- 1921 Journal entries during visit to Holy Land
- April 1922 Address at the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.
[Quotes in red have been used on our Key Takeaways page.]
Journal Entries during his 1921 visit to the Holy Land
Monday, October 31, 1921
When we awoke this morning, the sun was shining, and we were still speeding toward Jerusalem. The country through which we were traveling was Sandy and bear. Trains of heavily laden camels and donkeys with their plotting drivers, sticks in hands, were seen in the distance continually.
Although the country is barren and desert-like, it needs only a little water to make it produce fruitfully. This was evidenced by the groves of orange and olive trees that we saw near one of the stations.
As we neared Bitter, we caught our first glimpse of the terrace hillsides, their green garden truck and grapevine standing out in striking contrast to the rocky, barren limestone hills through which we had been traveling.
At Bitter, too, I first heard the name “Bethlehem” spoken in Palestine. It was by a poor but beautiful Arabian girl, offering grapes for sale. When asked if these were grown in the village, she replied, “No, these came from Bethlehem,” indicating with a slight nod of her head that Bethlehem was just over the hill to the south.
As we left this town, we caught glimpses of trenches on the hillside, grim but forceful reminders of the recent war that decided the fate, not only of Palestine, but also to a degree of the whole world. The first view I had of Jerusalem was from the car window, at about 12:15 p.m. A walled city of white, flat-roofed houses, with the lofty Russian Tower standing on the Mount of Olives nearby—this was my first mental picture of this, the most historic place in the world!
A bath, change of clothes, and lunch made us forget the hot, dusty ride, but made us even more eager for the post office to open so that we could get anticipated mail from home. At 3:00 p.m. we were standing in front of the “Post Restante” window and were not disappointed, thanks to the thoughtfulness and sweetness of my sweetheart and the good foresight of our missionary son, David L.—newsy, loving letters from each, with another enclosed in Ray’s, also a copy of the letter President Grant sent me in Australia.
Sent a telegram to the U.S. council in Aleppo, in an effort to locate Elder Booth.
Toward evening we walked through the Jaffa Gate and into Old Jerusalem. We did not then notice the small iron door in the large gate, which was called “eye of the needle.” (See Matt. 19:20.) Neither did we know that the “Tower of David” was on our right. Having decided to start sightseeing in the morning, with a competent guide, we were simply “reconnoitering.” Keeping straight ahead, we entered David Street, and found ourselves walking down stone steps. Some distance down, we turn to the right into another narrow street, crowded with all kinds of people and donkeys. Many of the people showed by their features and queer dress that they are foreign Jews.
After a half hour’s stroll, we return to the hotel and wrote notes.
Our rooms are small and barely furnished, but fairly comfortable. Rate: 120 piastres ($4.20) per day including meals.
Tuesday, November 1, 1921
When we secured our dragoman last night for two days’ sightseeing, he said we would go by Auto to Bethlehem first this morning; But when we met him at 8:00 a.m., He suggested that we order a lunch prepared and make a trip today to Jericho and the Dead Sea.
Accordingly, within a very short time, we were in a Ford rattling towards the valley of the Jordan. At the post office we turn to the right passing the following Gates in the order named: (1) The New Gate, (2) Damascus Gate—Camel’s entrance, (3) Herod’s Gate, (4) St. Stephen’s gate, (5) Beautiful Gate.
Just before we descended into the valley of Jehoshaphat, we passed the spot on our right on which Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death, while Saul, then a young man and a persecutor of the hated sect of Nazarenes held the cloaks of some of the murderers.
We crossed the Brook Kedron, and passed the Garden of Gethsemane on our left, concluding to enter it upon our return. With the same thought in mind, we also passed Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
I was impressed with the “Apostles’ Fountain,” not because of what our guide told us, for he was wrong, but because, undoubtedly, Jesus and his disciples often stopped at this well or spring to refresh themselves.
Our dragoman told us that was the spot where the Savior told his disciples that “Lazarus sleeps: but I go to waken him.” (See John 11:11.) According to John, that circumstance or conversation took place while they were still in Perea.
The rough, mountainous country through which we were passing must have furnished an excellent rendezvous for robbers in olden days: and it’s rugged, barren appearance helped us to believe that the Good Samaritan Inn, or wayside Khan that was built along this road, the ruins of which may still be seen a short distance from the inn still in service, was the one Jesus had in mind when he gave the parable of the good Samaritan. (Luke 10.)
Not far from this place, is the scene where the prophet Elijah was fed by the ravens. (1 Kings 17.)
We wondered when we saw some very large quail or small pheasants, and observed how tame they are, if the Old Testament “ravens” were not these birds. Anyhow, we could well believe the account in Exodus, wherein it states that the Israelites were furnished quail in such abundance that they could catch them with little or no trouble.
The Dead Sea is 1,293 ft below the level of the sea, and 3,786 ft lower than Jerusalem. Its shoreline is the lowest part of the Earth’s surface not covered with water.
I was not disappointed in the Jordan Valley, although it is dry and barren of all vegetation except a shrub that resembles our greasewood and rabbitbrush.
The Dead Sea is a beautiful body of water, and this day was exceptionally so because the surface was sufficiently stirred to make the waves high and boisterous as they splashed against the pebbly shore.
We tried to secure a boat to row on it, but a man at a little station on the Northern shore said it was too rough. We hired a native to swim out and secure two bottles of the clean water as specimens. It contains twenty-five percent mineral salt.
Across the sea to the east and running north and south are the Mountains of Moab. There stands Mt. Nebo from which Moses viewed the Promised Land. (Deut. 34.) It was near Mt. Nebo where Elijah was taken up to heaven. (II Kings 2.)
Leaving the Dead Sea, we drove north through high dense weeds or shrubs, the name of which we did not ascertain, to the traditional place on the Jordan River where the children of Israel crossed into the Promised Land. Perhaps in that same vicinity, the Savior of the world was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness.”
Between the Jordan and Jericho, we were shown the place where at Gilgal, Joshua erected the pillar of 12 Stones. (Joshua 4.)
As we stood near the tree which marks the spot, our guide pointed out the site of the ancient Sodom from which Lot and his family fled, (Genesis 19); also where Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.
Jericho of today is a fertile spot standing near the site of the ancient city. Soudan Bedouins are the principal inhabitants of the small, dirty town. Orange and banana trees flourish here. At this place we were shown the beautiful pools known as “Elisha’s Fountain.” (II Kings 2:19-22.) They are just below the excavated ruins of the old Jericho, down the walls of which Rahab assisted Joshua’s spies to escape. (Joshua 19.) A portion of the walls of her house may still be seen. Jericho was the home of Zacchaeus and the blind Bartimaeus.
The lofty mountain in the southwest is known as Mt. Temptation. Here is the supposed scene of the Savior’s fasting and temptation.
Upon our return in the afternoon, we visited the tomb of Lazarus at Bethany and the ruins of the two rooms in which Mary and Martha so often entertained their Lord. Mohammedans now own the place, and a dirty, dingy place it is, too, but I was all the while picturing in my mind the happy scenes that occurred here about 2,000 years ago, so did not mind the debris and filth. I recognize no Marys nor Marthas in any of the women we passed in this much visited place by the Master.
We visited the Garden of Gethsemane, now the property of Franciscan Fathers. As at every other sacred spot in Jerusalem. There are too many modern things around here to realize at first that this is the garden to which Jesus and his disciples repaired so frequently for prayer; but the rock—thank heaven they can’t change that—on which the three disciples sat and “watched,” is sufficiently natural to make one partly picture the scene as it was on the fatal night when Judas betrayed his Lord!
Although it was nearly 3:30 o’clock, we concluded that we still had time to drive to Bethlehem, 6 miles south of Jerusalem. Before starting, however, we visited the Church of the Virgin, which marks the spot where the mother of the Savior was buried. An auto was waiting for us near the spot where Stephen was martyred, so before taking my seat, I stood a moment on what might have been the very spot from which, just before he died, he saw the heavens open.
We passed the hotel on our way to Bethlehem, drove by the Jaffa Gate, and entered the Valley of Hinnom, a deep ravine which bounds Jerusalem on the south. This was the ancient boundary between Judah and Benjamin. On the south side of this is the Hill of Evil Counsel where the Jews counseled how to put Jesus to death, and where Solomon had built an altar to Moloch.
The Valley of Gahenna—or hell—where the fires burning the refuse of the city were never quenched, was on our left. On the slope of this hill to the left of the present road crossing the valley are several cemeteries, one of which is known as “Aceldama” or “Field of Blood” said to be the Potters’ Field which was purchased with 30 pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed his Lord. (Matt. 27.)
A short distance past the station, we drove through the Valley of Rephaim or Valley of Giants, where David twice defeated the Philistines. (II Samuel 5.)
About halfway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is the “Well of the Magi,” by the side of which Mary sat on her way to Bethlehem.
A little farther on is “Rachel’s Tomb,” where Jacob “set up a pillar upon her grave.” (Genesis 35 and I Samuel 10:2.)
The cold west wind blowing this afternoon and evening made us realize more keenly what hardships Mary would have endured had she entered Bethlehem “late” as we were on the evening of December 24th! Fortunately for her, it was in the month of April!
Off to our left are the “Well of David” and the field where the “shepherds were watching their flocks by night.”
Bethlehem is a city of about 3,000, nearly all of whom profess to be Christians.
Over the Khan or inn where Christ was born, stands the church built by Constantine, in which Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, and Armenians respectively have chapels.
The silver and the gold decorations and trappings that surround the sacred spot where the child Jesus was born seemed to me to be desecrations. And when our guide pointed out the lines of demarcation between the Greeks and the Latins, and the Armenians and told us how they fought each other if one happened to trespass upon his neighbor, I was disgusted!
Twenty-five years ago, the Armenian Christians, who have just a small corner for their altar, happened to move their carpet off their assigned place while they swept the floor. The consequence was that in the struggle that followed, so our guide reported, three of them were killed!
Roman Catholics dare not cross the Greek Catholics part! Pictures hand on the wall, undusted and so begrimed that they cannot be recognized for what they are, but no one dares touch them because the other sects would be so aroused in jealousy! And all this in the very precinct of the spot where he was born, whose birth was heralded by a heavenly host singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14.)
The spirit of contention, of bigotry, and of jealousy has banished the Spirit of Christ from the place of his nativity! After spending an hour or so in Bethlehem, we return to Jerusalem.
Wednesday, November 2, 1921
When we started from our guide last night, it was with the understanding that we should go to the Mount of Olives this morning; but we were surprised to learn first thing that the program was changed.
“Don’t ask me why I change,” said Michael, who seemed somewhat nervous, “just you trust me. I will tell you when we enter the city.”
Mr. Spiva and party were also disappointed in not finding their car ready to take them to the Dead Sea. We later learned that every driver was instructed not to run his auto, and that every Mohammedan and every Jewish business house and nearly every Christian place of business was closed for the day.
Said Michael: “This is a day of mourning; today the Mohammedans and the Christians throughout Palestine unite in protesting against Lord Balfour’s declaration that Palestine shall be set apart as a gathering place for the Jews.”
This was a revelation to me! At first, I was inclined to treat the matter lightly, not crediting our man with a thorough understanding of the matter; but the more we questioned him and the more clearly we discerned his bitter antipathy toward the Jews, the more convinced I became that we were going to witness this day a most significant demonstration.
Not a shop was open! Not a donkey or a camel did we see! Men and women were gathering in groups! We soon began to feel the spirit of tension in the city.
Michael was vehement—under his breath—in his protestations that the Jews shall never rule Palestine.
Said I, “Michael, standing here on the street of David, this 2nd of November, 1921, I want to tell you something to remember! No matter how much the Mohammedans and the Greek Christians oppose the Jews coming back to Palestine, the Jews are coming and will possess this land!”
“Never,” he cried with emphasis and bitterness. “The streets will flow with blood first!”
“The streets may and undoubtedly will flow with blood,” I answered, “but that will not prevent the Jews possessing their land. Don’t you believe your Bible?”
“I know the Bible says Jerusalem will be rebuilt,” was his admission, “but the time hasn’t come yet.”
“Yes, the time has come.”
We now reached Mt. Moriah and were standing on the site of the outer court of Solomon’s temple. The altar of sacrifice was supposed to be on the spot where Abraham was ready to offer Isaac. Suddenly our ears caught the sound of mingled voices crying something in unison. I started toward the street from which the noise came, and Brother Cannon followed.
“Don’t go there! Stop! Come back!” Cried Michael. “There will be trouble.”
If there was going to be trouble, we wanted to see it, so did not heed our guide. Modern Jerusalem became more interesting to us than Jerusalem of old. However, it proved to be only a group of college students and a crowd of youngsters yelling, “Allah is our prophet,” etc.
Rejoining our guide who repeated every once in a while, “This is bad. There will be fighting. Some people will be killed,” we left the Mosque of Omar, which stands on the old temple site, and made our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here gold in great profusion, diamonds, and other precious stones adorn the sacred spot and pictures of Christ and Mary, to the value of millions of dollars. Here, too, the contending sects, in their fanatic zeal to honor their Lord, disgrace themselves and his cause by their jealousy and hatred of one another. We came out from this church sensing the significance of the following expression by Count Eberhart of Wurttemberg: “There are three acts in a man’s life which no one ought either to advise another to do or not to do. The first is to contract matrimony, the second is to go to the wars, the third is to visit the Holy Sepulchre. I say that these three acts are good in themselves, but they may easily turn out ill; and when this is so, he who gave the advice comes to be blamed as if he were the cause of its turning out ill.”
But the climax of the adornment of wealth and costly jewels as a manifestation of adoration is reached in the Church of Calvary! “The King of the Jews,” Pilot’s inscription over Jesus is written in 12 large letters, each studded with diamonds!
The keys to the Holy Sepulchre are kept by a Muslim because the Christian sects will not trust one of their number with them.
The pool of Bethesda where Christ healed the impotent man, (John 5) is a very interesting spot, though somewhat difficult of access. It is many feet below the present surface, but old masonry still reveals the old corridors, which in all probability stood when the Savior and his disciples visited the place.
In the Church of the Covenant of the Sisters of Zion, we saw what undoubtedly is the original Roman pavement in the official residence of the Roman Governor, and also the remains of the arch through which Christ would pass “when he left the Praetorium bearing the cross on his way to Calvary.” I enjoyed my visit to this place and seem to feel the sanctity which should be associated with these sacred spots more than I have in any of the other churches.
It is to be regretted that each spot has not been preserved in its naturalness and simplicity, without being covered up with cold prison-like churches in which “worshippers show hatred for each other instead of love!”
By this time, 11:30 a.m., there was a good deal of Muslim rowdiness manifest in the narrow streets of the city, and our guide was so worried that his mind was more on what was going to happen than on what happened over 1900 years ago. And so was ours in a very few minutes! As we walked up David Street, we met hundreds of Mohammedans going towards the Mosque of Omar to pray. Suddenly behind them we heard imprecating yells and mingling with them cries for help. Hurrying forward, we saw two Jewish women, some children, and one or two men trying to escape from a mob with sticks and stones in their hands, pursuing them like hyenas after prey! I saw one fellow hurl a stone and strike a fugitive man in the back. The women’s faces were blanched with fear!
As the Jews fled past us, I raised my cane and cried to the pursuers to stop as they rushed by. Jumping in front of a youngster with a large stone in his hand which he was about to throw, I said, “What are you doing? Put down that stone!”
But he only defied me and tried to pass. Fortunately, policemen had come in behind us and had met the mob whose impetus was by this time broken, and they were being driven back; but they moved defiantly until an officer came with a whip of two lashes, which he used to good advantage. I have never seen blows given to men and boys that seem to have been so merited!
A little farther on, we found the entrance to the street leading to what our guide said was the Jewish quarter, well-guarded by about a dozen soldiers. Michael turned to the right, but we stopped, desiring to go into this part of the city to see what was going on.
“Come this way,” said Michael nervously.
“Let’s go up this street,” I suggested.
“No, you must not go there; it’s not safe!”
“Oh, it is safe enough.”
“If you go there, you go alone!”
“All right, Michael, here’s where you and we part company,” I said. “We’ll meet you at two o’clock!”
With a surprised look, our guide turned away and walked rapidly out of the district.
The feeling in the street in which we now found ourselves was truly ominous. Recognizing us as Americans, the soldiers had permitted us to pass; but the huddling groups of foreign Jews seem to eyes with suspicion. They were frightened ut were consulting together and wondering what was going to happen. We tried in vain once or twice to talk to them, but none could understand English. Finally, we approached a crowd in which a young man understood us and whom we could understand. In reply to our question as to what the trouble was all about, he said:
“The Mohammedans and Christians are opposed to the Zionist movement, and they make this demonstration as a protest against Lord Balfour’s declaration that Palestine should be given as a place for the Jews.”
We had asked and received answers to only a few questions, when the men whom we could see assembled in an arched hallway, ejaculated in what seemed to me to be protesting tones.
“Are they objecting to your talking to us?”
“Yes.”
“Well, tell them we’re Americans and favor the Jews coming back to Jerusalem. We’re Christians.”
“Then why do you wear that?” He surprised me by asking, and pointed to my stick pin—the star and crescent.
“That’s a present from my wife and has no Muslim significance.”
They grouped around me, inspected it closely, and decided it had as much Jewish significance as Muslim, so we seem to have won favor rather than to have lost it.
I shall never forget that scene in that Jewish Street of Jerusalem—frightened women and children on balconies or peering out of windows—men moving about in streets, expecting something, or consulting in lowered tones and ominous groups! I seemed to see not many years hence, those doorways and stone steps covered with blood in the great struggle that is impending, of which the spirit of this day is but the rumbling as of a pent-up volcano! I was glad to see the British “Tommies” around with helmets on their heads and bayonets fixed, and to see the armed motor cars pass through the streets. They had a subduing influence upon the rising spirit of what soon would be a frenzied mob.
When after lunch we met Michael, I said, “How do you do, Michael? You see we are still alive.”
“Don’t you think I was mistaken,” he said gloomily, “as soon as you left that street one man was killed and several others wounded!”
“How?”
“By a bomb.”
And he told us the truth. A bomb had been thrown into the crowd, killing one man outright, mortally wounding two others and severely injuring several men.
Later in the day, near the Damascus Gate, three Jews were killed—clubbed and stoned to death in reparation and vengeance! Wild rumors were afloat, and the tension was high, so it was difficult to obtain the real facts of the situation. Official orders were cried throughout the city that no one would be permitted in the streets after 5 o’clock p.m. And that order was implicitly carried out. At 6:00 p.m. The streets of Jerusalem were as deserted as a cemetery. Only the soldiers on guard and an occasional warning shot indicated the presence of the ominous spirit of the inhabitants of the Holy Land.
As I sat in my room thinking over the events of the day, only a hint of which I have here given, I was overwhelmed with the thought that we had witnessed on the 2nd of November the manifestation of a smoldering spirit of hatred which will some day in the near future cause much bloodshed!
I realized, too, the necessity of the presence of the British Government as the Protectorate of Palestine, and associated with all the events that have taken place since Lord Balfour’s declaration, the prophecy in the Book of Mormon that “The Gentiles shall be the means of restoring Israel to the Promised Land.” (See 1 Nephi 13.)
Thursday, November 3, 1921
At 3:30 p.m., Brother Cannon and I walked down David Street, out of the Gate of St. Stephen, across the Brook Kedron, and ascended the Mount of Olives. Here in a secluded spot under a fig tree, nearly opposite the Gate Beautiful we knelt down and offered up our thanksgiving and praise to our Heavenly Father.
We prayed-
1. That the seeds sewn during our visits to the various missions on this tour would be blessed and multiplied many fold.
2. That the Lord would accept our gratitude for the privilege of visiting the Holy Land at this time when the prophecies concerning it are about to be fulfilled—that we are witnesses to the beginning of the great movement that will eventually restore Palestine to the Jews.
3. That the form of worship, the outward semblance of devotion without the true Spirit of the Redeemer, which we have seen manifested at nearly every spot made sacred by the footsteps, teachings, and prayer of the Redeemer, might be replaced by more appropriate memorials and the places themselves surrounded by keepers who are imbued with the spirit of tolerance and love and true Christian service.
4. That the spirit of opposition and hatred, which we witnessed yesterday by Muslims and so-called Christians in opposition to the return of the Jews in this land may be overcome. By the power of the priesthood this antagonistic bitterness was rebuked, that it should not prevail.
5. That the members of the Church of Christ might more earnestly manifest in their daily lives, the genuine fruits of the true gospel of the Redeemer, and thus convert the world, who, seeing their good deeds, will be led to glorify their Father in heaven.
6. That the Church and our loved ones may receive special protection and guidance.
7. That we may be led by inspiration on our trip to the Armenian mission.
Upon returning to the hotel, I felt strongly impressed not to go by auto tomorrow but by train.
The order tonight is that all business is to be suspended and all streets must be cleared by 6:00 p.m.
April 1922 Excerpt from Address at the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.
RESTORATION OF THE JEWS IN PALESTINE
Now, I say that one result of approaching God, our Father, is inspiration. Now may I take sufficient time to give one little circumstance in which the inspiration of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph—nay more than inspiration, the revelation to the Prophet Joseph was fulfilled in part at least, right before our eyes. The same chapter from which I read at the opening of my remarks says also that: “If they [Israel] depart from the ways of the Lord, and go to worshiping images again, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it. Ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.” “But,” says the Prophet, “in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice, he will not forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he swore unto them.” You remember also in the Book of Mormon, which was published before the organization of the Church, that there is a passage referring to the Jews as follows “Nevertheless, when the day cometh that they no more turn aside their hearts from the Holy One of Israel, then will He remember the promise He made to their fathers.” If you will turn to the tenth chapter of Second Nephi, you will see what that promise is. “They shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance.” And another significant remark, that “in that day the Gentiles shall be great in mine eyes in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance.” That prophecy revealed to the Prophet Joseph is very significant in the light of current events, in the light of the attitude of the Jews today toward Christianity, and toward Christ.
A SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE IN JERUSALEM
All this, however, I must leave by mere reference and carry you now to Jerusalem on the 2nd day of November, 1921. On the previous day, Jerusalem had been all bustle and business. David Street was lined with little shops in which Jews and Mohammedans were carrying on their trade. Little donkeys heavily laden with the goods of commerce were walking up the rough stone steps of David Street. We saw no camels on that street, it being too narrow. Camels were lying down depositing their burdens at Damascus Gate. On November 1, 1921, Jerusalem was a typically busy Oriental city; but on the 2nd all things were changed. David Street, so far as business was concerned, was quiet. Shop windows were closed, so were the shops outside of the wall. By the Allenby Hotel every shop window was boarded. No autos stood as usual in front of the hotel ready to carry tourists down to the Dead Sea and to Jericho. Our guide, Michael, a Greek Christian, seemed to radiate a foreboding feeling. I rather jocularly approached him and wondered what was the matter with him. He remained silent, his attitude portending evil, and he intimated to us to be quiet. We had scarcely reached the Jaffa Gate where, by the way, is seen the “eye of the needle,” when he broke his silence.
“Don’t you see that all business houses are closed?” said he. “Yes,” I replied, “what does it signify?”
“It means,” he continued, “that today the Mohammedans and the Christians are uniting in protest against Mr. Balfour’s declaration that Palestine shall be set aside as a Jewish State.”
Well, it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky. I had not dreamed that there would be opposition to that movement. We had seen the Jews present in the city carrying on their trade evidently in peace, without molestation. We had looked up a few statistics and knew that in 1914 it was estimated that 80,000 people were in Jerusalem; 50,000 of whom were Jews, most of whom had come there but recently: for fifty years before that there were only 20,000 people in Jerusalem all told. Now to hear from our guide, who seemed to know what he was talking about, that the Mohammedans and Christians were opposed to the Jews’ coming back, was an astonishment to me. I haven’t time to take you through that day, but I just call your attention to this fact, that at eleven o’clock when we came back to the street leading to the Jewish quarter, Brother Cannon and I expressed a desire to confer with the Jews regarding the opposition so strongly manifest that day.
“Don’t go there,” cried Michael. “Why?” we asked.
“Because there is danger.”
“No,” I replied, “I think there is no danger.”
“If you go there, you go alone,” said our guide.
I said: “All right, Michael, here is where you and we part company. We will meet you at two o’clock.”
So. alone we went into the Jewish quarter, to hear their side of it. We will never forget that scene. Groups of Jews from foreign countries, Russia, Rumania, and Orthodox Jews, who had been in Jerusalem a number of years talked together in subdued tones. From windows and balconies women peered at us. evidently suspicioning us as spies—children looking from behind shutters, and doorways. We finally found a young Jew who could speak English; and in answer to our question what all this means, he said:
“The Mohammedans and the Christians are uniting in protest against Mr. Balfour’s declaration that Palestine shall be set apart as a home of the Jews.”
As we walked back, we again passed through a group of British soldiers in full uniform, including steel helmets, muskets in hand, bayonets fixed, guarding the Jews. We knew how necessary their presence was; for, as we had come up David Street we had seen several Jews and two Jewesses, one of whom clasped a baby to her breast, stoned by Mohammedans and so-called Christians, their only offense being that they were Jews, who had come back to their Promised Land.
As we passed these British soldiers, I said: “Boys, we hope you will keep them (the Muslems) straight.”
“Oh, I think we can,” answered one of the “Tommies;” and as we went back to our hotel we commented upon this scene and the significant passage which I have read: “And the Gentiles shall be great in mine eyes in restoring them to their land. Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and the queens nursing mothers.” On the tower that now marks the spot of the tower of David, British officers were waving signals over the city, giving orders to keep the peace; armored cars, bearing British soldiers were driven through the streets to subdue the threatened uprising. Notwithstanding these precautions, eight men lost their lives on the streets of Jerusalem that day.
At five o’clock the order was given by Acting Governor General Samuels, the first Jew to rule in Palestine since before the days of the Savior, that no person should be on the street after five o’clock. We ventured out after that hour just to see if the order had been obeyed. It was, absolutely. We were witnesses that day of the beginning of the fulfilment of that prophecy which refers to the time, now near at hand, when the Jews will “no more turn aside their hearts from the Holy One,” and when the Gentiles shall be the means of restoring them to their own land.
IF WE ONLY KNEW THE READINESS OF CHRIST TO HELP
Next day we crossed the Brook Kedron, passed the Garden of Gethsemane, and ascended the Mount of Olives, to the spot as near as we could determine, where Christ stood when He looked at Jerusalem and wept over her. In the light of the opposition to His purposes to which we were witnesses, I thought that He would weep again if he were standing there today. “If thou hadst known,” cried he, “even thou, at least in this day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” Neither do they who are now opposing his purposes know the things which belong unto their peace. “If they only knew!” I desire to say to the children of Israel today, in these valleys of the mountains, to the boys and girls especially: If you only knew that Christ is ever ready to give you help in time of need, and comfort and strength, you would approach Him in purity, simplicity, and faith. I indicated in the beginning how this might be done. May I illustrate it by a little paragraph which I will read in conclusion:
The builder who first bridged Niagara’s gorge,
Before he swung his cable, shore to shore,
Sent out, across the gulf, his venturing kite
Bearing a slender cord for unseen hands
To grasp upon the further cliff, and draw
A greater cord, and a greater yet.
Till at the last across the chasm swung
The cable—then a mighty bridge in air!
So we may send our little timid thought
Across the void, out to God’s reaching hands—
Send out our love and faith to thread the deep,
Thought after thought, until the little cord
Has greatened to a chain no chance to break,
And—we are anchored to the Infinite!
God bless our youth that they may send out these thoughts in prayer and faith and receive the assurance that they are anchored to the Infinite, in God our Father and His holy Son, the Redeemer of the world. This is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.