409: The Family Proclamation: Living Document or Unchanging Doctrine?

Series Title: What does the Family Proclamation Mean to You? [Episode II of II]

This episode of Latter Day Struggles continues a two-part conversation about the LDS Church's Proclamation on the Family, examining the tension between claims of unchanging doctrine and the historical reality of doctrinal evolution.

Petrey demonstrates through historical analysis that LDS teachings on gender, sexuality, marriage, and family have repeatedly changed over time—from positions on interracial marriage and the priesthood ban, to birth control prohibitions, plural marriage, conversion therapy for LGBTQ individuals, and women wearing pants.

The conversation highlights how church leaders have consistently taught that their current positions were "unchanging doctrine" until those positions eventually changed, creating a pattern that contradicts claims of doctrinal fixity. Petrey offers a constructive framework for understanding doctrine as historically contingent and evolving—consistent with the LDS concept of continuing revelation—rather than eternally fixed.

The Family Proclamation

Op Ed by Taylor Petrey

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and Welcome

00:19 - Overview of the Proclamation to the Family

01:19 - Recap: Last Week's Discussion

01:31 - Defining Doctrine and Authority

02:08 - What Does 'Doctrine' Mean to Members?

03:48 - The Salvational Weight of Doctrine

05:31 - Elder Rasband's Talk and Proclamation Analysis

09:40 - Historical Changes in LDS Doctrine

11:41 - Race, Interracial Marriage, and Doctrinal Change