A new Mormon church policy considers church members in same-sex marriages as apostates whose children will be barred from baptism and church membership unless they disavow same-sex unions.The policy is outlined in a guide for lay leaders known as Handbook 1, parts of which were posted online by a popular Mormon podcaster who was excommunicated by the church earlier this year on grounds that his public dissents drove others away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church's official name.In a statement, a Mormon church spokesman, Eric Hawkins, described the document as a "policy and procedural guide" and reaffirmed the church's longstanding opposition to same-sex marriage."While it respects the law of the land, and acknowledges the right of others to think and act differently, it does not perform or accept same-sex marriage within its membership," the statement said.John Dehlin, the excommunicated founder of the podcast "Mormon Stories" and a self-described "unorthodox" Mormon, posted the documents detailing the changes on Facebook Thursday, saying "legally married LGBT Mormons" will likely be "hunted down and threatened with the inhumane and barbaric" church disciplinary procedures.
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