Gregory J. Krieg wrote a blog for ABC News titled, “Mormons! The Least You Should Know.” Mr. Krieg, writing from a political perspective, laments the misinformation on Mormonism that appears online, and wants people to be better informed about the Mormon religion. He explains,

“Ignorance creates a vacuum and vacuums, especially in politics, sometimes get filled with nonsense. So, in the interest of adding some factual bits to the nonsensical debates sure to follow, here is the least you should know about Mormonism.”

One of the topics Mr. Krieg addresses was also in the news four years ago. Mr. Krieg writes,

“Mike Huckabee was talking to a New York Times reporter for a magazine piece during that year’s [2008] primary season when, after conceding he didn’t know much about the religion, reportedly asked: ‘Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?’”

According to Mr. Krieg,

“The answer is no; Mormons do not believe that, nor does Mormonism teach it. There is no such thing written in any of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) doctrine.”

Here Mr. Krieg falls into the very trap he is trying to eliminate; he is misrepresenting a very basic doctrine in Mormonism. Not only are Mormons taught to believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers, plenty is written about it in authoritative Mormon sources. Here are a few examples:

“Who is it that is at the head of this? It is the Devil, the mighty Lucifer, the great prince of the angels, the brother of Jesus.” (Apostle Joseph Young, October 11, 1857, Journal of Discourses 6:207)

“But according to our understanding and teaching, Satan is a person with a spirit body, in form like that of all other men. He is a spirit brother of ours and of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Elder Brother in the spirit world.” (Apostle Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Reports, April 1949, 27)

“On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some—especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations. But both the scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly Father and, therefore, spirit brothers. Jesus Christ was with the Father from the beginning. Lucifer, too, was an angel ‘who was in authority in the presence of God,’ a ‘son of the morning.’ (See Isa. 14:12; D&C 76:25–27.) Both Jesus and Lucifer were strong leaders with great knowledge and influence. But as the Firstborn of the Father, Jesus was Lucifer’s older brother. (See Col. 1:15; D&C 93:21.)” (Jess L. Christensen, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, June 1986, 25)

The teaching that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers is also present in current Mormon Church manuals. Consider these:

Primary 7: New Testament, Lesson 2: Jesus Christ Volunteered to Be Our Savior – “Help the children understand the following ideas: 1. In the premortal life we were spirit children and lived with our heavenly parents (Hebrews 12:9). 2. Jesus was the firstborn spirit child of Heavenly Father (D&C 93:21) and is the older brother of our spirits. 3. Lucifer, who became Satan, was also a spirit child of Heavenly Father.”

The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, The Book of Moses, Moses 1:12-22 Satan’s Temptation – “Elder Spencer W. Kimball, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave the following suggestion on how to resist Satan’s temptations: ‘The importance of not accommodating temptation in the least degree is underlined by the Savior’s example. Did not he recognize the danger when he was on the mountain with his fallen brother, Lucifer, being sorely tempted by that master tempter?’”

Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders, Part B, Lesson 27: Jesus Christ, Our Sure Foundation – “To help us return to His presence, Heavenly Father appointed a Savior to redeem us. This Redeemer is our eldest spirit brother, Jesus Christ, who volunteered to come to earth and be our Savior… Lucifer, another spirit brother of ours, also desired to be our Savior.”

A page on the LDS.org website titled “Questions about Church Doctrines” asks, “How could members respond to the question, ‘Are Jesus and Satan brothers?’” One of the resources provided is a link to the Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teachers Manual, Lesson 31, which includes a sidebar note with the answer:

“We believe Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and Redeemer of mankind. Satan is a fallen angel, who opposes Christ and His gospel. We believe that we are all children of God the Father, meaning that we were all created by God and are His spirit children. Jesus and Satan can be considered ‘brothers’ only in the sense that both have the same spiritual parent, God the Father.”

Clearly, Mr. Krieg is wrong to say there is no such thing in Mormonism that teaches “Jesus and the devil are brothers.” Indeed, the concept is foundational to the Mormon worldview which sees Gods, angels (including fallen angels) and human beings “all of one species” (LDS Apostle Parley Pratt, quoted by Robert L. Millet, The Mormon Faith: A New Look at Christianity, 39).

This Mormon theology is entirely incompatible with biblical Christian theology, exhibiting one reason (of many) why Christians believe Mormonism follows a different God and a different Jesus.