The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females were needed to implement the plan of happiness". Apostle M. Russell Ballard taught, "The premortal and mortal natures of men and women were specified by God Himself. … [Sometimes women] ask: 'Is a woman's value dependent exclusively upon her role as a wife and mother?' The answer is simple and obvious: No. … Every righteous man and woman has a significant role to play in the onward march of the kingdom of God."