It has come to my attention that members of the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), or more commonly known as Mormons, receive what is called a patriarchal blessing.
This "Patriarchal Blessing" is unique in that it is only given once in a person's lifetime and it divulges information about their pre-existing life, their strong talents, the challenges that they will face throughout their lifetime on Earth, what their individual purposes/roles in life are, stating which tribe of Israel they belong to by lineage, and special blessings that are to come, which are contingent on their obedience and living life in accordance to their commandments. You can read more about Patriarch Blessings from their own website here: https://www.lds.org/topics/patriarchal-blessings?lang=eng.
But I'll cite directly from the website concerning what the Patriarchal Blessings says in regards to the lineage aspect of the blessing. :
Declaration of Lineage: A patriarchal blessing includes a declaration of lineage, stating that the person is of the house of Israel—a descendant of Abraham, belonging to a specific tribe of Jacob. Many Latter-day Saints are of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe given the primary responsibility to lead the latter-day work of the Lord. Because each of us has many bloodlines running in us, two members of the same family may be declared as being of different tribes in Israel.It does not matter if a person's lineage in the house of Israel is through bloodlines or by adoption. Church members are counted as a descendant of Abraham and an heir to all the promises and blessings contained in the Abrahamic covenant (see Abrahamic Covenant).
Does it offend the Jewish community that Mormons claim that they are direct heirs of the House of Israel, and have full access to the Abrahamic covenant? Or do we, for the most part, shrug it off and say "to each their own. They can believe what they wanna believe"?
I'm not sure whether to feel like the are encroaching on my identity or to just smile and be flattered that they want to be from the House of Israel too?
Have any rabbis made any official statements regarding their reactions of the Mormon's claim to the House of Israel?