Sen. Mike Lee, the Utah Republican and a Mormon, did not remain quiet when the Department of War excluded the Latter-day Saints from list of “Christian” religious affiliations recognized by its chaplaincy corps.
“If only we, as Latter-day Saints, belonged to a church that had ‘Jesus Christ’ in its name and His image in its logo … Oh wait,” Sen. Lee wrote on X.
The decision to exclude Mormonism came after the Pentagon trimmed its recognition of 200 religious designations to 31 for its chaplaincy corps. Even though Mormonism was recognized as one of the 31 religions, Sen. Lee called it “offensive” and objected because it wasn’t listed alongside 20 Christian denominations.
Sen. Lee also contacted President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and the decision was reversed in favor of the Latter-day Saints.
Reacting to that controversy on American Family Radio, Christian church pastor Gino Geraci said the disagreement is important because the issue is basic doctrines about God and Jesus.
“I think Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, Christians all agree that they're not the same,” Geraci told show host Jenna Ellis.
When it comes to Mormonism, Geraci argued, that religion differs greatly from fundamental Christian beliefs about God, Jesus, Satan, and the Trinity.
“In Mormon theology, God used to be a man on another planet. After you become a good Mormon, you have the potential of becoming a god,” Geraci, describing tenets of Mormonism, pointed out.
A common criticism of Mormonism is to call it a polytheistic religion, meaning the belief in numerous gods, which would naturally exclude it from Protestant faiths and their core beliefs.
Not done describing founder Joseph Smith’s religion, Geraci also described the Mormon doctrine known as “Heavenly Parents.” That belief states God is married to a goddess wife, the Heavenly Mother, whose firstborn spirit child is Jesus.
Mormons also believe Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer.
“To me, the controversy isn't to settle, refute, or deny what they believe,” Garaci stressed. “It's just to simply point out that in order for them to get the designation Christian, we have to change the meaning of the word Christian.”
When the list of recognized faiths shrunk from 200 to 31, the Pentagon dropped atheism, humanism, Wiccans, Druids, and Unitarian Universalists. The list of 31 faiths includes Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs, and 20 Christian denominations.
