Church’s Military Advisory Committee Supports Service Member Families Worldwide

 
This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

 
By Trent Toone, Church News

Maj. Gen. James Taylor’s first involvement with the Church’s Military Advisory Committee occurred as he was deployed into the Balkans in 2004.

He and other Latter-day Saints serving in Kosovo decided to have “Bible study” — in Church terminology, an institute class — to enrich their gospel worship. But they lacked the necessary materials.

He requested and received a case of New Testament institute manuals and other sacrament supplies from a member of the Military Relations Committee, a forerunner of the current Military Advisory Committee in the Military Relations Division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“This great department of our Church made sure our foreign deployed service members had what they needed to be able to worship,” Taylor said.

His second exposure to the committee came when he was called to be a branch president while stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan. The branch wanted to show sessions of general conference and the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional.

Not only did the Church’s Military Advisory Committee facilitate the request, it also arranged to send CDs featuring The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s Christmas Concert.

“When we showed the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional, we had 300 people that came. Only 57 were Church members,” Taylor said. “All were able to leave with a Tabernacle Choir CD.”

Because of these examples of “vital assistance” when he was deployed, Taylor said he was thrilled to be among those invited to serve on the Church’s Military Advisory Committee.

“It has touched my life significantly,” Taylor said.

Established by the First Presidency during World War II, the Church’s Military Advisory Committee is dedicated to providing support and advocating for Latter-day Saint service members and their families worldwide. In coming years, the committee hopes to convey to more stake presidents and bishops the importance of developing relationships with military members and their families to participate in a special ministry.
 

What Is the Military Advisory Committee?

The 10-member Military Advisory Committee of experienced men and women functions in some ways like a ward council, said Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, a General Authority Seventy who serves as an adviser to the committee.

“Think about a ward council getting together on a Sunday. What is the goal of that council? To talk about the one. We come together to talk about how we can help this one person or this family come closer to the Savior and feel love,” Elder Jaggi said. “We emulate very much the same principles of a council.”

The purpose and mission of the Military Advisory Committee is to do the following:

• Advise the First Presidency on challenges faced by service members globally, including events and conflicts worldwide, what is happening in the Church’s prison ministry, policies affecting service members, activation and retention efforts, service members serving in foreign militaries, and Church support for service members and their families.
   
• Assist with the Church’s Military Relations Division in training and mentoring new chaplains endorsed by the Church. The Church has endorsed more than 300 military and civilian chaplains as of 2022 and wants to expand opportunities for more to be endorsed.
   
• Serve as a liaison with senior military leaders.
   
• Assist with strategic planning for the Church’s Military Relations Division.

Military service is exciting and honorable. It’s also difficult and stressful for individuals and families because standards are high and demands are significant. These circumstances can test a member’s testimony, said Elder Bruce A. Carlson, an emeritus General Authority and retired Air Force four-star general with 37 years of service.

“Our goal is to strengthen the testimonies of military members and their families. We think that is very important,” Elder Carlson said.

The Book of Mormon features several examples of honorable men who during times of warfare made a great difference in the lives of those they fought with and served, he said.

“We think we can be successful in having honorable men lead and fight our wars if we strive to strengthen the testimonies and conversions of military members and their families,” Elder Carlson said.

History of the Military Advisory Committee

The origins of the Military Advisory Committee began during World War II when the First Presidency commissioned the General LDS Servicemen’s Committee in 1943. Elder Hugh B. Brown, who later would become a general authority, served as the coordinator, and assistant coordinators were called to supervise geographic areas.

In 1969, the Military Relations Committee consisted of several members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Elder Harold B. Lee, Elder Mark E. Petersen, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, Elder Thomas S. Monson and Elder Boyd K. Packer.

In 1972, Elder David B. Haight served as the director of the Military Relations Committee, with Robert G. Crawford as an assistant.

Ronald C. Jones was the director in 1989, followed by J. Paul Jensen in 1991.

Col. Frank W. Clawson became the director of Military Relations and Chaplain Services in 2001 and served for two decades before the Military Advisory Committee was reorganized in early 2022.

The new committee is much more diversified, Elder Carlson said.

“We have a broader cross section of members. Their military experience is much more current,” he said. “So it is not only broader, but more relevant.”
 

 
Who Serves on the Military Advisory Committee?

The members of the committee are:

• Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, adviser.
• Elder Bruce A. Carlson, committee chairman.
• Maj. Gen. James Taylor, active-duty Army, director of Inter-American Defense College, former brigade commander, holds masters’ degrees in biochemistry and international relations. He spoke at the 2017 chaplain training event.
• Maj. Gen. Jefferson Burton, former adjutant general of the Utah National Guard, serves in the Utah Legislature, former senior vice president of Zions Bank for officer development, master’s in educational counseling.
• Maj. Gen. David Harris, retired active-duty Air Force with 32 years of service, curriculum writer for Air Force test-pilot school, former congressional legislative fellow, master’s in engineering.
• Col. Jason Perry, active duty Marine Corps, deputy division commander 3rd Marine Division Okinawa, regimental commander, master’s in international relations.
• Andrea Wagenbach, works for the U.S. Department of Defense with the equivalent rank of colonel, holds master’s degrees in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, serves as the Church’s Washington D.C. South Coordinating Council director of communications.
• Army Lt. Col. Sonie Munson, active-duty Army, media operations chief for U.S. Northern Command, commissioned through ROTC at BYU, holds master’s degrees in geological engineering, public relations and corporate communications.
• Chaplain, Col. Kleet Barclay, active-duty Air Force, command chaplain for Air Force European Command and Africa Command, former commandant of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College, holds master’s degree in marriage and family therapy.
• Chaplain, Maj. Lee Harms, retired active-duty Army with combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, BYU professor, associate graduate coordinator for BYU chaplaincy program, doctorate of ministry.

The inclusion of two women on the committee for the first time was significant, Elder Jaggi said.

“What is it like to be a woman in the military? It was just so critical to have some different points of view, I think, at this particular time,” he said.

Related Articles

• For the first time, two women called to serve with Church’s Military Advisory Committee
• Episode 110: The first 2 women appointed to the Church’s Military Advisory Committee discuss serving Church and country

Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.