Sorry, but that was an expensive bowl of pottage.......
Should the Palestinians be able to live in peace and harmony there (as most were cast out of their former lands of the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc)? Yes.
Should they be allowed to continue so long as they are peaceful and want to be a part of the Israeli experiment? Indeed.
Do I suspect that most are just there to commit whoredoms against God's people? Yep. I do.
Do I believe they were sent there to destabilize that country like they are being sent to destabilize Europe and America? Yep, I do.
Here is the authoritative list put together by a long-time and FB pal Bryan D. (one day, I will meet all these awesome people that have done so much for this blog and my understanding of things) that sums the history of the matter on this. I ALWAYS side on the side of prophetic word, such as this:
ENJOY:
1841. Orson Hyde dedicates the land of Palestine for the return of the Children of Abraham. Many people forget that the land was then under Turkish control, who are not Semites but descendants of Japheth. The land belongs therefore to the children of Abraham. That includes Isaac from whence comes Israel and Ishmael from whence come the Arabs.
1873. Brigham Young calls George A. Smith, Albert Carrington, and Lorenzo Snow, to go to Palestine to dedicate the land. As part of the commissioning, this was written with Brigham Young's hand...
When you go to the land of Palestine, we wish you to dedicate and
consecrate that land to the Lord, that it may be blessed with the fruitfulness
preparatory to the return of the Jews in fulfillment of prophecy and
the accomplishment of the purposes of our Heavenly Father
As you can see, where Elder Hyde's remarks mentioned the children of Abraham, the rededication was meant specifically for the return of Judah. Eliza Snow wrote of Elder Smith's prayer:
President Smith leading in humble, fervent supplication, dedicating
the land of Palestine for the gathering of the Jews and the rebuilding
of Jerusalem, and returning heartfelt thanks and gratitude to God for
the fulness of the gospel and the blessings bestowed on the Latter-day
Saints. . . . To me it seemed the crowning point of the whole tour, realizing
as I did that we were worshiping on the summit of the sacred Mount,
once the frequent resort of the Prince of Life.27
1898 Elder Anthon H. Lund once again dedicates Palestine. Originally sent to find a suitable area in Palestine for the Armenian converts to the LDS Church to settle, he dedicates the land for the return of Judah and the House of Israel. George Q Cannon, an apostle at the time, thought of this colony as a type of "Eastern Zion."
1902 Elder Francis M Lyman, dedicates Palestine three times. A witness wrote:
“apostle Lyman, in praying this evening,
prayed fervently for the restoration of fruitfulness and prosperity to the
land and the people, and pronounced a renewal of dedication and a blessing
upon the land for the gathering of Judah and Israel.”
He also prayed for the children of Abraham (note the Arabs are NOT excluded but it is clear who presides), and the building of a Temple in Jerusalem, as well as in Independence.
He later prays on top of Carmel near Haifa once again asking for the blessings of the Jews, Jerusalem, and Zion.
1917 Balfour Declaration gives the land of Palestine to the British. Jewish settlement of the region begins to increase in a big manner.
1927 James E Talmage dedicates the land of Palestine. The Scriptures that he reads are Isaiah 35 (a promise of restoration), 2 Nephi 27 (a prophecy concerning Zion and how those that erred before would learn doctrine), and D&C 133 (a call to flee Babylon and come unto Zion). Special blessings are put on the Armenians (who had fled Turkey after the Genocide), as well as the Jews to claim their "Latter Day Inheritance".
1933 Elder John Widstoe dedicates the land of Palestine, twice. The first dedication was for the mission home of the Palestinian-Syrian Mission, the second for the land. His wife wrote:
blessed the land for the return of the Jews, that they would come home
to the land that had been promised them by God. The land was blessed
that it would be restored to its former fertility and productivity, that
the returning remnants of Judah would build up the land that it would
again become a prosperous area. President Widtsoe blessed the people
that their hearts would be softened towards the missionaries and they
would become receptive to the gospel; that they would open their hearts
to the restored truth in order that they could embrace the gospel. The
Jews were promised that if they would accept Christ that peace would
come to their land and their persecutions in the world would cease, and
this land would be given to them as their inheritance as promised by the
Holy Prophets.
1948. The State of Israel is established. Six different Arab nations attempt to conquer it and fail in the attempt. An Arab batallion runs into the Three Nephites and surrenders. This would later be quotes by Elder LeGrand Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Spring 1954 session of General Conference...here is what he said about that.
A short time ago, when a committee was sent there by President Truman, they were told by Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, that it was their belief in a "mystical force that would return the Jews to the land of Israel, that had kept them alive.
In the Jewish Hope, of September 1950, was an article by Arthur U. Michelson. I will not take time to read it, but he tells of a visit he made to Jerusalem, when he heard the experience of the Jewish army. They had only-one cannon, and were facing the Arabs with their well-trained and equipped army, and so when they used this cannon, they moved it from place to place so the enemy would think they had many, and every time the cannon was fired, they would beat tin cans in order to make a lot of noise so that the enemy would think they had many cannons.
I want to read what he said about what happened when the armies of Israel were about to give up:
"One of the officials has told me how much the Jews had to suffer. They had hardly anything with which to resist the heavy attacks of the Arabs who were well organized and equipped with the latest weapons. Besides, they had neither food nor water, because all their supplies were cut off . . .
"At this critical moment, God showed them that he was on their side, for he performed one of the greatest miracles that ever happened. The Arabs suddenly threw down their arms and surrendered. When their delegation appeared with the white flag, they asked, "Where are the three men that and where are all the troops we saw?" The Jews told them that they did not know anything of the three men, for this group was their entire force. The Arabs said that they saw three persons, with long beards and flowing white robes who warned them not to fight any longer, otherwise they would all be killed. They became so frightened that they decided to give up. What an encouragement this was for the Jews to realize that God was fighting for them."
And then he told about another case when one man with a white robe and a long beard appeared, and they all saw him, and they gave up their arms. Now I do not know, but the Lord said that he would do something for the Jews in the latter days, and when he permitted the Three Nephites to tarry upon this land, he said:
And behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not.
They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them not.
And it shall come to pass, when the lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them (3 Ne. 28:27-29).
Whoever these persons were, they seemed to have "convincing power sufficient to cause a whole army to surrender.
In permitting these Three Nephites to tarry upon the earth until he, Jesus, should come in his glory, he must have had in mind some great things for them to accomplish in bringing about a fulfillment of his promises. Whether it was convinced the army of the Arabs to surrender, I do not know, but this I do know: That what is going on in the Holy Land should convince one that the Lord is moving rapidly toward restoring the Jews to the land of their fathers and is giving them that land and redeeming it from its waste condition, as the prophets have foretold.
(Elder LeGrand Richards, April 1954 General Conference)
1967: The War of 1967 happens, and Israel pushes Egypt out of Sinai and Syria out of the Golan. All of the present day West Bank is occupied as well as Gaza (West Bank was Jordanian at the time, Gaza was Egyptian). Jerusalem is reunited as the capital of Israel (East Jerusalem including the Temple Mount was Jordanian).
1973: Yom Kippur War: Syrian, Egypt, and Jordan invade Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. They are repelled. Egypt would later sue for peace, getting it in 1979 in exchange for Sinai. Jordan signs a similar peace treaty in 1994.
Harold B. Lee, President of the Church notes the developments of the Yom Kippur War (which started in the middle of General Conference in October of that year) were signs of the prophecies being completed.
1994: Howard W. Hunter notes that Jews and Arabs are children of the same Heavenly Father. Does not suggest the removal of Jews nor of Arabs from the land but that both sides can live in peace. This happened right after the Oslo accords as well as the peace with Jordan.
Is Israel perfect? No. They cannot be while they mistreat minorities and other of God's children, nor when they use their authority to do bad things. Are they there due to the prophecies being fulfilled? Yes.
Israel is still populated by 8 million people, 6 million of which are Jews. In general many still reject the idea of Jesus being Christ but around half a million have come to that realization and conversion is ongoing.
So yes, Israel is where it is at because God desired it so. They have a little ways to go before they can fulfill all of the prophecies but they are fulfilling them.
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