Church leaders teach that the decision of how many children to have and when to have them is an extremely intimate and private decision and should be left to the married couple and the Lord. A fundamental part of the religion is that people should strive to be spiritually self reliant. In other words members should learn how to pray and receive answers to prayer for the guidance of their lives. A married couple should prayerfully determine the answer to this question as it applies to their circumstances. As long as they are seeking and following the direction of the Holy Ghost the practice of birth control is not a sin.

The Church leaves the decision to use or not use birth control up to the couples and the Lord. They are not against the use of birth control, with the exception of elected abortion which is prohibited in the LDS Church.