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Recommendation for Orson Hyde, 6 April 1840

Source Note

JS, Recommendation, for
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
[
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

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], Hancock Co., IL, 6 Apr. 1840. Featured version published in Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 86–87. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

In connection with an early April 1840 general
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

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of the
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

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in
Commerce

Located near middle of western boundary of state, bordering Mississippi River. European Americans settled area, 1820s. From bank of river, several feet above high-water mark, ground described as nearly level for six or seven blocks before gradually sloping...

More Info
, Illinois, JS and
Robert B. Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

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prepared a recommendation for
apostle

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

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Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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on 6 April 1840.
1

See Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.


Pursuant to a blessing Hyde received from JS around 1832 or 1833, as well as to a March 1840 vision of his own, Hyde informed the April conference that he intended to “visit the Jews in
New York

Dutch founded New Netherland colony, 1625. Incorporated under British control and renamed New York, 1664. Harbor contributed to economic and population growth of city; became largest city in American colonies. British troops defeated Continental Army under...

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,
London

City in southeast England; located on River Thames about sixty miles west of North Sea. Capital city of England. Population in 1841 about 2,000,000. London conference of British mission organized, 1841.

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,
Amsterdam

Significant maritime and commercial city on western coast of Netherlands. Located at confluence of Amstel and Wye rivers. Small fishing village in twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Population in 1830 about 200,000. Population in 1843 about 210,000. JS appointed...

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, and then . . . Constantinople and the Holy Land.” The conference gave him this recommendation, likely prepared in the evening after the conference adjourned for the day.
2

Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.


The recommendation reflected concepts of early Jewish Zionism, which was gaining strength in the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

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and Europe. By the nineteenth century, social, economic, and political factors had caused Jewish communities to disperse throughout the world, with prominent diaspora groups relocating throughout the Near East, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Noting the dispersed condition of the Jewish populace, prominent Jewish leaders in Europe and the United States began pushing for the community to gather to a single location.
3

Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson, “History,” and Haïm Z’ew Hirshchberg, “Israel, Land of: History,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 9:239; 10:178.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Encyclopedia Judaica. 16 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1971–1972.

The suggested gathering places included Palestine, but leaders also recommended other sites. For instance, American Jew Mordecai Noah suggested Grand Island, New York (near
Buffalo

Located in western New York on eastern shore of Lake Erie at head of Niagara River and mouth of Buffalo Creek. County seat. Settled by 1801. Land for town allocated, 1810. Incorporated as village, 1813, but mostly destroyed later that year during War of 1812...

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), as a temporary gathering spot until circumstances allowed a return to
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

More Info
.
4

Rock, Haven of Liberty, 223; Rovner, In the Shadow of Zion, 15–16, 37. Although they did not always agree with his opinions, Latter-day Saints occasionally discussed Noah and reprinted articles from his newspaper, the New York Star, in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate and the Times and Seasons. (William W. Phelps, “Thou Shalt Not Lie,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 2:230–233; “The Book of Jasher,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:127.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rock, Howard B. Haven of Liberty: New York Jews in the New World, 1654–1865. New York: New York University Press, 2012.

Rovner, Adam. In the Shadow of Zion: Promised Lands before Israel. New York: New York University Press, 2014.

Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Various governments and millenarian Christians likewise advocated the Jewish resettlement of Palestine. Great Britain established a consulate in Jerusalem in 1838 to assist Palestinian Jews, and several British churches made “the cause of Israel” a part of their religious efforts.
5

See Bonar and M’Cheyne, Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, 149, 163, 520; and Ayerst, Jews of the Nineteenth Century, 212–213.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bonar, Andrew A., and Robert Murray M’Cheyne. A Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1845.

Ayerst, W. The Jews of the Nineteenth Century: A Collection of Essays, Reviews, and Historical Notices Originally Published in the “Jewish Intelligence.” London: B. Wertheim, 1848.

Numerous American Christians supported a proto-Zionist gathering of the Jews, viewing the event as an essential precursor to Christ’s return.
6

See, for example, “Restoration of the Jews,” Christian Observer, 10 Sept. 1840, 145; “Missionary to the Jews,” New York Evangelist, 24 July 1830, 67; and “The Jews—the Prophecies—Palestine,” Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Courier, 22 May 1839, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Christian Observer. Philadelphia. 1840–1861.

New York Evangelist. New York City. 1830–1831.

Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Courier. Philadelphia. 1834–1841.

Enthusiasm to return to Egyptian-controlled Palestine increased throughout the 1830s, when the Egyptian leader Muhammad (Mehmet) Ali Pasha began encouraging European Jews to settle in
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

More Info
and made provisions for the establishment of European consulates in the city.
7

Halper, “On the Way: The Transition of Jerusalem from a Ritual to Colonial City,” 11–12. Palestine was technically part of the Ottoman Empire during the 1830s but was governed by Egypt’s ruler, Muhammad (Mehmet) Ali Pasha, the semiautonomous monarch of Egypt.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Halper, Jeff. “On the Way: The Transition of Jerusalem from a Ritual to Colonial City (1800–1917).” Urban Anthropology 13, no. 1 (Spring 1984): 1–32.

Growing anti-Semitism in Europe, as well as expectations of the Messiah’s appearance, motivated a small number of Jews to relocate to Palestine during the 1830s.
8

Bonar and M’Cheyne, Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, 164–165.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Bonar, Andrew A., and Robert Murray M’Cheyne. A Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1845.

Although prominent, such movements did not represent mainstream Jewish sentiments during the period. The vast majority of the world’s Jews opted either to remain in their native countries or to immigrate to the major metropolitan centers of Europe and the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
.
9

Sachar, History of the Jews, 249–250; Diner, Time for Gathering, 56–57.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Sachar, Abram Leon. A History of the Jews. 2nd ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946.

Diner, Hasia R. A Time for Gathering: The Second Migration, 1820–1880. The Jewish People in America 2. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992.

Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

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’s mission therefore occurred in the context of a growing movement on the part of both Jews and Christians to restore the Jews to their ancestral homeland.
10

That such information was circulating around the United States, including in Commerce, is evident from the July 1840 issue of the Times and Seasons, which reprinted an article about “a very extraordinary ‘Circular,’ issued by the Jews now residing at Jerusalem, and addressed to all the descendants of Abraham to the uttermost ends of the earth.” The circular recounted the efforts of Jews in Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s synagogues and other ancient Jewish structures and then invited other Jews to contribute to the effort. (“A Voice from the Holy City,” Times and Seasons, Aug. 1840, 1:157–159; see also “Restoration of the Jews,” Times and Seasons, 1 Dec. 1840, 2:232; and “The Jews,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1842, 3:691–693.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Believing that the Jewish gathering was a sign of the approaching Millennium, Latter-day Saints kept apprised of efforts to gather the Jews to Palestine, occasionally mentioning such broader movements in the church newspaper Times and Seasons. This interest stemmed from declarations in the Book of Mormon and in several early revelations about “the restoration of the Jews” and their return to
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

More Info
in the last days.
11

See, for example, Book of Mormon, 1837 ed., 40, 525–526, 556–557 [1 Nephi 15:19–20; 3 Nephi 20:32–34, 46; Mormon 5:14]; Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:62–64]; and Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:13].


Like other Christians, early Latter-day Saints saw the Jews’ return to Jerusalem as a necessary harbinger of Christ’s second coming and the beginning of the Millennium.
12

See Elias Higbee and Parley P. Pratt, “An Address,” Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:69.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

An 1836 newspaper article in the Ohio Free Press highlighted the importance of this idea. Attempting to summarize the core doctrines and beliefs of church members, the article noted the Latter-day Saint belief that the Jews would “be gathered from all parts of the world, into the ancient land of promise” prior to the Second Coming.
13

Charles Olcott, “Latter Day Saints,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, May 1836, 2:315.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

By the late 1830s, some Saints believed that the time had come for the Jews’ return to Palestine. For example, while incarcerated at
Richmond

Area settled, ca. 1814. Officially platted as Ray Co. seat, 1827. Population in 1840 about 500. Seat of Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri; also location of courthouse and jails. JS and about sixty other Latter-day Saint men were incarcerated here while...

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, Missouri, in 1838 and 1839,
Parley P. Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

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wrote, “We are authorized to say to all people, that the time is at hand for the restoration of the Jews and all the remnants of Israel to their own land, for the rebuilding of
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

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, . . . and when the remnant has re-turned and Jerusalem is rebuilt, behold the Messiah will come with all his Saints.”
14

Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 79.


Like
Pratt

12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....

View Full Bio
,
Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
believed in the importance of these events, and several of his early experiences convinced him that he should play a role in the prophesied Jewish gathering to Palestine. Shortly after Hyde joined the church, JS blessed Hyde that he would “yet go to the city of
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

More Info
” and “greatly facilitate” the gathering of the Jews.
15

[Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., iii. There is no extant copy of the actual blessing. In 1840 Hyde stated that the blessing was given “something near eight years ago,” suggesting that it occurred sometime around 1832. Hyde was in the eastern United States on a mission from 1 February through 22 December 1832. Accordingly, if the blessing was given in that year, it occurred either in January or in late December. (Hyde, Journal, Feb.–Dec. 1832.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Hyde, Orson. Journal, Feb. 1832–Mar. 1833. CHL. MS 1386.

That promise was reinforced when Hyde was
ordained

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

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an apostle in 1835. Echoing early revelations that made the latter-day apostles responsible for the gathering, Hyde’s ordination blessing predicted that he would minister “both to Jew & Gentile” in “all nations, [and] kingdoms.”
16

Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.


Finally, Hyde’s March 1840 vision specifically directed him to visit
London

City in southeast England; located on River Thames about sixty miles west of North Sea. Capital city of England. Population in 1841 about 2,000,000. London conference of British mission organized, 1841.

More Info
,
Amsterdam

Significant maritime and commercial city on western coast of Netherlands. Located at confluence of Amstel and Wye rivers. Small fishing village in twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Population in 1830 about 200,000. Population in 1843 about 210,000. JS appointed...

More Info
, Constantinople, and
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

More Info
, each a major center of Jewish gathering and thought in 1840. When Hyde addressed the April 1840 conference, he did so with the conviction that this mission to Jerusalem would assist with the prophesied gathering of the Jews and therefore was a vital part of his apostolic calling. To aid in his mission, Hyde was directed to carry with him “proper credentials” from the Saints and from the governor of
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
.
17

[Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., iv.


This recommendation encapsulated Hyde’s credentials from the church.
Unlike other letters of recommendation or
licenses

A document certifying an individual’s office in the church and authorizing him “to perform the duty of his calling.” The “Articles and Covenants” of the church implied that only elders could issue licenses; individuals ordained by a priest to an office in...

View Glossary
produced for outgoing missionaries—which typically stated the missionary’s
priesthood

Power or authority of God. The priesthood was conferred through the laying on of hands upon adult male members of the church in good standing; no specialized training was required. Priesthood officers held responsibility for administering the sacrament of...

View Glossary
authority and declared that the missionary was in good standing with the church
18

See, for example, Recommendation for Edward Partridge and Isaac Morley, 1 June 1835; Recommendation for Lyman Wight, 4 Apr. 1836; and Recommendation for Oliver Granger, 1 Nov. 1839.


—the recommendation for
Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
explained at length Hyde’s mission and why it was theologically justified. Addressed to “all people unto whom these presents shall come,” the recommendation proclaimed that the time had come for the Jews to return to
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

More Info
to prepare for the Messiah’s coming and explained that Hyde would serve as a kind of ambassador to gather facts about the Jewish community and develop relationships with Jewish leaders in Europe and the Near East. He would then publish his observations of Jerusalem and contemporary Judaism for the broader American public.
The original recommendation prepared by JS and
Thompson

1 Oct. 1811–27 Aug. 1841. Clerk, editor. Born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, England. Methodist. Immigrated to Upper Canada, 1834. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Parley P. Pratt, May 1836, in Upper Canada. Ordained an elder by...

View Full Bio
is not extant. It was published in the Times and Seasons with an accompanying note from
Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
stating that
John E. Page

25 Feb. 1799–14 Oct. 1867. Born at Trenton, Oneida Co., New York. Son of Ebenezer Page and Rachel Hill. Married first Betsey Thompson, 1831, in Huron Co., Ohio. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Emer Harris, 18 Aug. 1833, at Brownhelm...

View Full Bio
had also been “duly appointed by said conference to accompany me in this mission; and to receive the same credentials.”
19

Orson Hyde, Notice, Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:87. The certificate was also reprinted in two pamphlets. ([Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., v–vi; Hyde, Voice from Jerusalem, iv–v.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Hyde, Orson. A Voice from Jerusalem, or a Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde, Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Germany, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842.

Hyde apparently carried a copy of the recommendation with him on his mission. Hyde also received letters of recommendation from
Illinois

Became part of Northwest Territory of U.S., 1787. Admitted as state, 1818. Population in 1840 about 480,000. Population in 1845 about 660,000. Plentiful, inexpensive land attracted settlers from northern and southern states. Following expulsion from Missouri...

More Info
governor
Thomas Carlin

18 July 1789–14 Feb. 1852. Ferry owner, farmer, sheriff, politician. Born in Fayette Co., Kentucky. Son of Thomas Carlin and Elizabeth Evans. Baptist. Moved to what became Missouri, by 1803. Moved to Illinois Territory, by 1812. Served in War of 1812. Married...

View Full Bio
and Illinois secretary of state Alexander Pope Field before departing the state.
20

Hyde, Voice from Jerusalem, v.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Hyde, Orson. A Voice from Jerusalem, or a Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde, Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Germany, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842.

Prior to going to Europe, Hyde drew upon these recommendations to solicit financial assistance from “professing christians” who felt “a deep anxiety for the fulfillment of the prophecies in the restoration of the Jews to the land of their fathers.”
21

[Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., iv.


He also used the recommendations during his mission in his generally unsuccessful attempts to secure audiences with prominent government and Jewish leaders.
22

“Letter from Elder O. Hyde,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1841, 2:551–254; Hyde, Voice from Jerusalem, 7–11. Hyde met with a rabbi in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, but language barriers prohibited any real interchange between the two. (“Letter from Elder Hyde,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1841, 2:570–573.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Hyde, Orson. A Voice from Jerusalem, or a Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde, Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Germany, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.

  2. [2]

    Minutes and Discourse, 6–8 Apr. 1840.

  3. [3]

    Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson, “History,” and Haïm Z’ew Hirshchberg, “Israel, Land of: History,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 9:239; 10:178.

    Encyclopedia Judaica. 16 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1971–1972.

  4. [4]

    Rock, Haven of Liberty, 223; Rovner, In the Shadow of Zion, 15–16, 37. Although they did not always agree with his opinions, Latter-day Saints occasionally discussed Noah and reprinted articles from his newspaper, the New York Star, in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate and the Times and Seasons. (William W. Phelps, “Thou Shalt Not Lie,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Dec. 1835, 2:230–233; “The Book of Jasher,” Times and Seasons, June 1840, 1:127.)

    Rock, Howard B. Haven of Liberty: New York Jews in the New World, 1654–1865. New York: New York University Press, 2012.

    Rovner, Adam. In the Shadow of Zion: Promised Lands before Israel. New York: New York University Press, 2014.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  5. [5]

    See Bonar and M’Cheyne, Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, 149, 163, 520; and Ayerst, Jews of the Nineteenth Century, 212–213.

    Bonar, Andrew A., and Robert Murray M’Cheyne. A Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1845.

    Ayerst, W. The Jews of the Nineteenth Century: A Collection of Essays, Reviews, and Historical Notices Originally Published in the “Jewish Intelligence.” London: B. Wertheim, 1848.

  6. [6]

    See, for example, “Restoration of the Jews,” Christian Observer, 10 Sept. 1840, 145; “Missionary to the Jews,” New York Evangelist, 24 July 1830, 67; and “The Jews—the Prophecies—Palestine,” Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Courier, 22 May 1839, [2].

    Christian Observer. Philadelphia. 1840–1861.

    New York Evangelist. New York City. 1830–1831.

    Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Courier. Philadelphia. 1834–1841.

  7. [7]

    Halper, “On the Way: The Transition of Jerusalem from a Ritual to Colonial City,” 11–12. Palestine was technically part of the Ottoman Empire during the 1830s but was governed by Egypt’s ruler, Muhammad (Mehmet) Ali Pasha, the semiautonomous monarch of Egypt.

    Halper, Jeff. “On the Way: The Transition of Jerusalem from a Ritual to Colonial City (1800–1917).” Urban Anthropology 13, no. 1 (Spring 1984): 1–32.

  8. [8]

    Bonar and M’Cheyne, Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, 164–165.

    Bonar, Andrew A., and Robert Murray M’Cheyne. A Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1845.

  9. [9]

    Sachar, History of the Jews, 249–250; Diner, Time for Gathering, 56–57.

    Sachar, Abram Leon. A History of the Jews. 2nd ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946.

    Diner, Hasia R. A Time for Gathering: The Second Migration, 1820–1880. The Jewish People in America 2. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992.

  10. [10]

    That such information was circulating around the United States, including in Commerce, is evident from the July 1840 issue of the Times and Seasons, which reprinted an article about “a very extraordinary ‘Circular,’ issued by the Jews now residing at Jerusalem, and addressed to all the descendants of Abraham to the uttermost ends of the earth.” The circular recounted the efforts of Jews in Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s synagogues and other ancient Jewish structures and then invited other Jews to contribute to the effort. (“A Voice from the Holy City,” Times and Seasons, Aug. 1840, 1:157–159; see also “Restoration of the Jews,” Times and Seasons, 1 Dec. 1840, 2:232; and “The Jews,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1842, 3:691–693.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  11. [11]

    See, for example, Book of Mormon, 1837 ed., 40, 525–526, 556–557 [1 Nephi 15:19–20; 3 Nephi 20:32–34, 46; Mormon 5:14]; Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:62–64]; and Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:13].

  12. [12]

    See Elias Higbee and Parley P. Pratt, “An Address,” Times and Seasons, Mar. 1840, 1:69.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  13. [13]

    Charles Olcott, “Latter Day Saints,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, May 1836, 2:315.

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

  14. [14]

    Pratt, History of the Late Persecution, 79.

  15. [15]

    [Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., iii. There is no extant copy of the actual blessing. In 1840 Hyde stated that the blessing was given “something near eight years ago,” suggesting that it occurred sometime around 1832. Hyde was in the eastern United States on a mission from 1 February through 22 December 1832. Accordingly, if the blessing was given in that year, it occurred either in January or in late December. (Hyde, Journal, Feb.–Dec. 1832.)

    Hyde, Orson. Journal, Feb. 1832–Mar. 1833. CHL. MS 1386.

  16. [16]

    Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 14–15 Feb. 1835.

  17. [17]

    [Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., iv.

  18. [18]

    See, for example, Recommendation for Edward Partridge and Isaac Morley, 1 June 1835; Recommendation for Lyman Wight, 4 Apr. 1836; and Recommendation for Oliver Granger, 1 Nov. 1839.

  19. [19]

    Orson Hyde, Notice, Times and Seasons, Apr. 1840, 1:87. The certificate was also reprinted in two pamphlets. ([Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., v–vi; Hyde, Voice from Jerusalem, iv–v.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Hyde, Orson. A Voice from Jerusalem, or a Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde, Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Germany, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842.

  20. [20]

    Hyde, Voice from Jerusalem, v.

    Hyde, Orson. A Voice from Jerusalem, or a Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde, Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Germany, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842.

  21. [21]

    [Rigdon], Appeal to the American People, 2nd ed., iv.

  22. [22]

    “Letter from Elder O. Hyde,” Times and Seasons, 1 Oct. 1841, 2:551–254; Hyde, Voice from Jerusalem, 7–11. Hyde met with a rabbi in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, but language barriers prohibited any real interchange between the two. (“Letter from Elder Hyde,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1841, 2:570–573.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Hyde, Orson. A Voice from Jerusalem, or a Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde, Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to Germany, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Liverpool: P. P. Pratt, 1842.

Page 86

To all people unto whom these presents shall come.—Greeting.
Be it known that we the constituted authorities of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

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, assembled in
conference

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

View Glossary
, at
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock county and State of Illinois, on this, sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and forty, considering an important event at hand, an event involving the interest and fate of the
Gentile

Those who were not members of the House of Israel. More specifically, members of the church identified gentiles as those whose lineage was not of the Jews or Lamanites (understood to be the American Indians in JS’s day). Certain prophecies indicated that ...

View Glossary
nations throughout the world. From the signs of the times, and from declarations contained in the oracles of God, we are forced to come to this conclusion.
The Jewish nation have been scattered abroad among the Gentiles for a long period; and in our estimation, the time of the commencement of their return to the Holy land, has already arrived.
As this scattered and persecuted people are set among the Gentiles as a sign unto them of the second coming of the Mesiah;
1

See Isaiah 11:11–12; Ezekiel 37:21; Book of Mormon, 1837 ed., 80–81, 125 [2 Nephi 6:9–17; 30:5–9]; Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:43–44]; and Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:61–64].


and also, of the overthrow of the present kingdom’s and Governments of the earth, by the potency of his Almighty arm in scattering famine and pestilence like the frosts and snows of winter, and sending the sword, with nation against nation to bathe it in each others blood:
2

See Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:14–20]; and Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:25–26, 33].


It is highly important, in our opinion, that the present views and movements of the Jewish people be sought after, and laid before the American people for their consideration, their prophet [profit] and their learning; and feeling it to be our duty to employ the most efficient means in our power to save the children of men from the “abomination that maketh desolate.”—
3

See Daniel 11:31; 12:11.


We have, by the counsel of the Holy Spirit, appointed
Elder

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

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Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
, the bearer of these presents, a faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ,
4

Before he was appointed to preach to the Jews in 1840, Hyde had served a number of missions. Between 1831 and 1835, he preached in the eastern United States. Between 1836 and 1838, Hyde helped to open the church’s international missionary work, preaching in Upper Canada and England. (“History of Orson Hyde,” 8–16, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

to be our agent and representative in foreign lands, to visit the cities of
London

City in southeast England; located on River Thames about sixty miles west of North Sea. Capital city of England. Population in 1841 about 2,000,000. London conference of British mission organized, 1841.

More Info
,
Amsterdam

Significant maritime and commercial city on western coast of Netherlands. Located at confluence of Amstel and Wye rivers. Small fishing village in twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Population in 1830 about 200,000. Population in 1843 about 210,000. JS appointed...

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, Constantinople and
Jerusalem

Capital city of ancient Judea. Holy city of Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Population in 1835 about 11,000; in 1840 about 13,000; and in 1850 about 15,000. Described in 1836 as “greatly reduced from its ancient size and importance.” Control of city changed...

More Info
;
5

Each of these cities boasted a substantial Jewish population in 1840. At this time, there were approximately thirty-two thousand Jews living in England, although how many were in London is unclear. There were approximately forty-two thousand Jews living in Constantinople in 1831 and between seven and ten thousand Jews living in Jerusalem in 1840. By the late 1840s, the Jewish population in Amsterdam was between twenty-five and thirty-five thousand. (Field, “Counting Religion in England and Wales,” 710, 714–716; Bart Wallet, “Amsterdam,” and Abraham Haim et al., “Istanbul,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2:111, 10:780; Bonar and M’Cheyne, Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, 163–164; Ayerst, Jews of the Nineteenth Century, 416.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Field, Clive D. “Counting Religion in England and Wales: The Long Eighteenth Century, c. 1680–c. 1840.” Journal of Ecclesiastical History 63, no. 4 (Oct. 2012): 693–720.

Encyclopedia Judaica. 16 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1971–1972.

Bonar, Andrew A., and Robert Murray M’Cheyne. A Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1845.

Ayerst, W. The Jews of the Nineteenth Century: A Collection of Essays, Reviews, and Historical Notices Originally Published in the “Jewish Intelligence.” London: B. Wertheim, 1848.

and also other places that he may deem expedient, and converse with the priests, rulers and Elders of the Jews, and obtain from them all the information possible, and communicate the same to some principal paper for publication, that it may have a general circulation throughout the
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
.
As
Mr. Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
has willingly and cheerfully accepted the appointment to become our servant, and the servant of the public in distant and foreign countries for Christs’ sake, we do confidently recommend him to all religious and christian people, and to gentlemen and ladies, making no profession, as a worthy member of society, possessing much zeal to promote the happiness of mankind, fully believing that they will be forward to render him all the pecuniary aid he needs, to accomplish this laborious and hazardous mission for the general good of the human family. Ministers of every denomination, upon whom
Mr. H.

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
shall call, are requested to hold up his hands
6

See Exodus 17:11–12.


and aid him by their influence, with an assurance that [p. 86]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Recommendation for Orson Hyde, 6 April 1840
ID #
535
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D7:253–258
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Isaiah 11:11–12; Ezekiel 37:21; Book of Mormon, 1837 ed., 80–81, 125 [2 Nephi 6:9–17; 30:5–9]; Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:43–44]; and Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:61–64].

  2. [2]

    See Revelation, Sept. 1830–A [D&C 29:14–20]; and Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45:25–26, 33].

  3. [3]

    See Daniel 11:31; 12:11.

  4. [4]

    Before he was appointed to preach to the Jews in 1840, Hyde had served a number of missions. Between 1831 and 1835, he preached in the eastern United States. Between 1836 and 1838, Hyde helped to open the church’s international missionary work, preaching in Upper Canada and England. (“History of Orson Hyde,” 8–16, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

  5. [5]

    Each of these cities boasted a substantial Jewish population in 1840. At this time, there were approximately thirty-two thousand Jews living in England, although how many were in London is unclear. There were approximately forty-two thousand Jews living in Constantinople in 1831 and between seven and ten thousand Jews living in Jerusalem in 1840. By the late 1840s, the Jewish population in Amsterdam was between twenty-five and thirty-five thousand. (Field, “Counting Religion in England and Wales,” 710, 714–716; Bart Wallet, “Amsterdam,” and Abraham Haim et al., “Istanbul,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2:111, 10:780; Bonar and M’Cheyne, Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews, 163–164; Ayerst, Jews of the Nineteenth Century, 416.)

    Field, Clive D. “Counting Religion in England and Wales: The Long Eighteenth Century, c. 1680–c. 1840.” Journal of Ecclesiastical History 63, no. 4 (Oct. 2012): 693–720.

    Encyclopedia Judaica. 16 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1971–1972.

    Bonar, Andrew A., and Robert Murray M’Cheyne. A Narrative of a Mission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church of Scotland in 1839. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1845.

    Ayerst, W. The Jews of the Nineteenth Century: A Collection of Essays, Reviews, and Historical Notices Originally Published in the “Jewish Intelligence.” London: B. Wertheim, 1848.

  6. [6]

    See Exodus 17:11–12.

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