Gathering and Missionary Work

Missionary work in the Orient— Opposition encountered—Changes in Palestine — An American Colony, ¶

I hope that I may be in possession of the same spirit that inspired our brethren who addressed us this morning I feel happy to be in your midst, to see so many faces, happy faces, of the Latter-day Saints as I see here before me today ¶

When you last met in general Conference, I did not have the pleasure to be with you, as I was then laboring among the Saints in the Orient—I had a very interesting mission to that part of the earth—As you know, we have a number of Saints in the Turkish empire—During the massacres which occurred in Armenia a few years ago, our brethren and sisters there were left without any Elders from Zion to preside over them—The Presidency of the Church sent Brother Hintze and myself over there last December to organize the Church more fully—We found that the Saints there, though left without Elders from Zion to preside over them, had not lost the spirit of the work—It is quite a testimony to me that the Spirit of God works the same, makes the same manifestations wherever it is enjoyed—The Saints there enjoy the ¶

spirit of the Gospel, rejoice in that which they have received, and the Spirit had led them to a right understanding—I was pleased to see them so well grounded in the principles of the Gospel, especially when I thought of their not having access to any of our Church works—Only a few of the Saints were able to read English, and we have not yet any of our Church works translated into Turkish—A few tracts have been published, but the works of the Church have not yet been translated into that language and consequently our brethren and sisters there have not been able to read our accepted works except the Bible, nor any of our published sermons; and still we found them in full accord with the belief and faith of the Church, showing that the Spirit of God leads into all truth—They were very happy to have us come and visit them—We found quite a number ready to receive the Gospel, and had the joy of leading quite a number into the waters of baptism—Some had been baptized, but for the want of an Elder had not been confirmed members—They were glad to receive this blessing—We organized a branch of the Church at Aintab—I do not think that such a condition will again arise there, as that of the Saints of the largest branch being left under the presidency of a Priest only—We found brethren there worthy of presiding, worthy of the Priesthood, and ordained them ¶

We also found that our adversary was not pleased with our work, nor with the work of the Saints—Persecution was raised against the Saints there, the mob disturbed some of our meetings, but the Lord was with us; none was hurt, and it caused more of a spirit of inquiry amongst the people—The government and the officers of the government were friendly to us and promised us protection—I found that it was mostly members belonging to different Christian denominations which raised this persecution against our people—The Turks themselves did not act in any way unfriendly towards us—They wondered what all this turmoil was about, and came to us and wanted to know what we really believed—While the Turkish government is not one that an ¶

American would like to live under, still it gives greater religious liberty to our Saints than they would be permitted to enjoy in countries like Greece, Italy, or Spain—The Mohammedans do not interfere with our brethren in the exercise of their religion, or forbid them to believe as they desire, but give freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience—I may qualify this by saying that the Mohammedans themselves do not enjoy this freedom to the same extent as the Christians—If a Mohammedan should leave his religion and join any other religion in that land, he would be ostracised from the society of his relatives and friends, and would be in danger even of his life—But as to the Christians, the Mohammedans are willing that they do as they please in regard to their religion, and I believe the more contention they see amongst the Christians the more they like it ¶

When persecution was raised against us, the Saints were desirous of our appealing to the government for help, but on second thought we felt that this would not be wise—We did not like to raise strife between the Mohammedans and the Christians—It is not a long time since a great many Christians lost their lives in Armenia, and we were afraid that we might be the cause of starting this race hatred between the two parties, and we thought it would be better to suffer a little wrong than to be the cause of wrong being done—I told the Saints that I did not think the persecution would amount to much, and I knew that the Lord was able to protect His Saints ¶

Wherever the Gospel has been introduced it has always met with opposition—The Turkish mayor of Aintab said to me, when I asked him to look after our people, that they should not suffer any wrong at the hands of their enemies, "Wherever a message of truth is sent, those bearing it will suffer persecution " I knew the sentiment was true, but it sounded curious to hear it from his lips—He promised to protect the Saints, and I learn from them that he has fined some of the mobocrats ¶

I believe there is a great future for our people in that land; and that there are many of the honest in heart, and I hope our brethren will find them—They love to hear the Gospel—They love the truth, and when they receive it they enjoy the Spirit, and the signs follow them that believe, even in that far off land ¶

In company with Elders Hintze, Maycock, Larson and Nishan, the latter a native Elder, I visited the Holy Land, and traveled over the places so familiar and so interesting to us from reading the Scriptures—We examined the country and the conditions existing there carefully with a view of finding a place of gathering for the Saints ¶

You remember that in the forties Apostle Orson Hyde was sent to that land, and that he dedicated it unto the Lord, and for the gathering of the Jews—That land had been cursed on account of the iniquity of its people, and for hundreds of years it has been a testimony to the world that the Lord honors the words of his servants, the words spoken by the inspiration of His Spirit—Moses, thousands of years ago, was permitted to see the future and prophesied concerning it, warning the people of Israel that if they did not obey the commandments of God they should be scattered amongst the nations of the earth—You who have read history know how literally this prophecy has been fulfilled, and that the land given to Abraham and his seed has been occupied by strangers, and that the blessings of God which once made that land a delightful place in which to dwell, were withdrawn and it was turned into a barren and forbidding land—Brother Hyde went there and blessed it—The mission given to the servants of God was to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles first and then to the Jews—This was declared very early by the Lord as the mission given to His servants—His chosen people were not forgotten—They, also, should receive the Gospel message; but this time the first should be the last—The Prophet Joseph was inspired to send Brother Hyde to that land, and look at the change! A spirit has come over the Jews, over the House of Israel, to gather to that land—This was not ¶

felt by them before but since that time ¶

This spirit has come upon them in whatever part of the earth they dwell, We found in traveling in that land whole settlements of Jews who have gathered there of late years—In talking with them (Brother Hintze being able to talk the language) we learned that they were not gathering in faith; it was not because they believed that the Lord had opened the way before them, but they had a desire to go there—A learned Jewish doctor told us that his people wanted to become again a nation—They longed to be once more a people upon the earth, and to own the land given to their fathers ¶

In Jerusalem we found quite an increase in the number of the Jews; during the last three years, fifteen thousand had settled there—The sultan is not pleased with this and has prohibited the Jews from emigrating into Palestine, but still the movement is going on, the Zion movement among the people of Israel, and they are looking forward to inhabiting that land—It is one of the signs of the times—Before long I believe the Lord will touch the hearts of that people and they will believe in Jesus as their Messiah—The Book of Mormon has the prophecy that when they do believe in Him that land shall be given them again as their inheritance—I do not believe that time is far distant—I believe that the time is hastening when the Lord will accomplish what he has spoken by His servants the Prophets ¶

While in Jerusalem we met a colony of Americans—These people have been impressed that they live in the last days and that the coming of Christ is near, and so they have sold out their possessions, taken their means with them to Jerusalem that they might live there when Christ comes, believing that He will come to Mount Olivet ¶

We spent a very pleasant evening with them—They lived in the united order, having everything in common, and they use their time in doing good, in going to the sick and helping the poor—So far they are doing a good work—Mrs. Spofford, the president and leader of the society, told us that in studying the Scriptures they have come to the conclusion that Christ will soon appear, and she said: "We ¶

were struck very much by the prophecy uttered by Zachariah in the 14th chapter, 10th verse, and also by the prophecy of Jeremiah, concerning Jerusalem, in the 31st chapter, in which it is foretold how the city of Jerusalem shall be built on certain lines—When reading the chapters closely we find that the time alluded to is the latter days, and it is said there that the city of Jerusalem should be built from the tower of Hananeel to the king's wine presses and from there to the valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes " She pointed out to us this fact, that the city is being built now exactly on these lines—They did not know at first where the tower of Hananeel was—Nobody seemed to know, and if you look into books giving descriptions of Jerusalem, that place is not designated, but a few years ago when they were digging the foundations of the Grand hotel in Jerusalem they discovered the foundations of a tower and among inscriptions found was the name of Hananeel—This made them believe that this must have been the tower of Hananeel—Taking that for a starting point, and to the king's wine presses and down to the valley of ashes, Jerusalem is being built as thus described These people took this to be one of the signs of the times—I take it to be one of the signs of the times, that God is working upon His people, His chosen people, and that they are gathering to that land ¶

As for our people gathering there, we feel that our brethren should be well grounded in the faith before we move them, and still being in their infancy it would be better to strengthen, the branches and have more come into the Church, and then gradually gather them down to a place selected in the Holy Land, and this is a work that will be accomplished—There will be a Zion in the East as well as in the West, "for the law shall go forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem " ¶

Brethren and sisters, I delight in dwelling upon these things—I see the Lord is working with the nations—He is gradually accomplishing His purposes, and His work will grow in the earth, and all the opposition in the world will not stop it—He has revealed His will to men—He has established His kingdom upon the earth, and it will grow until it becomes, as Daniel saw, a kingdom that will fill the whole earth ¶

May the Lord help us to be faithful and true and to have a share in His kingdom forever, is my prayer in the name of Jesus—Amen ¶