Ye Are of the House of Israel

I have a vague recollection of something a faithful follower of the Savior recounted to me many years ago on my mission about how she was healed when very sick in the hospital. I don’t recall what the sickness was, but it was serious, and she listed out a few of the fervent spiritual efforts that were made to heal her such as priesthood blessings, fasting, prayers, etc. She said that she felt she didn’t recover because of any of those typical ways we have of seeking the Lord’s help, but she had come to learn that the reason she was healed was because of the blessings and promises of Abraham. She came to strongly believe that it was thanks to the covenant of the Lord with Abraham and his posterity that she miraculously recovered from this sickness that threatened her life. I thought of that today as I read these words of Mormon to the remnant of his people. I believe they are applicable to all who have made covenants with the Lord: “I speak unto you, ye remnant of the house of Israel; and these are the words which I speak: Know ye that ye are of the house of Israel…. And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment” (Mormon 7:1-2, 10). To know that we are of the house of Israel is to know that we are His covenant people, and He has great blessings in store for us if we will be baptized and follow the example of the Savior. To be of the house of Israel means that the promised blessings to Abraham of knowledge and posterity and priesthood and ultimately eternal life can be ours. As the Lord declared to the Nephites, “Ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed” (3 Nephi 20:25). He could say those words to us today as well and we are meant to be that seed to carry His blessings to all the earth.  

                I think it is instructive that we call the covenant people of the Lord the “house of Israel.” A physical house is where we find shelter and protection, where we feel at home and have our most cherished relationships. The house of the Lord—the temple—is where we make covenants and where we are promised blessings for keeping those covenants with Him. And so, the house of Israel is where we find spiritual safety and protection, where we can find the Lord and come to know Him. It is where we are part of His covenant and receive His greatest blessings. To receive the full blessings of what it means to be part of the house of Israel is to be endowed in His house with power from on high because of our covenant with Him. In the dedicatory prayer of the Salt Lake Temple, President Wilford Woodruff prayed, “Remember in loving kindness Thy servants, the Patriarchs. May they be full of blessings for Thy people Israel. May they bear with them the seeds of comfort and consolation, of encouragement and blessing. Fill them with the Holy Spirit of promise, and be graciously pleased to fulfill their words of prophecy, that Thy name may be extolled by the people of Thy Church and their faith in Thee and in the promises of Thy ministering servants be increasingly strengthened.” In other words, he sought for the blessings of Abraham upon the Lord’s people through this majestic house of God. He connected the Lord’s new house with the Lord’s ancient prophets and promises to them. President Woodruff also prayed, “May Israel no more bow the head, or bend the neck to the oppressor, but may his feet be made strong on the everlasting hills, never more, by violence, to be banished therefrom, and the praise and the glory shall be Thine.” Israel was and is strengthened through the house of God and the covenants the Lord has for His people there. The blessings of Abraham promised thousands of years ago, fully realized through the Lord’s holy house, can give us strength and healing and protection today as we strive to live up to the honor of being a part of the house of Israel.