Mormon Church leaders spoke out against homosexuality during their biannual conference last weekend in Salt Lake City.
The leaders affirmed their commitment to traditional marriage, and urged Mormons not to be influenced by worldly standards.
"We want our voice to be heard against all of the counterfeit and alternative lifestyles that try to replace the family organisation that God Himself established," said L. Tom Perry, a member of the faith's Quorum of the Twelve.
Perry also voiced opposition to the depiction of traditional values as fading, and the presentation of minority lifestyles as the majority. He said traditional families are the backbone of our nation - a sentiment that fellow Quorum member D. Todd Christofferson echoed.
"A family built on the marriage of a man and woman supplies the best setting for God's plan to thrive - the setting for the birth of children who come in purity and innocence from God," he said during the conference.
Despite their stance on traditional families, the Church showed support for an LGBT rights bill in Utah.
The legislation added sexual orientation and transgender identification as protected classes, while exempting religious groups from discrimination.
The law - signed by Gov. Gary Herbert last month - bans LGBT housing and employment discrimination, but allows churches and religiously-affiliated groups such as the Boy Scouts to maintain their own practices.
Christofferson called the bill a good compromise.
"In this approach, we acknowledged that neither side or no party may get all they want," he admitted. "It is better if both sides get most of what is desired than to have a winner-take-all where one side loses."
The bill was introduced early last month with the backing of the Mormon Church, both political parties, and LGBT activists. The Church announced in January that it supported anti-discrimination legislation to protect LGBT Americans, fast-tracking the legislation.
