How Priesthood Leaders can Support Military Members and Chaplains

In supporting military members and chaplains, priesthood leaders should consider the General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be their primary source of help. Please read the military relations and chaplain sections of the General Handbook in section 38.9 and refer back to them often.

Resources for Supporting Military Members and Their Families

The Church has various resources available for military members and their families. If needed, priesthood leaders may use available stake or ward budget for purchasing items from the Church’s online store.

• Order uniform garments
• Becoming a Self-Reliant and Resilient Family (2016)
• Gospel Lessons for LDS Members Attending Basic Training (2017)
• Military relations videos and devotionals on Gospel Library
• Order pocket-size scriptures
• Order military identification tag

The digital learning experience Military Service Church Orientation is an orientation that is offered to all Church members entering the military. In this orientation, you will learn what to expect regarding Church services and activities in the military. If you are married, please go through this orientation with your spouse.

For countries with mandatory military service, Church members are generally required to complete their military service before they can serve a mission. However, in certain cases, some countries may allow the mandatory military service to be deferred until after the completion of a mission. It is important for priesthood leaders to become familiar with their country’s requirements so they can advise members appropriately.

Stake Military Relations Specialist Responsibilities

As the stake or district military specialist, you have been called to provide resources and help Church members in the military with their unique requirements.

Your responsibilities are listed below. Please note that one of your primary responsibilities is the military service orientation. At this orientation, members entering military service learn what to expect regarding Church services and activities in the military. The orientation may be held on a stake or ward level. A member of the stake presidency or bishopric calls a premilitary service instructor, preferably someone with recent military experience, to provide the orientation.

The orientation may include watching the video “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled.” The member should receive a military scripture set, a Latter-day Saint identification tag, and the Serving Your Country brochure (1998). If a member did not receive this orientation before arriving at basic training, the bishop, branch president, or service member group leader responsible for their training will provide it shortly after the member arrives on the base.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Contact your stake clerk to have your calling updated in Leader and Clerk Resources.

2. Become familiar with the Military Relations website resources.

3. Be a resource to members of your stake serving in the military. This is applicable to members serving on active duty, in the guard, and in the reserve.

4. Counsel with bishops, high councilors, elders quorum presidents, and relief society presidents about their responsibilities to members in your stake who are serving in the military.

• Inform the leaders in your stake that they should notify you when a member has made the decision to serve in the military.
• Instruct the bishops about section 38.9 of the General Handbook regarding ward members in the military.
• Inform the bishops that they should present a pocket-size set of scriptures and a military identification tag to the member entering military service before he or she leaves.

5. Support members as they prepare to serve in the military.

• Provide the military service orientation before a member leaves for basic training. Include the member’s parents and bishop if desired.
• It is critical that endowed members entering basic training receive this orientation as soon as is feasible.
• Inform the military relations office at Church headquarters when a member knows what service he or she will enter and has a basic training date. The military relations office will contact the military relations missionaries (MRM) assigned to the basic training installation.
• If you are not able to provide the military service orientation, the MRM at the basic training location will provide the military service orientation. They can include the member’s parents and bishop if desired.
• Order pocket-size scriptures and a military identification tag from the Online Store in advance so the bishop can present these to the member when the bishop interviews the member before he or she leaves for military service.

For questions or additional guidance, priesthood leaders should contact the Military Relations and Chaplain Services Division 1-801-240-2286 or pst-military@ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Group Leader Responsibilities

In our high operations tempo military, many Latter-day Saint service members are deployed around the world. When they are aboard ships or in locations where they are unable to attend the local ward or branch, the appropriate stake president can establish a service member group for them. A service member group is a small Church unit that holds Church meetings for Church members in the military and looks after their welfare.

In the US Army and Air Force, service member group leaders are referred to as Distinctive Religious Group Leaders (DRGL). In the Navy they are referred to as Religious Lay Leaders. In the military, all religious programs fall under the responsibility of the commander. Therefore, service member group leaders serve upon approval of the military commander and are supervised by the unit chaplain.

When a Service Member Group Can Be Established

The appropriate stake president will establish a service member group in the following circumstances:

• Church members are assigned to Navy ships that deploy for extended sea duty.
• Church members belong to Reserve or National Guard units and participate in monthly weekend drills or annual training exercises.
• Church members participate in short-term training exercises (lasting two to four weeks).
• A military unit is deployed or will be deployed for contingency or special forces operations to a location where (a) the Church is not organized, (b) members of the unit do not understand the language spoken in the local ward or branch, (c) attendance at local Church meetings is not feasible, or (d) the unit is not allowed to divulge its location because of security concerns.

Requesting a Service Member Group

To request a service member group, the potential group leader or their stake president needs to email pst-military@ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

1. Provide the following information:

• Subject line: Requested Group Leader
• Group leader full name
• Group leader or stake president email address
• Branch of service, home unit, and location
• Deployed area and unit
• Effective date to begin serving (date of deployment) and anticipated date of return
• Home ward
• Home stake with stake president’s name and email address
• Spouse’s name and email address
• Spouse’s home address and phone number
• Letter of recommendation from stake president (may be in the email)

2. A letter of appointment will be emailed to the group leader when this information is received.

3. The group leader should give a copy of the letter to the unit chaplain or to the commander if the unit does not have a chaplain. Without the letter of appointment, the military will not allow the group leader to conduct worship services.

If there is a military installation within a stake boundary, Church members in the military normally participate in wards or branches located near the military installation. However, there are certain circumstances in which a stake president may find it necessary to establish a ward or branch directly at the installation to cater specifically to military personnel and their families. Here are some examples:

• There is not an organized Church unit within a reasonable distance of the military installation where Church members are assigned.
• Military personnel are in a country where they do not understand the language spoken in the local ward or branch.
• Military personnel are unable to leave a military installation because of training requirements or other restrictions.

For additional information, see the military relations sections of the General Handbook in section 38.

Latter-day Saint chaplains serve people of all faiths. They collaborate closely with local priesthood leaders in their service. They are expected to attend Church meetings in their own ward and serve in a calling in their ward or stake.

All Latter-day Saint chaplains must receive an annual ecclesiastical endorsement. The stake president is responsible for conducting an annual interview with each chaplain in his stake, completing the Annual Interview of a Latter-day Saint Chaplain form for each chaplain, and submitting the form to the Military Relations and Chaplain Services Division.

If there is a military installation within a stake boundary, the stake presidency can organize a stake military relations committee to advise on military matters. The committee should be comprised of a chairman and committee members, as needed. Where possible, the chairman should be a senior military officer or Latter-day Saint chaplain. A stake high council member who is in the military may also serve as the committee chairman.

Functions of the committee include:

• Develop a working relationship with the senior chaplain at the military installation and serve as a liaison between the stake and the installation. Provide the senior chaplain at the installation with the contact information of stake and ward leaders so that he can provide this information to newly arriving military members who are members of the Church.
• Advise the stake presidency when there is a need to appoint a service member group leader at the military installation or for deploying units.
• If basic training is held at the installation, ensure that Church members attending basic training receive a military scripture set, a Latter-day Saint identification tag, and the Serving Your Country brochure (if they did not receive them from their home ward or branch).
• Hold regular meetings to address the needs of military members in the stake. A sample agenda can be found here.

For further information, priesthood leaders can contact the Military Relations and Chaplain Services Division at 801-240-2286 or PST-Military@ChurchofJesusChrist.org.