Ezra Taft Benson and the State of Israel - Brandeis Institutional ...

general mention of his efforts at spreading good will among Israelis for their Mormonsupporters. 76He claims the tour guide wanted to know all about it, and wished Mormonswould make his home their “headquarters.” Benson concludes that “no people arethought of more highly in Israel than we are.” 77Later he explains,Everywhere we had the glorious opportunity of talking about the Church,telling the story of Orson Hyde's visit to Palestine and his dedication ofthat land – on the Mount of Olives in 1841. We told of the predictionsthat were made in that prayer and by this servant of God later, and theparts the nations in the free world would play, particularly Great Britain,in helping to open the way that the Jewish people might return to the landwhich had been promised to them.This account, much like the other two messages expounding views on Israel through theLatter-day Saint lens, reiterates many of the most common themes of Benson's teachingsregarding the gathering of the Jews. He revels in the assurance that prophecy is beingfulfilled – both Biblical and modern prophecies regarding that gathering – and the partthat Mormon leaders, particularly Orson Hyde, have played in that that fulfillment. It is anotion common within Mormon thought, and one which Benson alludes to here, as wellas his 1950 General Conference address. 78Another theme that Benson emphasizes in his Washington Stake Conferenceaddress (1960), which also reappears in his other religious reflections, is the uniquenessof the Latter-day Saints' understanding of the fulfillment of these gathering prophecies.“You hear people in the Christian world say, 'I wish we could live in a time whenprophecies are being fulfilled, when miracles are being performed.'” This, he insists, is767778Benson, “Stake Conference Address,” 8-9.Dew, Biography, 350.Benson, “Jews Return to Palestine,” 4.28