Are you a Lamanite, a Jew, or a Gentile?
D&C 109:60
Now these words, O Lord, we have spoken before thee, concerning the revelations and commandments which thou hast given unto us, who are identified with the Gentiles.
D&C 14:10
D&C 14:10
Wherefore, I must bring forth the fulness of my gospel from the Gentiles unto the house of Israel.
D&C 19:26-27
And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God—Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew, of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and look not for a Messiah to come who has already come.
D&C 90:9
That through your administration they may receive the word, and through their administration the word may go forth unto the ends of the earth, unto the Gentiles first, and then, behold, and lo, they shall turn unto the Jews.
Title page of Book of Mormon: "...Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile..." (the Gentiles will bring the gospel to the Lamanites - if we as LDS aren't those gentiles, then who will bring the Gospel to the Lamanites?)
Apostle Orson Pratt:”We, the Latter-day Saints are Gentiles; in other words, we have come from among the Gentile nations, though many of us may have the blood of Israel within our veins.” JD 18:64
"Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile"
The term [gentile] is used by English translators for the Hebrew גוי (goy) and נכרי (nokhri) in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek word ἔθνη (éthnē) in the New Testament... Latin and later English translators selectively used the term Gentiles when the context for the base term "peoples" or "nations" referred to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible.
The word "gentile" just means nation or people.
Though we claim from our patriarchal blessings to be descended from Jacob through one of his twelve sons and generally do so rightly, most of the people (Gentiles) in the world have the blood of Jacob in them anyway. Even most of the Arabs can most likely claim to be mingled with those descended from Jacob (when the tribes were scattered many Israelites were mixed in with the Assyrians, Babylonians, et cetera).
It's one thing to be descended from Jacob (common) but another thing to be of the House of Israel through a direct connection from God. Scripturally speaking, being descended from Jacob is NOT the same thing as being part of the House of Israel. Paul differentiates between the two:
Romans 9:6-8 (read Romans 9:3-33 for a great lesson on this subject):
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
(See http://figuringoutloud.blogspot.com/2014/06/quick-aside-are-you-descendant-of-jacob.html)
Mormon 8:35-38:
35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.
37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? [what other holy church of God is there?] Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written— [*Note - President Benson said that this condemnation still rests on the church. (If a building is condemned it cannot be inhabited. It is not "chosen.")]
58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.
59 For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.
25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;
26 First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord. [not inactives but Temple-going people]
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.237-238
D&C 19:26-27
And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God—Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew, of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and look not for a Messiah to come who has already come.
D&C 90:9
That through your administration they may receive the word, and through their administration the word may go forth unto the ends of the earth, unto the Gentiles first, and then, behold, and lo, they shall turn unto the Jews.
Title page of Book of Mormon: "...Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile..." (the Gentiles will bring the gospel to the Lamanites - if we as LDS aren't those gentiles, then who will bring the Gospel to the Lamanites?)
Apostle Orson Pratt:”We, the Latter-day Saints are Gentiles; in other words, we have come from among the Gentile nations, though many of us may have the blood of Israel within our veins.” JD 18:64
"Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile"
For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel
From wikipedia:The term [gentile] is used by English translators for the Hebrew גוי (goy) and נכרי (nokhri) in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek word ἔθνη (éthnē) in the New Testament... Latin and later English translators selectively used the term Gentiles when the context for the base term "peoples" or "nations" referred to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible.
The word "gentile" just means nation or people.
Though we claim from our patriarchal blessings to be descended from Jacob through one of his twelve sons and generally do so rightly, most of the people (Gentiles) in the world have the blood of Jacob in them anyway. Even most of the Arabs can most likely claim to be mingled with those descended from Jacob (when the tribes were scattered many Israelites were mixed in with the Assyrians, Babylonians, et cetera).
It's one thing to be descended from Jacob (common) but another thing to be of the House of Israel through a direct connection from God. Scripturally speaking, being descended from Jacob is NOT the same thing as being part of the House of Israel. Paul differentiates between the two:
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
(See http://figuringoutloud.blogspot.com/2014/06/quick-aside-are-you-descendant-of-jacob.html)
The Warning of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants
Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni saw us (Americans, Mormons, Europeans et cetera) as outsiders. They called us "goyim" or "peoples" or "nations". They were using the word to differentiate us from the Lamanites. Whenever we read the word "gentile" in the Book of Mormon we can generally (but not 100%) assume that the writer is referring to us as the LDS people - the ones who will actually be reading the Book of Mormon. All of the warnings to the gentiles in the Book of Mormon are referring to members of our church. Not the catholics, not Americans in general. There is absolutely no point in spending countless hours inscribing warnings on the gold plates to non-LDS people who would never read them. The writers of the Book of Mormon saw our day, they saw the traps we'd be facing, and they knew through bitter experience (having gone through the same things themselves) how to warn us. We have neglected their warnings - assuming that we are "chosen" and "righteous" and that the warnings must apply to someone else - and have come under condemnation for it. Even the account of the Zoramites and the Rameumptom seems to be a direct warning to us. Are there similarities when we get up once a month and testify to ourselves about how amazing we are? Or how important it is for us to dress well when we worship? Isn't it fascinating that Mormon took the time to inscribe that account in such detail? Why else would it be there? If it wasn't helpful for our repentance Mormon wouldn't have written it. The Book of Mormon isn't a story book for our entertainment or general inspiration - it specifically addresses problems we'd be facing and warns us about our sins.
35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.
37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? [what other holy church of God is there?] Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
D&C 84:55-59:
55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written— [*Note - President Benson said that this condemnation still rests on the church. (If a building is condemned it cannot be inhabited. It is not "chosen.")]
58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.
59 For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.
D&C 112:24-26:
24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;
26 First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord. [not inactives but Temple-going people]
3 Nephi 16:10:
10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.
Rejecting the fulness
So what is "the fulness of the Gospel?" What would be involved in that rejection in modern times? In Moses' day the people rejected the fulness of the Gospel when they demanded that Moses should go up and see God for them so they wouldn't have to. They wanted an intermediary (a prophet) between them and the Lord. They refused the obligation to come up and see and speak with God for themselves. They were cursed for it and the fulness was taken away.
Joseph Smith, August 27, 1843:
"when God offers a blessing or knowledge to a man and he refuses to receive it he will be damned. —mentioning the case of the Israelites praying that God would speak to Moses & not to Them—in consequense of which he cursed them with a carnal law"Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.237-238
"President
Joseph Smith read the 14th chapter of Ezekiel--said the Lord had declared by
the Prophet, that the people should each one stand for himself, and depend on
no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish church--that righteous
persons could only deliver their own souls--applied it to the present state of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--said if the people departed
from the Lord, they must fall--that they were depending on the Prophet, hence
were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving
upon themselves, envious towards the innocent, while they afflict the virtuous
with their shafts of envy."
Isn't that what we're doing right now? I was with my son in primary a couple years ago and the children were told that God will not speak to them - that He will only speak to the president of the church and the general authorities. The teacher even said, "Can you imagine what would happen if God spoke to everyone? It'd be chaos!" (exact quote) It was a revolting and abominable lesson. But this belief has gained a lot of traction recently and is being taught or at least implied in some of our meetings and lessons.
Conclusion
Christ taught that in the last days we'd need to have our own lamps full - not borrowed oil from others. If any of us are trying to borrow oil from any mortal being - no matter how close to God that person may be - then we are in very real danger.
I'm not trying to criticize here. I accept that I am also under condemnation. I'm just trying to get out from under the condemnation and warn everyone I can. If my words sound angry or critical it is definitely not intended. A warning has been given in the Book of Mormon and until recently I never even noticed that the warning was intended for me. I figured I'd pass it on.
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