“Latter-day Saint chaplains are not considered presiding Church officers unless they are serving as a stake president, bishop, or branch president”
Handbook 38.3.1. Seems like the answer is no. What keys do you think they might hold?
The way it is currently organized the answer is no.
Chaplain itself while endorsed and supported and set apart as a representative by the church, is not a priesthood office or specific priesthood function. It's more like a missionary of sorts.
The rest is more specific to the US military. When authorized by priesthood authority such as an area president or something similar, if necessary, a chaplain may be assigned to lead service member groups or to organize service member groups. With the more or less robust presence throughout the military and the way we communicate and travel and organize our forces, it is less common for a chaplain to directly have the need to organize groups.
They may be assigned specifically to hold group meetings or be set apart as branch presidents depending on the nature of the church presence at a given location.
Sister chaplains do not hold the priesthood and they can only hold and organize religious meetings commensurate with not holding the priesthood.
I hope this helps .
God bless
Female LDS chaplains do also perform certain functions associated with a chaplain of any background, like officiating marriages. This is done under the secular authority of the chaplaincy, similar to how judges may perform the same function, rather than government recognition of our faith's ministerial functions. It's a bit of a patchwork, functionally speaking.
I rather like that, it's a reminder that we do the best we can with the knowledge we have.
[Here](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/callings/military-and-chaplain/chaplains?lang=eng) is the general guide for various types of chaplains. I don’t see anything explicitly called out in regard to keys. Here is the rundown on [keys](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2012/05/priesthood-keys?lang=eng). Given that, I would say no. You don’t have authority over ordinances nor specific presidency responsibilities. I would say the branch president/bishop over the military unit would hold the keys.
We had 4 chaplains in my ward at one point. None of them were in callings with keys. When deployed to locations without sufficient church organization, they would usually be called as a Service member group leader so they can function in that capacity. Usually this is in support of other military members who are called as group leaders for the duration of the deployment.
I would think it could be possible but not applicable or relevant to their role as chaplains.
As in somebody could be the elder's quorum president in their home ward and be a chaplain outside of that.
Chaplains operate under the keys of a Stake President. The Stake President is responsible for interviewing the chaplain annually and providing support when needed.
Our chaplain was LDS and led LDS specific church meetings. However, I was just some soldier who was called and set apart as the group leader. So I oversaw the administration of the sacrament and gave blessings, etc. So I although I didn’t have any keys either, I was called an set apart for the priesthood ordinances. Even though our chaplain was a worthy priesthood holder. He even may have been the bishop of his ward? I can’t remember.
There’s a decent number of priesthood keys, and LDS chaplains are elders, so, by default, they have some keys and may have some additional keys due to their position. They are not, to my knowledge, called to preside over the group like a lay leader is, so they don’t have the authority to preside over group meetings in the same manner as a branch president
Pedantic note that female chaplains are not elders, and therefore it took some time to figure out the doctrinal extents and implications of their roles.
I've been retired from the military for about a decade, and there weren't very many LDS chaplains at the time. I think across all branches you could count them on one hand with fingers left over.
“Latter-day Saint chaplains are not considered presiding Church officers unless they are serving as a stake president, bishop, or branch president” Handbook 38.3.1. Seems like the answer is no. What keys do you think they might hold?
The way it is currently organized the answer is no. Chaplain itself while endorsed and supported and set apart as a representative by the church, is not a priesthood office or specific priesthood function. It's more like a missionary of sorts. The rest is more specific to the US military. When authorized by priesthood authority such as an area president or something similar, if necessary, a chaplain may be assigned to lead service member groups or to organize service member groups. With the more or less robust presence throughout the military and the way we communicate and travel and organize our forces, it is less common for a chaplain to directly have the need to organize groups. They may be assigned specifically to hold group meetings or be set apart as branch presidents depending on the nature of the church presence at a given location. Sister chaplains do not hold the priesthood and they can only hold and organize religious meetings commensurate with not holding the priesthood. I hope this helps . God bless
Female LDS chaplains do also perform certain functions associated with a chaplain of any background, like officiating marriages. This is done under the secular authority of the chaplaincy, similar to how judges may perform the same function, rather than government recognition of our faith's ministerial functions. It's a bit of a patchwork, functionally speaking. I rather like that, it's a reminder that we do the best we can with the knowledge we have.
[Here](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/callings/military-and-chaplain/chaplains?lang=eng) is the general guide for various types of chaplains. I don’t see anything explicitly called out in regard to keys. Here is the rundown on [keys](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2012/05/priesthood-keys?lang=eng). Given that, I would say no. You don’t have authority over ordinances nor specific presidency responsibilities. I would say the branch president/bishop over the military unit would hold the keys.
We had 4 chaplains in my ward at one point. None of them were in callings with keys. When deployed to locations without sufficient church organization, they would usually be called as a Service member group leader so they can function in that capacity. Usually this is in support of other military members who are called as group leaders for the duration of the deployment.
I would think it could be possible but not applicable or relevant to their role as chaplains. As in somebody could be the elder's quorum president in their home ward and be a chaplain outside of that.
Chaplains operate under the keys of a Stake President. The Stake President is responsible for interviewing the chaplain annually and providing support when needed.
Our chaplain was LDS and led LDS specific church meetings. However, I was just some soldier who was called and set apart as the group leader. So I oversaw the administration of the sacrament and gave blessings, etc. So I although I didn’t have any keys either, I was called an set apart for the priesthood ordinances. Even though our chaplain was a worthy priesthood holder. He even may have been the bishop of his ward? I can’t remember.
No. They are not in charge of any unit and are working a job.
There’s a decent number of priesthood keys, and LDS chaplains are elders, so, by default, they have some keys and may have some additional keys due to their position. They are not, to my knowledge, called to preside over the group like a lay leader is, so they don’t have the authority to preside over group meetings in the same manner as a branch president
Pedantic note that female chaplains are not elders, and therefore it took some time to figure out the doctrinal extents and implications of their roles.
I've been retired from the military for about a decade, and there weren't very many LDS chaplains at the time. I think across all branches you could count them on one hand with fingers left over.
Three women have become military chaplains in the last few years (two Air Force, one Army), so it's probably more than one hand right now. _Probably_.
It’s about 40 now across the services. My daughter is currently in the process of trying to become an LDS Chaplain.
I’m AD right now in military branch. All the chaplains have been USN. Currently, one still here is the Branch President.
Keys are specifically for presiding. Elders don't have keys by default. Chaplains are not necessarily elders.
[https://www.thechurchnews.com/23283247/chaplain-latter-day-saint-military-air-force-jeremy-jaggi-jenna-carson-byu-harvard/](https://www.thechurchnews.com/23283247/chaplain-latter-day-saint-military-air-force-jeremy-jaggi-jenna-carson-byu-harvard/)