All the Families of the Earth Be Blessed

Orson Hyde was baptized on October 30, 1831 in Kirtland. Just two days later, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation for him with these words: “My servant, Orson Hyde, was called by his ordination to proclaim the everlasting gospel, by the Spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and expounding all scriptures unto them” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:1). The use of the word synagogue—a word generally used to refer to places of worship for Jews—was perhaps used by the Savior to highlight the mission he would undertake many years later to the Holy Land. Even though he was new to the church, the Lord knew what He wanted Orson to accomplish and was already preparing him for it. Later when he became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835, Orson Hyde was told that he would “go forth according to the commandment, both to Jew and Gentile, and to all nations, kingdoms and tongues.” Several years later, in March 1840, he was pondering in his bed about his future service when he had a remarkable spiritual experience. He recounted, “The vision of the Lord, like clouds of light, burst into my view. … The cities of London, Amsterdam, Constantinople and Jerusalem, all appeared in succession before me, and the Spirit said unto me, ‘Here are many of the children of Abraham whom I will gather to the land that I gave to their fathers; and here also is the field of your labors.’” The next month the Prophet Joseph officially called him to go to the land of Palestine and dedicate it for the return of the Jewish people. The time for his incredible mission, foreseen by the Lord for a long time, had finally come, and he would follow the path revealed to him in his vision.

            One article describes the travels of Orson Hyde on this mission with these words, “Hyde [reached] England in March 1841. There he assisted other members of the Twelve for four months before traveling in a southeast direction across Europe. Along the way, Hyde sent letters to leaders of Jewish communities and stopped in major cities to preach to Jews. In October, he landed on the Palestinian coast and proceeded inland to Jerusalem. He wept as he stood at the west gate and beheld the ancient city for the first time.” He was indeed doing what the Lord had called him to do a decade prior: going from people to people and land to land and in their synagogues reasoning with them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. After he arrived in Jerusalem, he climbed the Mount of Olives and there wrote out a prayer received by revelation to dedicate the land for the return of the Jews. Part of that prayer said this: “Thy servant has been obedient to the heavenly vision which Thou gavest him in his native land; and under the shadow of Thine outstretched arm, he has safely arrived in this place to dedicate and consecrate this land unto Thee, for the gathering together of Judah's scattered remnants, according to the predictions of the holy Prophets.” One scholar recorded what he saw as the result of this prayer for the Jews to gather to their ancient homeland: “With the keys of the gathering restored and the land dedicated, the Lord’s Spirit began to move among Jews throughout the world. Many who were not even aware of their Jewish ancestry began feeling restlessly Jewish; others who had ignored their heritage felt their hearts begin to turn. A common desire began to build among many Jews to find their roots in their ancient homeland. It is no coincidence that historical annals point to the 1840s as a period of awakening among Jews dispersed throughout the world. Out of this new dawn arose men of influence like Moses Hess, Joseph Salvador, Moses Montefiore, Leo Pinsker, and Theodor Herzl. Having been touched by the spirit of gathering, they began to instill in Jews everywhere the desire to return to their ancient homeland.” The prayer of an apostle of God on the Mount of Olives was not mere wishful thinking or a collection of nice sayings; it had power, and through the Spirit of the Lord, the Jews began to seriously gather to Palestine.

            That said, this gathering led to inevitable conflict between Arabs and Jews in what is now the state of Israel. President Hunter made an important address on this matter and said this: “We do not need to apologize nor mitigate any of the prophecies concerning the Holy Land. We believe them and declare them to be true. But this does not give us justification to dogmatically pronounce that others of our Father’s children are not children of promise.… Both the Jews and the Arabs are children of our Father. They are both children of promise, and as a church we do not take sides. We have love for and an interest in each. The purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to bring about love, unity, and brotherhood of the highest order.” He also added, “The Church has an interest in all of Abraham’s descendants…. Jerusalem is sacred to the Jews, but it is also sacred to the Arabs.” Indeed, in Orson Hyde’s original prayer, he also said this more generally: “Let that nation or that people who shall take an active part in behalf of Abraham's children, and in the raising up of Jerusalem, find favor in Thy sight.” Jews and Arabs are alike descendants of Abraham. We hope for God’s blessings to be on all of His children, and we certainly desire peace and reconciliation where there is now so much hate and violence. Indeed, I saw this in practice as a student at BYU Jerusalem Center where both Jews and Arabs worked and visited in harmony. As Psalm 122:6 instructs, we “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” and for His covenant with Abraham to continue to be fulfilled: “In thy seed after thee… shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal” (Abraham 2:11).