Sinner Is Not Without Hope: "In rabbinic theology, every person has in him a yezer ha-tov and a yezer ha-ra -- a good inclination and an evil one. Above all, the best protection against the evil inclination is the study of Torah." "Although Judaism sees sin as a most serious matter, even the sinner is not without hope. One of the most important theological doctrines of both the Bible and the Talmud is that if a sinner repents his bad deeds, God will forgive him. Repentance consists of several stages --- firstly the sinner must reflect on his actions and realize that he has indeed done the wrong thing. He must then make up his mind never to do it again, and confess his sin . . . however, even when a sinner has done all these things, his repentance is still not final until he has been exposed to the same temptation and withstood it. Of course he should not deliberately put himself on that spot again." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Challenge of Assimilation: One of Paul’s great concerns was the assimilation of early saints into the world culture that existed around them. One of the Jews’ greatest concerns is "conforming to the world," or as they call it, assimilation. ". . . the process in which one cultural or national group loses its identity and becomes part of another group . . . assimilation means losing Jewish identity and becoming absorbed in gentile society." "The Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel caused many Jews to reaffirm their Jewish identity. The rapid economic rise of the bulk of the American Jewish community into the middle and upper-middle classes during the postwar period remade the life style of American Jews, so that in many aspects Jews became part of the American establishment. This was particularly true in the realms of academic and artistic endeavor, where Jews became a dominant force during this era. It was thus no longer necessary to play down the fact of one's Jewishness. Increased efforts were made by almost every American Jewish body toward intensifying Jewish education and strengthening the connection between American Jews and Israel. The last generation of American Jews has rebuilt the institutions of Jewish communal life at an estimated cost of two billion dollars, and enormous personal energy." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

In the World" and Yet Not of the World: Assimilation for Latter-day Saints represents a compromise in lifestyle and obedience to the Lord’s commandments. Yet being "in the world" and yet "not of the world" allows us the interchange with others that would benefit from our God-given standards. Those higher standards even apply to the treatment of our enemies. Through the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we find that the motivation of the Essenes was to move away from wickedness and establish a singular community of righteousness. Their organization had a shadow of biblical organization. Their leader was called the "Teacher of Righteousness" and he had two assistants. There was also a council of "Twelve Overseers." They had an order following the ‘righteous king’ which is said in Hebrew, "Melech Zedek." However, the Dead Sea sect shunned others and probably evoked one of the Savior’s comments in the Sermon on the Mount. ". . . I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you . . ." Matthew 5:43-46

Being Subject to Government: In the Old Testament, Elisha’s continued theme was that he was a servant of God, even refusing payment from Naaman, Syria’s highest ranking officer in the Land of Israel at that time. The Children of Israel strongly objected to the Syrian "occupying" forces. However, a faithful young woman, serving in Naaman’s household, prompted the "occupying" Syrian officer to come to the prophet to be blessed. Elisha sent a message to do something simple-- bathe in the Jordan River. When the officer finally "swallowed his pride," he was blessed! Imagine--the enemy was blessed! In blessing Naaman, the prophet was probably teaching the same principle that Jesus taught and that has been revealed again in our day. ". . . Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s." (Matthew 22:21) "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." (Articles of Faith 11)