Anti-LGBTQ+ former judge Dallin Oaks set to become new head of the Mormons

Anti-LGBTQ+ former judge Dallin Oaks is expected to become the new president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons, following the death of Russell M Nelson at the weekend.

The oldest-ever president of the Mormon Church and a former heart surgeon, Nelson died on Saturday (27 September) in Salt Lake City, Utah. He had celebrated his 101st birthday three weeks earlier and is survived by his wife, Wendy, eight of his 10 children, 57 grandchildren and more than 160 great-grandchildren.

His tenure, which began in 2018, was notable for the reversal of several anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including that same-sex marriage was worthy of expulsion and that the children of same-sex couples would not be baptised for the entirety of their childhood until they “disavowed” their parents’ relationship.

These strictures led to thousands of members leaving the Church. Despite this, Nelson continued to maintain his anti-LGBTQ+ views.

Following Nelson’s death, the Church said in an official news release that his “time as prophet will forever be remembered as one of global ministry, increased temple construction and profound change”.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Donald Trump described Nelson as “sharp and engaged in service up until the end”, adding: “Russell had a remarkable life, pioneering life-saving heart surgery techniques and, of course, his ministry of many decades. He was a physician, literally and spiritually, and will be greatly missed.”

President of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, 93-year-old Dallin Oaks, who is expected to become the Church’s next president, said: “All of us who worked with Russell M Nelson, and the many he has taught and associated with, have marvelled at his extraordinary modesty for a man of great accomplishments and [we] have marvelled at his gentleness.

“He [was] the gentlest and sweetest person you could ever hope to associate with. And he will always be remembered that way.”

As the next-longest tenured member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, Oaks is set to take the helm of the global religion that boasts 17.5 million members.

Oaks, much like Nelson, is known for his anti-LGBTQ+ views. In 1987, he told journalists that the Church took a “love the sinner, condemn the sin” approach and that, as for heterosexuals, gay members should not engage in sexual intercourse outside marriage. Same-sex unions in any form are not recognised.

In an interview on the Church website about same-gender attraction, Oaks claimed that in recent years, there had been “unrelenting pressure from advocates of that lifestyle to accept as normal what is not normal” and to characterise those who disagreed as “narrow-minded, bigoted and unreasonable”, adding that: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must take a stand on doctrine and principle. This is more than a social issue, ultimately it may be a test of our most-basic religious freedoms to teach what we know our father in heaven wants us to teach.”

Homosexual feelings were controllable, and homosexuality was “not a noun that describes a condition [but, rather] an adjective that describes feelings or behaviour”, he said.

“Everyone has challenges they have to struggle with. [Homosexuality] has become politicised. But it’s only one of a host of challenges men and women have to struggle with, and I encourage you to seek the help of the saviour to resist temptation and to refrain from behaviour that would cause you to have to repent or to have your Church membership called into question.

“That is exactly the same thing we say to the many [straight] members who don’t have the opportunity to marry. We expect celibacy of any person [who] is not married.”

In 2022, at the Church’s biannual conference, Oaks spoke out against same-sex marriage and “changes that confuse or alter gender”. The highest level of salvation “can only be attained through faithfulness to the covenants of an eternal marriage between a man and a woman”, he added.

Referring to transgender people, he said the Mormon Church “opposed changes that confuse or alter gender or homogenise the differences between men and women” and “confusing gender, distorting marriage and discouraging child-bearing” was the devil’s work.

His grandson, Jared, who is gay, has criticised that rhetoric, saying: “When we are taught that others are morally corrupt or dangerous for acting on the way they love, we create an environment ripe for violence.”

Jared also wrote on Facebook that his grandfather has made “a religious career out of anti-LGBTQIA+ policies, not prophecies”.

In 1975, and again six years later, Oaks was reportedly considered for a seat on the bench of the US Supreme Court.

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