Weekly E-mail Reminder

	HIDDEN LDS/JEWISH INSIGHTS #16 Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Supplement by Daniel Rona Weekly E-mail Reminder << YE SHALL BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF CHRIST >> Mosiah 4 - 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------- (1.) ATTRIBUTES OF BEING CHILDREN: --------------------------------------------------------------------- The term "Children of Christ" is obviously foreign to a Jew, yet the principles of subservience, humility and searching for more knowledge are characteristics of "being children." "Children are considered a great blessing; they are the hope and the promise of continuing life." "As the children grow, they must be educated and trained for their future roles in Jewish life. The father's duty is to provide for his children, to give them a proper education, to teach them a trade, and to prepare them for marriage." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (2.) WE ARE DEPENDANT: --------------------------------------------------------------------- King Benjamin’s question is not about "begging" particularly, but about a dependancy on God. "Are we not all beggars . . . Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have . . . of every kind?" (Mosiah 4:19) "Although the Bible is concerned with the poor and the needy, there is hardly a reference to begging or to beggars, and there is, in fact, no biblical Hebrew word for it. The needs of the poor were provided by various laws of charity. Everybody is obliged to give charity; even one who himself is dependent on charity should give to those less fortunate than himself." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (3.) GIVING TO THE POOR – A BLESSING: --------------------------------------------------------------------- "For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee saying, Thou shalt open thy hand wide to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in thy land." (Deuteronomy 15:11) In this sense, it is beautiful to consider that the principle of receiving from the Lord is reflected in what we give others. The giving can be a simple hand of friendship. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (4.) GIVING A HAND: --------------------------------------------------------------------- The term "hand" is used often in the scriptures and the term "right hand" has symbolic meanings. Among the Bedouin, the right hand is always extended in greeting, the left hand can be offensive. As a Torah scroll is read, a pointer molded in the shape of a miniature right hand (yad) is used as if the "finger of God" is pointing the way. Unfortunately, descriptions of God’s hand or finger are not taken literally among most Jews. It is a religious and civil custom that the right hand is used as a sign or symbol. "The custom, evidently by divine direction, from the very earliest time, has been to associate the right hand with the taking of oaths, and in witnessing or acknowledging obligations." (Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.3, p.107) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (5.) IMPORTANCE OF A NAME: --------------------------------------------------------------------- King Benjamin’s instruction was to bind the repentant believers in a covenant to identify their names both in mortality and eternally. It meant that they took upon themselves the name of God and He was given their names that He might know them. "And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God." (Mosiah 5:10) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (6.) MEANING OF NAMES: --------------------------------------------------------------------- "The most important source for Hebrew proper names is the Bible, and biblical names were usually descriptive and meaningful, often incorporating the name of God in praise or gratitude; thus, Nathaniel (God has given), Eleazar (God has helped), Joshua (God the Savior). Other biblical names describe the circumstances surrounding the birth. Thus Abraham called his son Yizhak [Isaac] from the Hebrew word for laughter, because Sarah had laughed at the idea of bearing a child in her old age. And Yizhak named one of his sons Ya'akov [Jacob], a play on the Hebrew word akev (‘heel’), because he was born grasping the heel of his twin brother Esau." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (7.) IDENTITY THEFT AND RESTORATION: --------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Talmud attaches great importance to the preservation of Hebrew names, viewing foreign names as a sign of assimilation . . . one reason for the deliverance of the Children of Israel from Egyptian bondage was the fact that they did not change their names. ". . . . accelerated during the late 18th and 19th centuries . . . Some governments encouraged the process by passing laws which forced Jews to adopt European names. Napoleon issued such a decree, hoping to assimilate the Jews." "Converts are . . . given new names --- usually ben Abraham or bat Abraham (son or daughter of Abraham) because conversion is equated with rebirth." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) (Underline added) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (8.) BECOMING A CHILD AGAIN: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebirth connotes becoming a child again. It involves learning a new life, preparing to become an honorable son of the Father. Some know that is possible through the redemption by our "Elder Brother."
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