--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Lund, E. H. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 21 number: 10 published: 1918-08 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Lund, E. H., "The Return of the Jews—II," *Improvement Era* 21, no. 10 (August 1918): 881–885.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera21010unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera21010unse start_page: 881 end_page: 885 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1918-08) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera21010unse publication_year: 1918 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1918, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Return of the Jews—II THE RETURN OF THE JEWS 883 those to whom the gospel shall come will "turn their hearts from me," for they perceive not the light, because of the precepts of men. And now it further appears that the innate skepticism and unbelief of the Jews will still possess them, that they will stubbornly refuse to accept the gospel or acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, until the calamities and destructions predicted shall have come upon the world, resulting from the universal wickedness, when "the arm of the Lord shall fall upon the nations, and then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount [of Olives], and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro," etc. "And then," saith the Lord, "shall the Jews look upon me and say, What are these wounds in thine hands and feet? Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them, These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God. And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king" (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 45:24-53; see also Sec. 133:8-13). The present age of the world is that to which the holy Scriptures refers as "the last days," when all shall be fulfilled which has been uttered by all the holy prophets since the world began. And a change of fortune is coming to the Hebrew race. Their star of good omen is slowly but surely ascending. The time is approaching when the Jews shall again be a stable and united people, on their own soil, an independent government, their national integrity restored, free from untoward alien influences. Through his servant Moses the Lord spake to Israel, promising them that, "when all these things [i. e., the punishments and cursings enumerated in the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy] are come upon thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, * * * then the Lord thy God * * * will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee" (Deut. 30:1-3). When we remember the prophecies relating thereto, and what has in recent years taken place with respect to Palestine, we have every reason to believe that the Lord is gradually withdrawing the curse which he placed upon that land anciently. In this connection mention should also be made of the fact that on April 6, 1840, at a conference of the Church, the Prophet Joseph set apart and delegated Orson Hyde, one of the Twelve, to go to Jerusalem and there offer a dedicatory prayer in behalf of the Holy Land. This was eventually accomplished. Early on the morning of the 24th of October, 1841, seated on the Mount of Olives, as he had seen himself in vision, Elder Hyde wrote the prayer he had just offered in behalf of the Jews and their city, 884 EMPROVEMENT ERA which had been for 80 long a time trodden down of the Gentiles. Be had prayed thai the prophecies of God's servants concerning the Jews and Jerusalem might all be fulfilled; called for the richest blessings of heaven upon them; by virtue of his priesthood, he blessed the city, the land, and all the elements, to the end that Judah might be gathered, Jerusalem rebuilt and become a holy city unto the Lord, and that his name might be glorified in all the earth. In his report, Elder Hyde further states: "On the top of the Mount of Olives I erected a pile of stones as a witness, according to 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" (Roberts' Rise and Fall of Nauvoo). Ever since their banishment from their own land, it has been the dream of Jewry to regain Palestine and rebuild their cities. Orthodox Jews, after the dispersion, have ever found consolation in the ancient prophetic promises of God. "The doctrine of the return to Palestine," remarks Prof. Gottheil, an eminent apostle of "Zionism," "has always been part and parcel of the belief of the Jew, expressed in countless sayings, prayers and poems." Of late years those prophecies have been and are in course of fulfilment; indeed, the great movement is well under way. The spirit of gathering to "their own country," and again becoming a concrete, national unit in the world of nations, is growing stronger and stronger among the people whom the Lord once delighted to honor and bless in a special way as the "green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit." It is a fact of current history that in the more recent past — at least up to the time when the Holy Land also began to feel the effects of the turbulence of the present international strife — greater impetus has been given to "the return," which has been steadily though slowly going on for a number of years, by colonies and groups, by familiesand individuals. As a result of these activities, latest reports indicate that there are in Jerusalem and in Palestine generally perhaps 60,000 to 70,000 Jews, comprising tradesmen, mechanics, agriculturists, and representatives in every field of activity of a modern community. Before the advent of the present war, modern improvements in all the arts of industry and production had been steadily transforming the "waste places of Zion." The recent taking of Jerusalem, the temple city of ancient Israel, from the infidels, its capitulation to the British, has so heartened the "people of the covenant" that, notwithstanding present untoward conditions, the "back to Palestine!" slogan is again heard in Jewry. The leaven is at work, the spirit of desire, the longing for their national home in the land of their fathers, is in THE RETURN OF THE JEWS 885 the heart and soul of the Jewish race as a whole, and in time their return, having been already inaugurated and well advanced, will again proceed, and that thing concerning the "chosen people" which is to take place in the latter days, according to the prophet Ezekiel, shall certainly be accomplished : "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered: so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country" (34:12,13). Tobacco for the Soldiers The Ranger, in Scouting for July 1, discusses a vital question. We hope all our organizations will read and agitate the subject. Further, if any readers of the Era are against the use of tobacco, but are still selling it through their business establishments, they can do a splendid service and free themselves from acting contrary to their principles and belief by publicly declaring that as for them and their business, We will sell tobacco no more. The Ranger says: The public solicitation of tobacco for the soldiers adds to the problems of men who are attempting to develop character in boys. To the imaginative boy every soldier is a hero. The boy wants to be a hero and his only method of attaining his ideal is imitation. Not having reached the years of discretion, he imitates -he bad as well as the good. The use of tobacco began as an occasional ceremonial among an outof-doors people. It has become the gluttonous obscession of a race deteriorating for lack of oxygen, exercise and self-control. It is promoted by as competent an organization as was ever built up for the purpose of exploiting a human weakness. It has wormed its way even into institutions supported by voluntary contributions for the purpose of making men and boys better physically, mentally and spiritually. Even cigarettes are sold over the counter in some buildings dedicated to better manhood. Mothers and sisters everywhere are following tl e example of fathers and brothers. Shall we give up the 'struggle, or still try to keep the boy clean? There is no reason why a man who becomes a soldier should be shut off from any privilege enjoyed by those V/hom he is defending. He ought to have more, if possible. But why magnify his weaknesses in such a way as to make their imitation by boys a certainty? Men who are moved by generous motives to raise funds to provide tobacco for soldiers should try to do it in Isuch a way as, to avoid injuring the character of boys. The Makers of Science By Dr. John A. Widtsoe, President University of Utah IX— Karl Wilhelm Scheele Among the group of great men who founded modern chemistry, Scheele probably made the most brilliant discoveries in the brief space of time that was allotted him. Karl Wilhelm Scheele, was born at Stralsund, Sweden, December 2, 1742, the son of a modest merchant and one of many children. At the age of fourteen he became apprenticed to an apothecary, and in that manner was introduced to the science of chemistry. He was kept very busy in his business, but at nights studied chemical treatises and made chemical experiments. All his life he was poor, and his story is that of a pitiful fight against adversity. Not only was he required to carry his own burdens, but those of his family and friends were often placed upon his shoulders. Meanwhile his interest in science never wavered, and at the cost of his health he carried chemical knowledge onward in mighty strides. Scheele was essentially self-taught, and he suffered much, in the beginning of his career, from the pride of the academicians, who could not believe that great work could be produced except under the influence of university training. And, it is probably true, that Scheele was weak in the languages, and that his reports did not always present the author to the best advantage. So brilliant was his work, however, that he forced the applause of his contemporaries and of his government. The list of Scheele's discoveries is so long that only a few will be mentioned here. The discovery of oxygen by Priestley was one of the epochmaking discoveries of the eighteenth century. The gas oxygen was, however, discovered independently by Scheele, without any knowledge of Priestley's work. While Priestley has the honor of publishing first the results of his work, Scheele is now generally acknowledged as an independent discoverer of oxygen. Scheele went farther than Priestley in studying the other ingredients of air. It frequently happens in science that when the time is ripe, the same discovery is made at the same time by several investigators. Scheele also discovered the gas chlorine, made famous in THE MAKERS OF SCIENCE 887 these recent times by its use in warfare. Scheele showed its bleaching power and thereby laid the foundation of the modern cloth manufacturing. Before the discovery of chlorine, the old process of bleaching a piece of linen required a whole summer; with chlorine it could be done in a few hours. Moreover, chlorine in the form of chloride of lime has advanced greatly the cause of sanitation. The discovery of chlorine alone would entitle Scheele to a place among the great men of science. Scheele discovered ammonia, which is of great commercial value in our industrial world. Arsenious acid was one of his discoveries; also tungstic acid and Prussian blue, both of commercial value. Among his discoveries was glycerine, which in its many compounds has become a substance of tremendous importance. At the time of Scheele's day, little was known concerning animal or vegetable products. He undertook the study of this vast unexplored field with very good results. Among other organic discoveries he isolated lactic acid and showed that it is the substance that gives the sour taste to sour milk. He discovered the malic acid found in apples, the citric acid found in lemons, the tartaric acid found in grapes, and the oxalic acid found in many plant products. The catalogue of his discoveries would only confuse the reader. Let it be sufficient to say that whatever he touched was illumined by him, and that chemistry and science generally were greatly promoted by the activities of the humble, hardworking, almost unknown Swedish apothecary. The lesson of his life is that furnished by the lives of many great men, that if a man's gifts and efforts are great enough he can overcome all obstacles and make an honored place for himself among his fellow men. It also shows how much easier would have been his work and his life had he been enabled to share, as all may in our land, in the advantages of an education. Scheele's industry and sacrifices were, however, too great for a frail body. When at the zenith of his fame, his body gave way, and he died at Koping, Sweden, May, 1786. "Grace is a moment's happy feeling, Power A life's slow growth and we for many an hour ; Must strain and toil, and wait and weep, if we The perfect fruit of all we are would see." — Leonardo DaVinci.