1 Ne 14:2 The Gentiles who harden not
their hearts shall be numbered among the house of
Israel
Latter-day saints who accept Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior and receive the necessary ordinances to join
the kingdom of God receive the promise that they shall be numbered among the
house of Israel. The significance of this statement begins with the promises
made to Abraham. Because of Abraham¡¯s
great faith and obedience, even that he would offer his son Isaac, the Lord
promised him, That in blessing I will bless thee,
and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as
the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of
his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen
22:17-8). Those who understand the true meaning of the promise of eternal life
and eternal increase understand that
seed multiplied as the stars of the heaven is an eternal and not merely a
mortal promise. Thy seed shall possess the gate of
his enemies, means that the Lord will bless them, prosper them, and
protect them from political oppression. In thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed is fulfilled in several
respects. First, the house of Israel will do the genealogy and temple work for
the dead and perform temple ordinances for the returning ten tribes, becoming
saviors on mount Zion, And there shall they (the
10 tribes) fall down and be crowned with glory, even
in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim
(DC 133:32). Second, the Savior of the world and most of the prophets
were to come through the lineage of
Israel. Third, the gospel will be brought to the world primarily through
the house of Israel. Fourth, the world has been blessed by the contributions to
art, science, inventions, industry, philosophy, politics, etc. made by the
descendants of Abraham.
Other promises related to the covenant
made with Abraham are to be had in the temple of God. John the Revelator
explained that those who are sanctified by Jesus Christ are made kings and priests unto God (Rev 1:6). This phrase
could be rendered kings and priests in the house of Israel for it is through
the house of Israel that the Lord establishes his church and reigns in his
kingdom, for now and for all time. All of these promises that are part of the
Abrahamic covenant are available to every member of the church. They are
promises with incredible eternal consequence which are often under appreciated.
Joseph Smith taught that there was an
actual spiritual transformation which purges out the old blood, ¡°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. That man that has none of the blood of Abraham
(naturally) must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost.¡± (Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 150) See also Rom 9:6-8, DC 103:17, and the Bible
Dictionary on ¡°Adoption.¡±