Mormonism and Judaism - Mormon Claims of House of Israel Descent

Mormon Claims of House of Israel Descent

Mormons consider themselves to be the descendants of the Biblical Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (also known as "Israel") or adoptees into the House of Israel, and contemporary Mormons use the terms "House of Israel" and "House of Joseph" to refer to themselves.

The Book of Mormon tells of families of the Tribe of Manasseh and the Tribe of Ephraim that migrated from Jerusalem to an unknown location in the Americas. According to Mormon doctrine, this migration fulfilled the prophecy of Jacob on his son, Joseph: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall" (Genesis 49:22). The Book of Mormon also tells of a group from the Tribe of Judah who came to the Americas after its defeat by Babylon around 600 BCE.

The official position of the LDS Church is that those who have accepted Mormonism or are a part of the Latter Day Saint movement are primarily from the House of Joseph. Adherents believe they are members of one of the tribes of Israel, either by blood lineage or by adoption, when the recipient is not a literal descendant of Jacob, also known as Israel. Individual church members are told their tribal affiliation through a patriarchal blessing. The LDS Church teaches that all of the tribes exist within their numbers, though not every tribe in every country. Ephraim and Manasseh are by far the two largest tribes in the LDS Church. Some Latter-day Saint patriarchs believe the one country to have the most confirmed coexisting tribes is Mongolia, missing only the Tribe of Zebulun.

Tribal affiliation is not usually discussed in everyday LDS life, and all members, regardless of tribal affiliation, worship together. The knowledge of one's tribal affiliation is usually only shared with one's immediate family.

In modern Jewish culture, by contrast, it is generally accepted that knowledge of individual tribal affiliation has been lost to antiquity, except in the case of Levites and Cohens, where such knowledge is relevant to religious practice. Some Jewish families, however, hold family traditions of descent from other tribes. The Sephardi Chief Rabbinate of Israel has recognized the Beta Israel of Ethiopia as the Tribe of Dan, and the Bene Menashe of India as the Tribe of Menasseh. The Bene Israel of India and the Lemba people of Africa claim descent from Kohanim - according to a government report, these claims are supported by DNA analysis.

The position of those who consider themselves Jewish with regard to Mormons is similar to their feelings about other Christian groups—while peaceful coexistence is strongly desired, attempts at conversion are considered inappropriate and unwanted.

Some Jewish groups like Jews for Judaism reject wholesale the claims of the LDS that the conversion to Mormonism reveals a familial connection between the convert and ethnic Jews. They base their position on Judaism's interpretation of Hebrew scriptures and advances in biological science, saying "No amount of genetic testing or DNA sampling will show the Jewish people and the Latter-day Saints to be of the same ancestry. The Latter-day Saints are simply not of Israelite origins.... For all their assertions and genealogical research, the Latter-day Saints are not descendants of Joseph and can never join Judah in fulfillment of a nonexistent prophecy."

On similar grounds they reject LDS claims that American Indians have Hebrew origins, saying "There is no genetic, linguistic, or cultural evidence to substantiate this claim that the Mongoloid native American Indians are descended from Semitic Israelites." They also critique LDS scripture for, in their view, an erroneous use of the word "Jew", saying "If the American Indians are descendants of Manasseh that would make them Israelites but not specifically Jews. The term 'Jews' is associated with the tribe of Judah and those of Israelite descent who practice Judaism. ...in the Book of Mormon the inhabitants of what are now the Americas are referred to as descendants of Jews although the dominant group supposedly stems from Manasseh. Thus, Nephi is alleged to have written, 'And thus shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews' (2 Nephi 30:4)."