Orson Hyde's Dedication of Palestine
Published October 13, 2026 at 5:25 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
In 1841, Apostle Orson Hyde climbed the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and offered a dedicatory prayer for the gathering of the Jews to their homeland, fulfilling his mission assigned by Joseph Smith in 1840.
Following his arrival in October 1841, Orson Hyde waited for the city gates to open on the morning of October 24 before crossing the Kidron Valley to ascend the Mount of Olives. After offering his dedicatory prayer, he constructed a stone altar on the site to commemorate the event. The mission was part of a broader journey that saw him travel through London, Amsterdam, and Constantinople before reaching Palestine, and he returned to Nauvoo in December 1842. The prayer itself specifically asked for the removal of the land's barrenness, requested that kings and powers of the earth be inspired to favor the Jewish people's restoration, and invoked a blessing upon a stranger in Philadelphia who had provided financial support for his mission.
In Their Own Words
“Now, O Lord! 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--for the building up of Jerusalem again after it has been trodden down by the Gentiles so long, and for rearing a Temple in honor of Thy name. — Orson Hyde, prayer on the Mount of Olives, October 24, 1841, in A Voice from Jerusalem (1842)”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 24 July 1902 (Vol. 64, No. 30). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1902-07-24_64_30 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: History of the Church, Vol. 4, Chapter 26 https://byustudies.byu.edu/online-book/history-of-the-church-volume-4/volume-4-chapter-26 Additional sources (periodical research): Church History Topics, "Dedication of the Holy Land," https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/dedication-of-the-holy-land?lang=eng. Blair G. Van Dyke and LaMar C. Berrett, "In the Footsteps of Orson Hyde: Subsequent Dedications of the Holy Land," BYU Studies 47:1, https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/in-the-footsteps-of-orson-hyde-subsequent-dedications-of-the-holy-land. B. H. Roberts Foundation, "Text of Orson Hyde's prayer on the Mount of Olives (October 24, 1841)," https://bhroberts.org/records/0S8KMz-r4TBjk/text_of_orson_hydes_prayer_on_the_mount_of_olives_october_24_1841.
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