SALT LAKE CITY -- A father has sued The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for ordaining his two teenage sons without his permission.

Michael Gulbraa is seeking a court order preventing the church from performing similar actions in the future. Gulbraa said church leaders breached a secular agreement in 2001 by performing religious ordinances without his consent, usurping parental authority.

The church allows males 12 and older to be ordained to the priesthood, with which they can perform ecclesiastical duties.

A 3rd District judge dismissed Gulbraa's lawsuit, but the Utah Court of Appeals heard his case Wednesday. Gulbraa's lawyer, Kevin Bond, said Gulbraa has sole custody of his children.

"Mr. Gulbraa has the legal right to decide his children's religious upbringing," Bond argued.

Church attorney Matthew Richards said the dispute is between Gulbraa and his former wife, Etsuko Tanizaki Allred, who lives in Japan. She was not available for comment.

Richards said it was Allred who asked church leaders to perform the ordinance in Japan. Gulbraa's younger son, Chris, 16, said his mother and stepfather forced him to be ordained.

"They pretty much decided everything," he said. "It wasn't my choice."

Gulbraa is a former resident of South Jordan. He and his son Chris live in Columbus, Ind. His other son, Michael, still lives in Japan and there is a custody dispute.

Gulbraa says he told church officials to get his permission before performing any ecclesiastical ordinances. He contends that he had a "written and implied" contract and produced e-mails from LDS officials in Asia to document his claim.

In the e-mails, church officials acknowledge Gulbraa told them to get permission for ordinances, and blame a misunderstanding for the ordinations being carried out.

Gulbraa said he wouldn't sue the church if he got a written apology. The church declined.

Gulbraa's lawsuit asked for unspecified damages, but he said his motivation isn't money.

"I worked with the church as long as I could," he said. "All I wanted was an apology. How do you put a monetary value on something like thatfi"

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.