How One May Become of the House of Israel

How One May Become of the House of Israel The request is made that an answer he given to the following questions: "Is it necessary that we be of the house of Israel in order to accept the Gospel, and all the blessings per- taining to the Gospel? If so, how do we become of the house of Israel, by adoption or by direct lineage?" Every person who embraces the Gospel becomes of the house of Israel. In other words, they become members of the chosen lineage, or Abraham's children through Isaac and Jacob unto whom the promises were made. The great majority of those who become members of the Church are literal descend- ants of Abraham through Ephraim, son of Joseph. Those who are not literal descendants of Abraham and Israel must be- come such, and when they are baptized and confirmed they are grafted into the tree and are entitled to all the rights and privileges as heirs. On this point the Prophet Joseph has said: "The first Comforter, or Holy Ghost, has no other effect than pure in- telligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, en- lightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge, of a man who is of the literal seed of Abraham, than one that is a Gentile, though it may not have half as much visible effect upon the body; for as the Holy Ghost falls upon one of the literal seed of Abraham, it is calm and serene; and his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence ; while the effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham." This is in harmony with the statement in the revelation given September 22-23, 1832 (Sec. 84) : "For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies; they become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the Church and kingdom, and the elect of God." When the Lord called Abraham out of Ur, the land of his fathers, he made certain covenants with him because of his faithfulness. One promise was that through him and his seed

1150 IMPROVEMENT ERA after him, all nations of the earth should be ble8sed. This blessing is accomplished in several ways. First, through Jesus Christ who came through the lineage of Abraham. Second, through the Priesthood which was conferred upon Abraham and his descendants. Third, through the scattering of Israel among all nations by which the blood of Israel was sprinkled among the nations, and thus the nations partake of the leaven of righteousness on condition of their repentance, and are entitled to the promises made to the children of Abraham. Fourth, in the fact that the Lord covenanted with Abraham that after his time all who embraced the Gospel should be called by his name, or, should be numbered among his seed. All of these promises were made to Abraham because of his faithfulness. No person who is not of Israel can become a member of the Church without becoming of the house of Israel by adoption. We read in the Book of Abraham (2:8-11) the following: My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priest- hood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. These same promises are recorded in Genesis, but not so completely as they are found in the Book of Abraham. This doctrine of adoption, or grafting in of the wild olive branches into the tame olive tree, was understood by the prophets of Israel. It was taught by John the Baptist (Matt. 3: 9, 10) and by the Savior (Matt. 8:10-12) and is expressed most emphatically and beautifully in the parable of the tame olive tree in the fifth chapter of Jacob, in the Book of Mormon. Joseph Fielding Smith End of Volume XXVI With this number, the Improvement Era finishes its 26th volume. We believe that the reader who has followed the axlicles printed in this volume will be satisfied for the means and the time given to its pages. We thank our contributors who have faithfully and freely assisted in making the volume so readable, and we solicit their further highly ap-