Latter-day Saint teachings on birth control

Does the church oppose birth control?

Historically, yes—but the position has changed in wording and administration.

In the early twentieth century, official Church and affiliated publications treated contraception as contrary to divine command. A 1917 Relief Society resolution called contraceptive devices a violation of “the laws of God and nature” and urged Latter-day Saint women to reject the movement. [1] The First Presidency that same year gave “unqualified endorsement” to contemporary articles opposing birth control. [2] In 1943, David O. McKay stated that contraceptive use should be condemned for healthy couples without inherited diseases or weaknesses that might harm offspring. [3]

That opposition became especially explicit in mid-century leader statements. Bruce R. McConkie’s 1966 Mormon Doctrine said that “the position of the true Church remains fixed” and connected that position with the command to multiply and fill the earth. [4] In an April 1969 general conference address, Ezra Taft Benson likewise said the commandment had never been altered and criticized birth-control practices. [5] A 1971 Ensign article described the Church as “against birth control” and quoted a 1969 First Presidency letter saying that artificially curtailing or preventing births was contrary to Church teachings for healthy, vigorous couples. [6]

The current position represented in the official material is more qualified. A 2020 Church Newsroom summary of the General Handbook says that the Church discourages elective surgical sterilization, but that husbands and wives should counsel together and seek spiritual confirmation when considering permanent birth-control procedures. It also says that members usually do not face membership restrictions over matters the Church “discourages.” [7]

Modern general conference teaching also places decisions about family size with the married couple and the Lord. In 2011, Neil L. Andersen affirmed that the command to multiply remains in force, while stating: “When to have a child and how many children to have are private decisions to be made between a husband and wife and the Lord.” [8]

So, the Church has historically opposed artificial birth control in strong terms, but its current stated approach is not a blanket prohibition of contraception: it affirms parenthood and encourages couples to prayerfully decide when to have children and how many to have, while specifically discouraging elective surgical sterilization. [7][8]

Edition and source differences

Substantive Revision

Earlier Church-era publications described birth control as contrary to Church teachings, while the 2020 Handbook summary frames family-planning decisions as matters for married couples and the Lord and specifically identifies elective surgical sterilization as discouraged.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strongly encourages married couples to have children. It is against birth control.

Realities of the Population Explosion, The Ensign, 1971–2020, 1971, p. 18

The Church continues to discourage surgical sterilization as an elective form of birth control.

Significant Updates Made to Five Chapters of the General Handbook, Church Newsroom, Newsroom, 2007

The change is substantive: the older sources use categorical opposition, whereas the current policy summary does not present a blanket prohibition and distinguishes discouragement from membership restrictions.

Clarification

The 2011 conference statement retains the commandment to multiply but clarifies that timing and number of children are private decisions made by a husband and wife and the Lord.

The Lord did not say to multiply and replenish the earth if it is convenient, or if you are wealthy, or after you have gotten your schooling, or when there is peace on earth, or until you have four children.

To the Humble Followers of Christ, Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference, April 1969, 1969, Conference Report, April 1969, pp. 10–15

When to have a child and how many children to have are private decisions to be made between a husband and wife and the Lord.

Children, Neil L. Andersen, General Conference, October 2011, 2011

It separates the continuing theological value placed on parenthood from a fixed required family size.

Sources

1. Volume 4, Number 6 (June 1917) — Relief Society Magazine, Volume 4, 1917, p. 323 — Periodical
2. Volume 4, Number 2 (February 1917) — Relief Society Magazine, Volume 4, 1917, p. 69 — Periodical
3. The Home Front — David O. McKay, General Conference, October 1943, 1943, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 28–33 — Official Church
4. Birth Control — Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966 Second Edition (post-1978 revised printing), 1966, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. (digital reprint), pp. 61–62 — Leader
5. To the Humble Followers of Christ — Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference, April 1969, 1969, Conference Report, April 1969, pp. 10–15 — Official Church
6. Realities of the Population Explosion — The Ensign, 1971–2020, 1971, p. 18 — Periodical
7. Significant Updates Made to Five Chapters of the General Handbook — Church Newsroom, Newsroom, 2007 — Official Church
8. Children — Neil L. Andersen, General Conference, October 2011, 2011 — Official Church