Community Commentary:

A recent question by presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (“Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?”) brought up an oft-raised objection to “Mormon” theology.

On several occasions I have heard people comment to a radio talk-show host: “How can anyone vote for someone who believes that Satan is a brother of Jesus?” This tends to elicit the reaction that this concept is either heresy or “weird.”

Latter-day Saints believe all of us have a common Heavenly Father (I John 3:2). This includes Jesus, the Son of God, called the “firstborn” (Rom. 8:20) and the “only begotten” (John 1:18), as well as Lucifer, known as the “son of the morning” (Isaiah 14:12).

Heavenly Father knew us before we were born to our earthly parents. In Jeremiah 1:5, the Lord said: “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

God asked Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid “ When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”

Job further states, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them” (Job 1: 6-12 and 2:1). Paul says that we were “chosen in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

We learn from the scriptures state there was a great war in heaven (Rev. 12: 7-11) and that 1/3 of the hosts of heaven who followed Lucifer were cast out with him.

Lucifer was one of the sons of God (Job 2:1) whose name means “light-giver” or “shining one.” He was one of the “morning stars,” but eventually rejected his Father’s plan and led the ignominious rebellion that resulted in his expulsion.