mormon church

The leader of a small polygamous group on the Arizona-Utah border had taken at least 20 wives, most of them minors, and punished followers who did not treat him as a prophet, new court documents show.

Major questions remain about the motive and identity of the perpetrators who carried out the horrific slaying on Nov. 4 in the rural state of Sonora, about 70 miles south of Arizona.

"We want to reduce the hate and contention so common today," said LDS President Dallin Oaks. Church doctrine will consider same-sex marriage "a serious transgression" but not apostasy.

The organizations have had a close relationship for more than a century. But the church hasn't always been happy with changes the Boy Scouts of America has made in recent years.

"My brethren of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles laid hands upon my hands, ordained me, set me apart as president of the church. It was a sacred and humbling experience," Nelson said Tuesday.

The church said that "young men ages 14 to 18 are not being served well" by those programs. Though the church has been resistant to the Scouts' recent LGBT policies, it didn't cite that as the reason.