Gramps,
The word Gentile means not Jewish. All people in their patriarchal blessings are part of the tribes of Israel. Are we as Christians Jews or Gentiles?
Mark, from South Bend, Indiana
Dear Mark,
You’re right. Those who are impressed by the Spirit of the Lord to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tend to be those naturally descended from the tribes of Israel–typically from the tribe of Ephraim. President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, has made the following statement—
“The Brethren have taught: In giving a blessing the patriarch may declare our lineage, that is, that we are of Israel, therefore of the family of Abraham, and of a specific tribe of Jacob. In the great majority of cases, Latter-day Saints are of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe to which has been committed the leadership of the Latter-day work” (President Boyd K. Packer, “The Stake Patriarch,” Ensign, November 2002, p. 42).
If anyone joins the Mormon Church who is not a lineal descendant of one of the tribes of Israel, he is adopted into the house of Israel, and has the same status as though he were a literal descendant. Those who join other Christian churches have no such promise made to them, either by their own church authorities or anyone else. Therefore, they have no claim to be descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So they would naturally be designated as Gentiles, i.e., as not pertaining to the house of Israel.
Gramps
