The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently updated its policies and guidelines. NPR notes that the updated guidelines prohibit most parishioners from carrying any firearms inside of the organization’s churches. The new guidance reads, “Churches are dedicated for the worship of God and as havens from the cares and concerns of the world. With the exception of current law enforcement officers, the carrying of lethal weapons on Church property, concealed or otherwise, is prohibited.”
The previous guidelines warned against having firearms in church, saying that doing so was “inappropriate,” but this new policy explicitly prohibits carrying weapons inside of a church. A spokesman for the Church said that the new guidelines "took effect the first week of August and will be formally communicated to local Church leaders as new meetinghouse safety guidelines in the near future."
With Texas lawmakers recently passing laws allowing gun owners to carry their firearms into churches, this move by the LDS is something of a preemptive measure. The Texas law is scheduled to go into effect next month, and the LDS reportedly made sure to send a letter about the prohibition to church leaders in Texas to share with their members.