The Mormon Church's New 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy

Claiming to speak for God is a tricky business -- especially when God changes his mind, often, on hot-button political issues after receiving immense public backlash.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, is facing the challenge of explaining why God seems to have dramatically flip-flopped on his stance regarding the inclusion of LGBT families.

In 2016, Russell Nelson, the current prophet and president of the Mormon church, declared that God had personally revealed to senior church leaders that they should ban children of LGBT parents from baptism, an ordinance essential for salvation, according to Mormon doctrine.

This policy change was met with widespread public backlash, with 1,500 Mormons renouncing their church membership in a publicized protest. Since then, many -- including Ellen DeGeneres-- have argued that there is an apparent correlation between the policy change and rising youth suicide rates in Utah.