A number of years ago, a presidential candidate caught flack for asking, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

In response, LDS Church spokeswoman Kim Farah is quoted as saying that such a question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine. She goes on to say:

"We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all...That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for." (As quoted by AP correspondent Libby Quaid.)

This is a very predictable LDS response to questions such as this: sidestep it, label it as a "smear", and then give a misleading, incomplete "clarification."

Republican candidate Mitt Romney, also responded to this question, and went so far as to suggest that that it did not accurately represent what Mormonism teaches (Hannity and Colmes, December 12, 2007.)

The problem is, the simple answer to the original question is "Yes." Mormonism does teach this doctrine. Period.

The LDS publication "Gospel Principles", a straightforward presentation of Mormon doctrine, says this directly in chapter 3, pp. 17 and 18:

Our Father said, "Whom shall I send?" Two of our brothers offered to help. Our oldest brother, Jesus Christ, who was then called Jehovah, said, "Here am I, send me." ... Satan, who was called Lucifer, also came, saying, "Behold, her am I, send me..." ...After hearing both sons speak, Heavenly Father said, "I will send the first." (See full Gospel Principles text online.)

It references the account in Abraham 3:27 from the Pearl of Great Price, one of the LDS standard works of scripture.

In addition, the LDS church spokeswoman grossly misrepresented Christian beliefs in an attempt to minimize the distinctiveness of this doctrine. Christians do not believe that Christ is a created being or a spirit child of God. Rather, Jesus is himself the Creator from eternity past. Therefore Christians are offended when Christ and Satan are presented in any way as ever having been peers.

It is important to note that this doctrine of Jesus and Satan being brothers is best understood in the broader context of the Mormon doctrine of pre-existence, which states that all of us (that is, all humans, angels, Jesus, Satan, the demons, etc.) are the literal "spirit children" of God the Father, born (ostensibly to a heavenly Mother) in heaven prior to our existence on Earth. So in this sense, Jesus and Satan are brothers, just as we are their brothers and sisters. This, however, is in conflict with the way not only Jesus is portrayed in the Bible, but the way humanity is portrayed, as well.

The furor over this question serves to illustrate something that Main Street Church holds as absolutely essential and something that cannot be compromised: the identity and nature of Jesus Christ.

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