Understanding Jewish Thinking: This can assist Latter-day Saints (who are truly a part of the House of Israel) in improving their “Gentile” way of thinking. “An undoubted factor in the survival of the Jews as a people with a common identity has been their shared experience of persecution at the hands of gentiles (non-Jews). “. . . gentiles were either natives living in Erez Israel or travelers pass­ing through it. Resident gentiles were protected by traditional hospitality and by contractual agreements made between Israel and the neighboring states. Native gentiles were expected to be loyal to Israel's civil laws in return for protection, but were generally in a humbler position than the Israelite pop­ulation.”

Gentiles and Religion: “The gentile was not obliged to acknowledge God, but was at least oblig­ed to abandon the worship of false gods. Unlike Jews, Noachid­es were not re­quired to suffer martyrdom rather than break the law against idolatry; they were, however, required to choose martyrdom rather than shed human blood. In some instances gentiles were also required to observe Sabbath and the festivals, and to fast on the Day of Atonement. Social differences remained, nonetheless . . .” “During the latter part of the Second Temple period . . . the prohibition against Jews marrying gentiles, limited originally to the seven Canaan­ite nations --- Hittites, Girga­shites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebus­ites ("neither shalt thou make marriages with them" Deuteronomy 7:3) --- was extended to include all gentiles, who might lure Jews away from the true God. In order to prevent the possibility of intermarriage the rabbis enacted a series of laws intended to limit social contact be­tween Jew and non-Jew. These included a strict prohibition on the use of gentile wine, originally limited to that used in idolatrous libations, but later extended to cover all non-Jewish produced wine.”

Righteous Gentiles: “The concept of the righteous gentile (hasidei ummot ha-olam -- the pious ones of the nations of the world) is first found in the Midrash. The Tosef­ta teaches that they are as eligible to a place in the hereafter as any member of the House of Israel. Rabbi Isaac Arama states that "every true pious gentile is equal to a son of Israel." The Zohar states that all gentiles who do not hate Israel, and who deal justly with Jews, qualify as pious ones. Ac­cording to Maimonides righteous gentiles were those who observed the Noa­chide laws and were motivated by belief in the divine origin and authenticity of Moses' prophecy, and not merely by the reasonableness of the laws, in which case they were considered simply wise men but not hasidei ummot ha-olam. Since World War II the concept of the righteous gentile has been used to refer to those non-Jews who help­ed Jews escape the persecutions of Nazism.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) At Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, there is an avenue of plant­ed trees. Each one is dedicated to a “Righteous Gentile.” There is one planted in memory of a Dutch Latter-day Saint who helped Jews escape in Nazi occupied Europe. However, the Latter-day Saint is a member of the House of Israel, not a gentile! “RIGHTEOUS GENTILES (Hebrew: Hasidei Ummot ha-Olam), rabbinic term for those non-Jews who, because of their moral character or virtuous acts, rank equally in merit and grace with Jews. According to the Talmud, the righteous gentile is as eligible as any Jew for a place in the world to come.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Mormons and Gentiles: One of the Israeli travel agents once commented to a prospective traveler to the USA, “You’ve got to visit Salt Lake City, that’s the only place a Jew can walk down the street and feel like a gentile!” Of course, this needs correction. Latter-day Saints know they are a part of the House of Israel, in large part from the tribe of Joseph.

Latter-day Messiahs: “According to the Talmud, the Messiah will be a descendant of the House of David and will be preceded by a secondary Messiah, from the House of Joseph.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) There is a Jewish tradition that the Messiah’s return will reflect either the date or event of the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Joseph Smith’s mission was to restore temple worship. Eventually, the “Lord will suddenly come to his Temple (Malachi 3:1).”

Temple Mount: Abraham brought his son to the Mount Moriah (Hebrew: ‘Taught of the Lord’) which was later to become the place of the Temple, to offer Isaac as a human sacrifice. Human sacrifice is precisely the trouble that Abraham was spared in the Ur of Chaldees. It was a profound lesson in opposition, a Chiasmus. Jewish tradition states that Isaac was in his early thirties when he was to be sacrificed. The “trouble” was spared when God provided instruction that a “Lamb” was to be offered as a sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac found an “alternative sacrifice,” a ram in the thicket, and it was offered as a substitute for Isaac. Later, other animals, first born and unblemished, were brought to the same place where the Temple now stood. In some cases they were “blessed” with the sins (troubles) of the people in attendance. In one case, a lamb or goat would “escape” out the Gate Beautiful (also Gate of Forgiveness and Gate or Mercy). It would be tied with a red ribbon and let out into the wilderness to die on its own (carrying the sins of the people).