Members of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter-days have both a special relationship to, and a special responsibility toward, the Jewish people. I have always had a warm place in my heart for them, but since the horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 I have been particularly concerned for their well-being — in the United States as well as in the Middle East.
Latter-day Saints consider the Jewish people to be, essentially, our cousins. They being (largely) descended from (Israel) Jacob’s son Judah, and we (largely) claiming ancestry from Jacob’s son Joseph.
It is also important to remember that, if you go back a generation, Jacob’s father Isaac is the brother of Ishmael, who is regarded as the father of the modern-day Arabs. So, the Arab people are essentially our second cousins.
Jesus was descended from Judah. Mohammed was descended from Ishmael. Joseph Smith was descended from Joseph (Jacob’s son who was sold into Egypt by his brothers). The Jews, the Arabs, and the Latter-day Saints are all “aal-Ibrahim” (the people of Abraham).
Isaiah’s prophecy
Soon after arriving in the Promised Land (the Americas) the prophet Nephi made metal plates and inscribed the history of his family. They had escaped Jerusalem just before it was destroyed by Babylon (about 600 BCE). Nephi included in his record (which eventually became the Book of Mormon) excerpts from the Book of Isaiah.
He began with what we now know as Isaiah chapters 48 and 49. Isaiah prophesies that Israel will eventually come out of Babylon (both literally and figuratively) and return to the Lord. The former captives (the Jews, and Lehi’s descendants in America) will be welcomed and comforted by a group of Gentiles who, at that then-future time, will carry the Lord’s “standard.”
Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
1 Nephi 21:22-23, also Isaiah 49:22-23
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
The “Gentiles” carrying the Lord’s “standard” today are the members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Isaiah is writing to his people, the Jews, so when he ways “thee,” “thy,” and “thou” he is talking about the Jews. The “Gentiles” that Isaiah prophesies will save the sons and daughters of the Jews are the Latter-day Saints – us.
Now of course there is a difference between a physical salvation and a spiritual one. But I believe Jesus demonstrated quite clearly in the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” miracle (Mark 6:41-44) that people cannot be saved spiritually until they are safe and relatively comfortable physically.
Given the constant violence against the Jewish people in the Middle East, and the increasing level of violence and antisemitism in the United States, I believe we, as Latter-day Saints, should be “carrying” and, yes, even “nursing” our Jewish cousins.
The Jews will recognize Christ as the Messiah
Someday after the Second Coming, the Jews will realize that the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth is, and always was, their Messiah.
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Zechariah 13:6
After, perhaps, some initial embarrassment, that will be a glorious day. There will be no recriminations. No blame. The Jews will have “waited” for a long time for the Messiah and they will, at that time, see, recognize, and welcome Him.
On that day the Lord’s ancient people and the Lord’s “latter-day” people will become one. We certainly have much to teach each other. Until that happy day, we need to be learning more about each other, speaking up for each other, and building bridges between our communities.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Zechariah 13:9
Thank you. My religion of origin is Judaism. I have always understood that both the Jews and the Arabs are indigenous to the region.