He said the church's statement appeared to oppose recognizing relationships such as civil unions in Vermont or domestic partnerships in California. But McCoy contends the amendment would go beyond that, possibly preventing the recognition of any legal documents between unmarried couples — such as wills or powers of attorney.

"Even in light of the church's new statement, fair-minded and reasonable Utahns can believe in that goal," McCoy said. "Let's make the Legislature actually give us an amendment that preserves traditional marriage and doesn't hurt people or cost taxpayer money."

In an unexpected move last summer, GOP Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and his opponents, Democrat Greg Skordas and Libertarian Andrew McCollough, issued a joint statement opposing Amendment 3, expressing concerns that the proposed amendment could affect more than same-sex couples.

In reacting to the church's latest statement, Paul Murphy, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said Shurtleff has "already expressed his constitutional and legal concerns about the second part of Amendment 3."

"He supports an amendment that would legally define a marriage between a man and a woman, which is consistent with the statement by the LDS Church."

Not everyone is convinced that the church's statement amounts to an endorsement of Amendment 3.

"It just leaves me hopelessly confused in how the church stands," said J.D. WIlliams, retired University of Utah professor of political science.

"The second part of the church's statement is gobbledygook. . . . Are they for or against it?," said Williams, who is opposed to Amendment 3.

Monson said the statement will get the attention of "active Mormons who make up a large portion of the electorate."

He said the weight of the church's current statement could be compared to a previous issue in which the church clearly stated its position — a pari-mutuel betting amendment proposed in 1992.

The LDS Church has always opposed gambling, and during the horse-betting debate, the church came out specifically against allowing any type of gambling in Utah. The proposed amendment, which was never leading in the polls, went down in a significant defeat.

Opinion polls taken before Tuesday's statement indicate that most Utahns, especially those who identified themselves as "very active" LDS, support the marriage amendment.

The most recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll showed that 64 percent of Utah voters supported the measure. However, when asked about the amendment's two parts separately, only 46 percent said they "strongly support" the second part, which would prevent any other domestic union from being recognized as a marriage.