Who are the
Gentiles?
There is a
curious definition in the online version of the Miriam-Webster Dictionary:
Full
Definition of GENTILE
1
often capitalized: a person of
a non-Jewish nation or of non-Jewish faith; especially: a Christian
as distinguished from a Jew
3
often capitalized: a
non-Mormon
I understood
that the most common use of the term would be the first definition: a person of a non-Jewish nation. However, I was taken aback a little when I
saw that third definition: a
non-Mormon. Could the Mormon use of the
term be so widespread and common that it would warrant a distinctive definition
within the dictionary? I had to look
into it a little more, so I checked a second dictionary site:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gentile
gentile
[jen-tahyl]
adjective, ( sometimes initial capital letter)
1. of or relating to any people not Jewish.
2. Christian, as distinguished from Jewish.
3. Mormon Church. not Mormon.
4.heathen or pagan.
5.(of a linguistic expression) expressing
nationality or
local origins.
6.of or relating to a tribe, clan, people, nation, etc.
There it is again. How many dictionaries are now including this
definition?
Oddly enough, the definition seems
to lack…something. It does not really
seem congruent with how Mormons use the term itself when they actually do use
it. In daily life, when has a Mormon
ever referred to others as “Gentiles”?
For example, did you ever hear a Mormon suggest that we go across the
street to help the Gentiles shovel the walks?
Did a Mormon ever say, “Let’s also invite the Gentiles to our Barbeque?”
It is not really a term that is commonly
used except in discussion of scriptural references for various groups of
people. Mormons do not really even speak
in terms of sending missionaries out to convert the Gentiles. Missionaries are sent out to gather the House
of Israel. The gathering is a
self-selecting process through conversion.
From being raised in the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and listening to the teachings of leaders and
reading the books of authoritative Mormons, my understanding of Mormon theology
has been that we view ourselves as descendants of the tribes of Israel. We send the missionaries out to gather the
tribes of Israel who have been scattered among the nations of the world. Those who are stirred in the heart by
communication from the Holy Ghost will recognize the message within the Book of
Mormon as a message to them. They will view
this message as a call to repent and gather once again. Having been converted to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, the convert becomes baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From
that point on, the convert is part of the House of Israel. Ultimately speaking, the tribes of Israel are
all one family, children of Jacob who would also belong to the seed of
Abraham. The House of Israel is God’s covenant
people. They are God’s covenant people
because the promises made to Abraham are then fulfilled in his posterity. The posterity receives and makes covenants
with God in the temple.
The understanding that the convert
is now a member of the House of Israel is especially apparent when a Patriarchal
Blessing is administered. The contents
of the blessing are tailored by inspiration to the specific individual. However, every patriarchal blessing includes
a declaration of lineage belonging to one of the Tribes of Israel. In this way, the member of the church learns
how they are included within the House of Israel.
The Gentiles would include those
who are not of this lineage. That is to
say, not of the lineage of the House of Israel.
However if a soul is not literally of the seed of Abraham, they may
become so through adoption. It has also been
taught that the scattering of Israel was so prevalent and wide spread that at
this point every nation now includes members of this family. It has also been postulated that the blood of
Abraham now runs through probably every soul on earth and therefore the only
thing that would prevent a person from being included within the family would
be a lack of faith in the Gospel.
So I suppose with that consideration,
then we could say that Mormons would define Gentiles as Non-Mormons…with the
understanding that they could be included within the House of Israel if they so
choose to convert.
The problem is that no one else in
the world uses the word Gentile in that manner.
No doubt it would be amusing if not irritating to the rest of the
religious world to find a Mormon viewing an orthodox Jew as a Gentile. Perhaps it is also irritating (if not amusing) for
many Christians to learn that Mormons also think of themselves as
Christians.
If we can’t come to an agreement
on the definition of terms, we at least have to allow the individual the
freedom to self-identify on their own terms.
Allowing others to apply the terminology to their own world viewpoint,
allows us the freedom to do the same.
Insisting that Christians are those who only believe X and Jews are
those who only believe Y and Mormons are only those who believe Z, creates a
limitation upon ourselves that prevents true understanding across the spectrum
of differing beliefs. What if someone
believes X and Y and under some conditions Z?
Do they belong to all three groups?
Or do they belong to none of the groups? Who is better qualified to decide which group they feel most comfortable identifying with than the individual themselves? Therefore, when we are listening to others, we must understand how they define the terms and allow them the freedom to use those terms in a manner that allows them to communicate freely with us.
The usage of the word “Gentile” has evolved over the centuries. It first came into use in and around the 1400's. And as you can see, our dictionaries reflect the evolution of the word to reflect the language of the people at the time of the dictionary's publication. And yet the challenge in understanding the word goes even beyond evolution within a language because the scriptures we read today did not come from English at all. Translations are never so simple as matching up two words in a language-to-language dictionary. Languages are nuanced with idioms and expressions that fit the personality of the culture. To make a translation, you must not only be fluent in both languages, you must also be fluent in the culture.
The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew and Aramaic. What we now read as Gentile in the Old Testament was translated from “Goi” or the plural “Goyim”. The New Testament was translated from Greek. What we now read as Gentile in the New Testament came from the word "Ethnos" (Ethne for the plural form). The word Goi had much more flexible usage than we realize. It had the meaning of a collective body of people, especially a nation of people or nations of people. The context of the word had to be considered during the translation process and often the translators of our King James Bible (1600s) had to use different words for an English translation of the word Goi. Sometimes it was translated to heathen, nation, people and another. In some instances the word was even used to refer to the House of Israel when speaking of the House of Israel as a nation. So the word Gentile is really more of a reflection of 1600 era Protestant usage than it is of anything else.
The evolution of the word has now reached our generation and for the most part the usage is those not of the Jewish heritage. The general idea being that the word had once been used to include "those not of the House of Israel before the scattering of the ten tribes" and then only the House of Judah after the scattering of the tribes of Israel. Although there are also those who use the term to mean not of Christianity. And apparently, there are those who use the term to mean those who are not of Mormon heritage.
The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew and Aramaic. What we now read as Gentile in the Old Testament was translated from “Goi” or the plural “Goyim”. The New Testament was translated from Greek. What we now read as Gentile in the New Testament came from the word "Ethnos" (Ethne for the plural form). The word Goi had much more flexible usage than we realize. It had the meaning of a collective body of people, especially a nation of people or nations of people. The context of the word had to be considered during the translation process and often the translators of our King James Bible (1600s) had to use different words for an English translation of the word Goi. Sometimes it was translated to heathen, nation, people and another. In some instances the word was even used to refer to the House of Israel when speaking of the House of Israel as a nation. So the word Gentile is really more of a reflection of 1600 era Protestant usage than it is of anything else.
The evolution of the word has now reached our generation and for the most part the usage is those not of the Jewish heritage. The general idea being that the word had once been used to include "those not of the House of Israel before the scattering of the ten tribes" and then only the House of Judah after the scattering of the tribes of Israel. Although there are also those who use the term to mean not of Christianity. And apparently, there are those who use the term to mean those who are not of Mormon heritage.
However, to put it in simple terms,
Gentile as used by ancient writers really means “those other guys”, “not us”, “not our nation”.
This blog entry is intended for
the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those who self-identify as Mormon and
incidentally have the habit of pronouncing the word Mormon as “Christian”. I happen to be one of those. I would like to discuss how we use the word
Gentile when we study the Book of Mormon.
Realizing that the common usage
of the word Gentile is “those other guys”, a careful crosscheck in the Book of
Mormon will show that this definition provides a startling result. However it is the best definition for those
who believe the Book of Mormon is scripture from God. Without using that concept of Gentile when we read the Book of Mormon,
we will ultimately fail to comprehend the message intended by the Book of Mormon's original authors.
Why? Because the Book of Mormon was written
by prophets and from their viewpoint they saw us as …THOSE OTHER GUYS. The writers of the
Book of Mormon were descendants of Lehi who came out of Jerusalem. Lehi descended from Joseph. He was of the house
of Israel. He kept a record. And his son Nephi kept a record. And their descendants kept a record and they
kept this record for the purpose of convincing their posterity that Jesus was
the Christ.
They also kept this record for the purpose of convincing three distinctive groups that Jesus was the Christ. Those three groups were listed in the title page of the Book of Mormon and include the Lamanites who are a Remnant of the House of Israel, the Jews, and also the Gentiles.
They also kept this record for the purpose of convincing three distinctive groups that Jesus was the Christ. Those three groups were listed in the title page of the Book of Mormon and include the Lamanites who are a Remnant of the House of Israel, the Jews, and also the Gentiles.
Notice that the children of Lehi,
the Lamanites are included as the House of Israel. The Jews are also a separately defined
group. The Jews were the nation that Lehi had left behind in Jerusalem when he fled 600 years prior to the birth of Christ. So, if you are not a descendant of
Lehi and you are not a Jew, of what group are you in Book of Mormon terms? There is only one group left…you are a Gentile.
Now I know what the theology is
that is taught from the pulpit in church.
I know many books have been written stating otherwise, and we must allow
others the freedom to define the terms for their own purposes if we are to
understand the message they were trying to communicate as they spoke. However, if we are to accept the Book of
Mormon as a work of scripture, accepting it for what it claims to be…then we
must accept the terms that are defined by the authors of the Book of Mormon
as we read the Book of Mormon.
From the beginning of the record, the Book of Mormon tells us there are three groups of people that will be discussed in the record. The authors of the record have defined the groups of people thus:
From the beginning of the record, the Book of Mormon tells us there are three groups of people that will be discussed in the record. The authors of the record have defined the groups of people thus:
1.
Remnant of the House of Israel = Descendants
of Lehi
2.
Jews = those
who remain in Jerusalem
3.
Gentiles =
those who bring forth “this record” (the Book of Mormon).
Who brought forth the Book of
Mormon? The Gentiles.
Therefore, when reading the Book
of Mormon, understand that the converts of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints are NOT the House of Israel. Not in Book of Mormon terms. The converts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the
Gentiles.
This definition changes everything
you will see in the Book of Mormon as you read it. It will be like looking at one of those funny
abstract pictures that looks like nothing but different shades of the same
color, but as you adjust your focus to a different level, a three dimensional
picture begins to take shape. What was
once a confusing looking mess suddenly has clarity and focus that you never
realized before. And that is when you find the amazing three dimensional picture. If you want the Isaiah chapters in the Book of
Mormon to make sense…change your focus.
If you want to recognize who the call to repentance was that Mormon was declaring, change your focus. Realize YOU are the Gentiles they were talking about. We are “those other guys” that the prophets
of the Book of Mormon were writing about.
Joseph Smith knew this when he
offered the dedicatory prayer in the Kirtland temple.
“Now these words, O Lord, we have
spoken before thee, concerning the revelations and commandments which though
hast given us, who are identified with
the Gentiles.” (D&C 109:60)
He then goes
on to pray for the "other groups" including the return of Judah to the lands
given to Abraham and including the House of Israel driven to the ends of the
earth.
None of this
negates any of the other concepts related to the House of Israel that we have been taught. We may very well be of the tribes. The tribes are prophesied to gather. You are free to define the terms for your own
understanding and declare that you are Mormon, Christian, and of the House of
Israel. The point is, that when you read
the Book of Mormon, the authors of that book have placed you in a different
group for their own purposes. They did
this, because they wanted us to understand something. They wanted us to understand how to repent of
our specific sins of our specific day and age. They gave us a warning that we might repent and come unto
Christ. They did this for our benefit. We are that other nation. We are those Gentiles.
I don't think after reading this today, I have fully persuaded you about just how profound this understanding of who the Gentiles really are in the Book of Mormon is. So, I hope to give specific examples in a later post. 
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