Orson Hyde dedicates the land for Judah’s gathering
interpretation
On: Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles
Linked by verbal allusion. Hyde does not cite Luke. His words “trodden down by the Gentiles so long” echo Luke 21:24.
Source quotation · Orson Hyde, letter to Parley P. Pratt, Alexandria, 22 November 1841, describing his prayer on the Mount of Olives on Sunday, 24 October [1841]; A Voice from Jerusalem (Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842), pp. 28–32; fifteen paragraphs from “On Sunday morning, October 24th” through “according to the prediction upon my head.”
On Sunday morning, October 24th, a good while before day, I arose from sleep, and went out of the city as soon as the gates were opened, crossed the brook Cedron, and went upon the Mount of Olives, and there, in solemn silence, with pen, ink, and paper, just as I saw in the vision, offered up the following prayer to him who lives for ever and ever:
"O Thou! who art from everlasting to everlasting, eternally and unchangeably the same, even the God who rules in the heavens above, and controls the destinies of men on the earth, wilt Thou condescend, through thine infinite goodness and royal favour, to listen to the prayer of thy servant which he this day offers up unto thee in the name of thy holy child Jesus, upon this land where the Sun of Righteousness sat in blood, and thine Anointed One expired.
"Be pleased, O Lord, to forgive all the follies, weaknesses, vanities, and sins of thy servant, and strengthen him to resist all future temptations. Give him prudence and discernment that he may avoid the evil, and a heart to choose the good; give him fortitude to bear up under trying and adverse circumstances, and grace to endure all things for thy name's sake, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall rest in peace.
"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 honour of thy name. Everlasting thanks be ascribed unto thee, O Father! Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast preserved thy servant from the dangers of the seas, and from the plague and pestilence which have caused the land to mourn. The violence of man has also been restrained, and thy providential care by night and by day has been exercised over thine unworthy servant. Accept, therefore, O Lord, the tribute of a grateful heart for all past favours, and be pleased to continue thy kindness and mercy towards a needy worm of the dust.
"O Thou, who didst covenant with Abraham, thy friend, and who didst renew that covenant with Isaac, and confirm the same with Jacob with an oath, that thou wouldst not only give them this land for an everlasting inheritance, but that thou wouldst also remember their seed for ever. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have long since closed their eyes in death, and made the grave their mansion. Their children are scattered and dispersed abroad among the nations of the Gentiles like sheep that have no shepherd, and are still looking forward for the fulfilment of those promises which thou didst make concerning them; and even this land, which once poured forth nature's richest bounty, and flowed, as it were, with milk and honey, has, to a certain extent, been smitten with barrenness and sterility since it drank from murderous hands the blood of Him who never sinned.
"Grant, therefore, O Lord, in the name of thy well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to remove the barrenness and sterility of this land, and let springs of living water break forth to water its thirsty soil. Let the vine and the olive produce in their strength, and the fig tree bloom and flourish. Let the land become abundantly fruitful when possessed by its rightful heirs; let it again flow with plenty to feed the returning prodigals who come home with a spirit of grace and supplication; upon it let the clouds distil virtue and richness, and let the fields smile with plenty. Let the flocks and the herds greatly increase and multiply upon the mountains and the hills; and let thy great kindness conquer and subdue the unbelief of thy people. Do thou take from them their stony heart, and give them a heart of flesh; and may the sun of thy favour dispel the cold mists of darkness which have beclouded their atmosphere. Incline them to gather in upon this land according to thy word. Let them come like clouds and like doves to their windows. Let the large ships of the nations bring them from the distant isles; and let kings become their nursing fathers, and queens with motherly fondness, wipe the tear of sorrow from their eye.
"Thou, O Lord, did once move upon the heart of Cyrus to shew favour unto Jerusalem and her children. Do thou now also be pleased to inspire the hearts of kings and the powers of the earth to look with a friendly eye towards this place, and with a desire to see thy righteous purposes executed in relation thereto. Let them know that it is thy good pleasure to restore the kingdom unto Israel—raise up Jerusalem as its capital, and constitute her people a distinct nation and government, with David thy servant, even a descendant from the loins of ancient David, to be their king.
"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 favour in thy sight. Let not their enemies prevail against them, neither let pestilence or famine overcome them, but let the glory of Israel overshadow them, and the power of the highest protect them; while that nation or kingdom that will not serve thee in this glorious work must perish, according to thy word—'Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.'
"Though thy servant is now far from his home, and from the land bedewed with his earliest tear, yet he remembers, O Lord, his friends who are there, and family, whom for thy sake he has left. Though poverty and privation be our earthly lot, yet ah! do Thou richly endow us with an inheritance where moth and rust do not corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal.
"The hands that have fed, clothed, or shown favour unto the family of thy servant in his absence, or that shall hereafter do so, let them not lose their reward, but let a special blessing rest upon them, and in thy kingdom let them have an inheritance when thou shalt come to be glorified in this society.
"Do Thou also look with favour upon all those through whose liberality I have been enabled to come to this island; and in the day when thou shalt reward all people according to their works, let these also not be past by or forgotten, but in time let them be in readiness to enjoy the glory of those mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare. Particularly do thou bless the stranger in Philadelphia, whom I never saw, but who sent me gold, with a request that I should pray for him in Jerusalem. Now, O Lord, let blessings come upon him from an unexpected quarter, and let his basket be filled, and his storehouse abound with plenty, and let not the good things of the earth be his only portion, but let him be found among those to whom it shall be said, 'Thou hast been faithful over a few things, and I will make thee ruler over many.'
"O my father in heaven! I now ask thee in the name of Jesus to remember Zion, with all her stakes, and with all her assemblies. She has been grievously afflicted and smitten; she has mourned; she has wept; her enemies have triumphed, and have said, 'Ah, where is thy God?' Her priests and prophets have groaned in chains and fetters within the gloomy walls of prisons, while many were slain, and now sleep in the arms of death. How long, O Lord, shall iniquity triumph, and sin go unpunished?
"Do Thou arise in the majesty of thy strength, and make bare thine arm in behalf of thy people. Redress their wrongs, and turn their sorrow into joy. Pour the spirit of light and knowledge, grace and wisdom, into the hearts of her prophets, and clothe her priests with salvation. Let light and knowledge march forth through the empire of darkness, and may the honest in heart flow to their standard, and join in the march to go forth to meet the Bridegroom.
"Let a peculiar blessing rest upon the presidency of thy church, for at them are the arrows of the enemy directed. Be thou to them a sun and shield, their strong tower and hiding-place; and in the time of distress or danger be thou near to deliver. Also the quorum of the twelve, do thou be pleased to stand by, for thou knowest the obstacles which we have to encounter, the temptations to which we are exposed, and the privations which we must suffer. Give us, therefore, strength according to our day, and help us to bear a faithful testimony of Jesus and his gospel, and to finish with fidelity and honour the work which thou hast given us to do, and then give us a place in thy glorious kingdom. And let this blessing rest upon every faithful officer and member in thy church. And all the glory and honour will we ascribe unto God and the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen."
On the top of Mount Olives I erected a pile of stones as a witness according to the ancient custom. On what was anciently called Mount Zion, where the temple stood, I erected another, and used the rod according to the prediction upon my head.
A Voice from Jerusalem · Orson Hyde, A Voice from Jerusalem, or a Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde (Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842), Letter III, dated Alexandria, 22 November 1841, pp. 28–32. Project Gutenberg eBook 46208 (Mormon Texts Project transcription), retrieved 30 September 2026, compared word by word with the Internet Archive voicefromjerusal00hyde OCR text layer; printed p. 29 visually checked. One omission in the transcription restored from print: “unto thee, O Father!” HTML markup removed and whitespace normalized; italics rendered plain. No passages omitted within the selected unit.
Source reuse and transcription
Public-domain English edition published in 1842. Project Gutenberg license: https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html. Print witness: https://archive.org/details/voicefromjerusal00hyde
Community response to this revision: 0
Published revision history
2026-10-01T14:02:23+00:00
On Sunday morning, October 24th, a good while before day, I arose from sleep, and went out of the city as soon as the gates were opened, crossed the brook Cedron, and went upon the Mount of Olives, and there, in solemn silence, with pen, ink, and paper, just as I saw in the vision, offered up the following prayer to him who lives for ever and ever:
"O Thou! who art from everlasting to everlasting, eternally and unchangeably the same, even the God who rules in the heavens above, and controls the destinies of men on the earth, wilt Thou condescend, through thine infinite goodness and royal favour, to listen to the prayer of thy servant which he this day offers up unto thee in the name of thy holy child Jesus, upon this land where the Sun of Righteousness sat in blood, and thine Anointed One expired.
"Be pleased, O Lord, to forgive all the follies, weaknesses, vanities, and sins of thy servant, and strengthen him to resist all future temptations. Give him prudence and discernment that he may avoid the evil, and a heart to choose the good; give him fortitude to bear up under trying and adverse circumstances, and grace to endure all things for thy name's sake, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall rest in peace.
"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 honour of thy name. Everlasting thanks be ascribed unto thee, O Father! Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast preserved thy servant from the dangers of the seas, and from the plague and pestilence which have caused the land to mourn. The violence of man has also been restrained, and thy providential care by night and by day has been exercised over thine unworthy servant. Accept, therefore, O Lord, the tribute of a grateful heart for all past favours, and be pleased to continue thy kindness and mercy towards a needy worm of the dust.
"O Thou, who didst covenant with Abraham, thy friend, and who didst renew that covenant with Isaac, and confirm the same with Jacob with an oath, that thou wouldst not only give them this land for an everlasting inheritance, but that thou wouldst also remember their seed for ever. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have long since closed their eyes in death, and made the grave their mansion. Their children are scattered and dispersed abroad among the nations of the Gentiles like sheep that have no shepherd, and are still looking forward for the fulfilment of those promises which thou didst make concerning them; and even this land, which once poured forth nature's richest bounty, and flowed, as it were, with milk and honey, has, to a certain extent, been smitten with barrenness and sterility since it drank from murderous hands the blood of Him who never sinned.
"Grant, therefore, O Lord, in the name of thy well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to remove the barrenness and sterility of this land, and let springs of living water break forth to water its thirsty soil. Let the vine and the olive produce in their strength, and the fig tree bloom and flourish. Let the land become abundantly fruitful when possessed by its rightful heirs; let it again flow with plenty to feed the returning prodigals who come home with a spirit of grace and supplication; upon it let the clouds distil virtue and richness, and let the fields smile with plenty. Let the flocks and the herds greatly increase and multiply upon the mountains and the hills; and let thy great kindness conquer and subdue the unbelief of thy people. Do thou take from them their stony heart, and give them a heart of flesh; and may the sun of thy favour dispel the cold mists of darkness which have beclouded their atmosphere. Incline them to gather in upon this land according to thy word. Let them come like clouds and like doves to their windows. Let the large ships of the nations bring them from the distant isles; and let kings become their nursing fathers, and queens with motherly fondness, wipe the tear of sorrow from their eye.
"Thou, O Lord, did once move upon the heart of Cyrus to shew favour unto Jerusalem and her children. Do thou now also be pleased to inspire the hearts of kings and the powers of the earth to look with a friendly eye towards this place, and with a desire to see thy righteous purposes executed in relation thereto. Let them know that it is thy good pleasure to restore the kingdom unto Israel—raise up Jerusalem as its capital, and constitute her people a distinct nation and government, with David thy servant, even a descendant from the loins of ancient David, to be their king.
"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 favour in thy sight. Let not their enemies prevail against them, neither let pestilence or famine overcome them, but let the glory of Israel overshadow them, and the power of the highest protect them; while that nation or kingdom that will not serve thee in this glorious work must perish, according to thy word—'Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.'
"Though thy servant is now far from his home, and from the land bedewed with his earliest tear, yet he remembers, O Lord, his friends who are there, and family, whom for thy sake he has left. Though poverty and privation be our earthly lot, yet ah! do Thou richly endow us with an inheritance where moth and rust do not corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal.
"The hands that have fed, clothed, or shown favour unto the family of thy servant in his absence, or that shall hereafter do so, let them not lose their reward, but let a special blessing rest upon them, and in thy kingdom let them have an inheritance when thou shalt come to be glorified in this society.
"Do Thou also look with favour upon all those through whose liberality I have been enabled to come to this island; and in the day when thou shalt reward all people according to their works, let these also not be past by or forgotten, but in time let them be in readiness to enjoy the glory of those mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare. Particularly do thou bless the stranger in Philadelphia, whom I never saw, but who sent me gold, with a request that I should pray for him in Jerusalem. Now, O Lord, let blessings come upon him from an unexpected quarter, and let his basket be filled, and his storehouse abound with plenty, and let not the good things of the earth be his only portion, but let him be found among those to whom it shall be said, 'Thou hast been faithful over a few things, and I will make thee ruler over many.'
"O my father in heaven! I now ask thee in the name of Jesus to remember Zion, with all her stakes, and with all her assemblies. She has been grievously afflicted and smitten; she has mourned; she has wept; her enemies have triumphed, and have said, 'Ah, where is thy God?' Her priests and prophets have groaned in chains and fetters within the gloomy walls of prisons, while many were slain, and now sleep in the arms of death. How long, O Lord, shall iniquity triumph, and sin go unpunished?
"Do Thou arise in the majesty of thy strength, and make bare thine arm in behalf of thy people. Redress their wrongs, and turn their sorrow into joy. Pour the spirit of light and knowledge, grace and wisdom, into the hearts of her prophets, and clothe her priests with salvation. Let light and knowledge march forth through the empire of darkness, and may the honest in heart flow to their standard, and join in the march to go forth to meet the Bridegroom.
"Let a peculiar blessing rest upon the presidency of thy church, for at them are the arrows of the enemy directed. Be thou to them a sun and shield, their strong tower and hiding-place; and in the time of distress or danger be thou near to deliver. Also the quorum of the twelve, do thou be pleased to stand by, for thou knowest the obstacles which we have to encounter, the temptations to which we are exposed, and the privations which we must suffer. Give us, therefore, strength according to our day, and help us to bear a faithful testimony of Jesus and his gospel, and to finish with fidelity and honour the work which thou hast given us to do, and then give us a place in thy glorious kingdom. And let this blessing rest upon every faithful officer and member in thy church. And all the glory and honour will we ascribe unto God and the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen."
On the top of Mount Olives I erected a pile of stones as a witness according to the ancient custom. On what was anciently called Mount Zion, where the temple stood, I erected another, and used the rod according to the prediction upon my head.
Paton’s Day Dawn: the times of the Gentiles end with A.D. 1914, when God’s kingdom becomes universal
interpretation
On: until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled
Source quotation · J. H. Paton, The Day Dawn (Pittsburg: A. D. Jones, 1880), chapter IX, “Times of the Gentiles,” pp. 103–110.
In this chapter we purpose to give our reason for fixing upon A. D. 1914, as the limit of Gentile dominion, and as the point from which God’s kingdom will be supreme upon the earth. Jesus said, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke xxi : 24. We purpose to show that the period referred to is 2520 years, reaching from B. C. 606, to A. D. 1914. This is called “the times of the Gentiles,” because it is the duration of Gentile dominion, from the time they became universal rulers of the earth, until the kingdom of God shall have subdued them, and become universal. …
We have clear evidence given us of the date of the suspension of God’s kingdom, (B. C. 606), and if, as we have assumed, the length of time is revealed as 2520 years, during which Gentile powers are to rule over Jerusalem, then, of course, it is easy to determine where that period will end, viz: A. D. 1914; because 606 full years before the beginning of the common era, and 1914 full years after it began, make a total of 2520 years. …
… Then a time or year is composed of 360 days, and seven times would be 360 x 7, or 2520 days. It has also been shown that in symbolic prophecy, a day means a literal year, hence this period of Gentile rule over Jerusalem is 2520 years. And from B. C 606, where the period began, until the end of A. D. 1914, is 2520 years. … At this time—A. D. 1880—there remain only thirty-five years of the time to run, reckoning it on the year-day principle. …
We do not claim that the Gentiles will hold Jerusalem with unlimited sway until A. D. 1914. The opposite is true. The principle of gradual change will find its application here as in the changes of the past. …
They do not, however, lose all their power until A D. 1914, or until the kingdom of God is universal. We have, from a Bible standpoint, good reasons for fixing upon A. D. 1914, as a limit of the times of the Gentiles, and as the date from which Jerusalem, freed from her long bondage, will become “a praise in all the earth.” As a means to the breaking in pieces and removal of the Gentile powers, the kingdom of God is to be set up, as we have seen. This fact locates the coming of Christ and the exaltation of the saints, some by resurrection, and some by translation, long enough before 1914 to give time for the subjugation of earth’s kingdoms, before the full time expires. This gives ground for expecting the foretold time of trouble, between now and 1914, during which Daniel’s people are to be delivered. Dan. xii : 1.
The Day Dawn (1880), chapter IX, “Times of the Gentiles” · J. H. Paton, The Day Dawn; or, The Gospel in Type and Prophecy (Pittsburg, Pa.: published by A. D. Jones, 1880), chapter IX, “Times of the Gentiles,” pp. 103–110: the opening paragraph to “and become universal.” (p. 103); the paragraph “We have clear evidence” to “make a total of 2520 years.” (p. 106); from “Then a time or year” to “on the year-day principle.” (p. 108); the sentences “We do not claim” to “the changes of the past.” (p. 109); and from “They do not, however,” (p. 109) to “Dan. xii : 1.” (p. 110). Internet Archive item TheDayDawn, BookReader leaves 1 (title page), 102, 105, 107, 108 and 109. Transcribed from the page images. Line-end hyphenation joined; whitespace normalized; “B. C 606” (p. 108) and “A D. 1914” (p. 109) kept as printed; omissions marked “…”.
Source reuse and transcription
Nineteenth-century publication, public domain in the United States.
Community response to this revision: 0
Published revision history
2026-10-05T23:02:44+00:00
In this chapter we purpose to give our reason for fixing upon A. D. 1914, as the limit of Gentile dominion, and as the point from which God’s kingdom will be supreme upon the earth. Jesus said, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke xxi : 24. We purpose to show that the period referred to is 2520 years, reaching from B. C. 606, to A. D. 1914. This is called “the times of the Gentiles,” because it is the duration of Gentile dominion, from the time they became universal rulers of the earth, until the kingdom of God shall have subdued them, and become universal. …
We have clear evidence given us of the date of the suspension of God’s kingdom, (B. C. 606), and if, as we have assumed, the length of time is revealed as 2520 years, during which Gentile powers are to rule over Jerusalem, then, of course, it is easy to determine where that period will end, viz: A. D. 1914; because 606 full years before the beginning of the common era, and 1914 full years after it began, make a total of 2520 years. …
… Then a time or year is composed of 360 days, and seven times would be 360 x 7, or 2520 days. It has also been shown that in symbolic prophecy, a day means a literal year, hence this period of Gentile rule over Jerusalem is 2520 years. And from B. C 606, where the period began, until the end of A. D. 1914, is 2520 years. … At this time—A. D. 1880—there remain only thirty-five years of the time to run, reckoning it on the year-day principle. …
We do not claim that the Gentiles will hold Jerusalem with unlimited sway until A. D. 1914. The opposite is true. The principle of gradual change will find its application here as in the changes of the past. …
They do not, however, lose all their power until A D. 1914, or until the kingdom of God is universal. We have, from a Bible standpoint, good reasons for fixing upon A. D. 1914, as a limit of the times of the Gentiles, and as the date from which Jerusalem, freed from her long bondage, will become “a praise in all the earth.” As a means to the breaking in pieces and removal of the Gentile powers, the kingdom of God is to be set up, as we have seen. This fact locates the coming of Christ and the exaltation of the saints, some by resurrection, and some by translation, long enough before 1914 to give time for the subjugation of earth’s kingdoms, before the full time expires. This gives ground for expecting the foretold time of trouble, between now and 1914, during which Daniel’s people are to be delivered. Dan. xii : 1.