Why are children of gay couples not allowed to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

There was a policy change sometime in the past two-ish years that really upset some people both inside and outside the church. The policy change made it so that children of gay couples were not allowed to be baptized until they turned 18. 

There is a lot of reading in various places that you could do on this topic. Some of it is good, some of it is not. I hate wading through that crap so I am not going to find it and quote it, but instead I want to share my personal feelings on this topic.

My church sends this "army" of really nice men and women around the world giving away free books and doing all kinds of free service, sacrificing 1 1/2 to 2 years of the prime of their lives to try to convince people to renounce their previous lifestyle and become members of the restored church of Jesus Christ by being baptized. We don't spend that much time talking about what could prevent an investigator from being baptized, and I think a lot of people don't realize that you actually do have to qualify for baptism through an interview process. 

If you are married and your spouse does not agree with you getting baptized, you do not qualify to be baptized. 

I see this policy change with the children of gay couples as super similar; basically, the church is very, very pro-family to the point that if it will risk causing serious contention in important family relationships, church policy is that it would be better to temporarily not be baptized.

Remember, we have this doctrine that everybody in the entire world will get the chance to be baptized, either while they are alive or by proxy after they are dead! Remember that the great majority of God's children on the earth will receive this ordinance by proxy, so apparently, though the ordinance itself is essential, there might be conditions that make it worthwhile to wait.

Children who are not baptized are welcome to attend and participate in sacrament meeting, Sunday School, Primary, and later in the youth programs. Nobody is excluded from the social function of the church by not being baptized (though one will not be able to hold a church calling until being an official member - but there are lots of jobs in the church that are not technically "callings"). Honestly, the majority of people at church do not even know who is or is not baptized (or excommunicated!) around them at church. It doesn't come up particularly often in conversation. If a baptized member takes the sacrament, it is like renewing their baptismal covenants. If a non-baptized person takes the sacrament, it's meaningless. If an excommunicated person takes the sacrament, that's...well, that's not good.

In a way, this policy acknowledges that gay couples raising children together are family units. That is a much more progressive thought than it might seem at first glance.

I like that the church is trying to minimize and avoid feelings of contention within homes, even at the expense of delaying (note that delaying is not the same as limiting!) access to the gift of the Holy Ghost and church membership for some people. It is bittersweet, but it attests that family relationships are really the most important.