Aaron answered...

This issue is one that is rife with misunderstanding to outsiders. First, let me say here that we love and accept all of God's children, regardless of beliefs. That being said, we affirm that the central purpose of life is to make and keep covenants in a family relationship. By extension that means bringing children into the world, born in loving families with both a father and a mother.

We believe that our genders are an essential aspect of our eternal identities, that we were male and female even before we came to this earth. Neither sex is more important than the other; both serve the purpose of God to save His children. Both priesthood and motherhood are essential in the rearing of children.

I myself am unspeakably grateful for the blessing of having both a loving father and mother. They each supported me in different ways, unique to their identity as a man and a woman.