A Sketch

Of the travels and ministry of Elder Orson Hyde.

Trieste, January 1, 1842.

DEAR BRETHREN OF THE TWELVE,

As the blushing orb of light from his eastern temple sends forth, this morning over Alpine heights, his streaming columns of golden brightness to greet the earth with a happy new year, to welcome its arrival, and crown it with a celestial radiance, I might be justly charged with ingratitude towards a gracious and merciful Providence, and a want of generosity and reciprocal kindness towards my brethren, did I neglect to acknowledge the kind aid and protection which heaven has granted me in answer to your faith and prayers. Permit me, therefore, to commence my letter by wishing you all "a happy new year;" and through you allow me to extend the same wish to all the saints, both in England and America; but particularly to my wife, and her dear little children.

I am happy to improve the opportunity, which this hour affords, of writing to you, and that happiness is increased by a firm conviction, that a letter from your unworthy brother, in the Lord, will be received by you with a friendship and cordiality corresponding to that which now animate my bosom.

Since it has pleased the Lord to grant unto me health and prosperity-to protect me from the dangers of the climates-from the plague and pestilence that have carried death and mourning on their wing, and return me again in safety to a land of civilized life, these things demand my highest gratitude, as well as demonstrations of praise and thanksgiving, to His exalted name.

As a member, therefore, of your honorable quorum, bearing, in common with you, the responsibility under which HEAVEN has laid us, to spread the word of life among the perishing nations of the earth, allow me to say, that, on the 21st of October last, "my natural eyes, for the first time beheld" Jerusalem; and as I gazed upon it and its environs, the mountains and hills by which it is surrounded, and considered, that this is the stage upon which so many scenes of wonders have been acted, where prophets were stoned, and the Saviour [Savior] of sinners slain, a storm of commingled emotions suddenly arose in my breast, the force of which was only spent in a profuse shower of tears.

I entered the city at the west gate, and called on Mr. Whiting, one of the American missionaries at that place, to whom I had a letter of introduction from Monsieur Muratt, our consular agent at Jaffa. Mr. W. said, that in consequence of the unsettled state of his family, (having just removed to the house which he then occupied,) he was sorry to say it would not be convenient for him to invite me to share his hospitality; but very kindly went with me to the Latin convent, which is a sort of hotel or home for strangers, and there engaged for me my board and ledging [lodging] at a reasonable compensation, and said that he would keep a little watch to see that I was well taken care of. This expression of kindness did not escape my notice.

After I had been there an hour or two, Mr. Sherman, another American missionary, accompanied [accompanied] by a Mr. Gager, from America, who, I think, was a licentiate from the Presbyterian or Congregational Church, called on me, and after some considerable conversation upon the state of affairs in general, in America, I introduced to them the subject of my mission to that place; and observed, that I had undertaken to do a good work in the name of the Lord, and had come there for a righteous purpose, and wished their co-operation and friendly aid. They assured me that they should be happy to render me any assistance in their power to do good. I thanked them for their kindness, and observed, that as I had had little or no rest since I left Beyrout [Beirut], I felt worn down with fatigue and a want of sleep, as well as being almost overcome by the excessive heat, and that I also wished to arrange some documents which I had, and then I should be happy to enjoy the privilege of an interview with them, and with Mr. Whiting at the same time. They said they would indulge me in my request at almost any time.

I had sent a lengthy communication to the Jews in Constantinople, in the French language, but had reserved a copy of it in the German. As this document set forth, clearly and plainly, the object of my mission there, I translated it into English in order that, I might lay the facts before them in as clear a point of light as possible.

Accordingly, after wearied nature had sufficiently reposed under sleep's balmy and refreshing shade, I called on Mr. Whiting, according to previous arrangements, and Messrs. Sherman and Gager soon came in. After the usual salutations were past, and all quietly seated, I expressed to them my gratitude for that opportunity of bearing testimony to the glorious reality, that the Lord was about to visit his people, and also my gratitude to HIM whose hand had been stretched out for my safety and protection, and also to bear me onward to the place where mercy, with all her celestial charms, was embodied in the person of his own Son.

I then took the liberty of reading the document containing the object of my mission there, and were it not for its length I would here insert it. After it was read, all sat in private meditation until Mr. Gager interrupted the silence by asking wherein the doctrines of our church differed from the doctrines of the established orthodox churches. I replied as follows:-"There are so many different kinds of orthodox doctrines, all differing one from the other, that it might be difficult to determine which one to be the standard by which ours should be tried; but, said I, with your permission, I will set forth and explain to you the principles of our faith, and then you can determine for yourselves wherein they differ from others." So, beginning at the ministration of the Angel of the Lord, I expounded unto them many things concerning the rise of the church, its organization and ordinances; and form and order of its government, after which Mr. Sherman spake as follows:-

"Now, we are here trying to do all the good we can, and have been for some length of time; and what more would you have us do or what more can we do?" I replied as follows:-"It appears to me, even allowing your cause to be just and right, that your time is spent here to little or no purpose; now, however, that I would be understood as charging you with idleness or inattention; but the strong and deep-rooted prejudices which reign in the breasts of the people here against you, that they will not even allow you to educate their children, when you propose to do it gratuitously, must render your labors extremely limited; and, further the genius of your policy does not admit of your making that exertion which the Saviour [Savior] of the world required his servants to make in former days. You receive a salary from a home institution, and by that institution you are directed to remain here whether the people will hear or not; whereas the Saviour [Savior] taught his disciples to depart, and shake the dust from their feet, against that house, city, or people, that would not hear them, and not spend their labor for that which did not profit."

To this Mr. Gager replied,-"although the fruits of our labors do not immediately appear, we ought not to be discouraged. We may labor, and other men may enter into our labors. The husbandman, after he hath sowed his seed, waiteth patiently until it hath received the former and latter rains; and, as the days of miracles are past, we cannot expect men to act now under the immediate direction of the Saviour [Savior] as they then did." I might have here observed, that it would be a great tax upon the patience of the husbandman, if it did not quite exhaust it, to sow his seed year after year, and reap no fruits of his labor. But-

I replied, that miracles had truly ceased; but, said I, why have they ceased? Mr. Gager said, because they were not necessary. I made answer, that Jesus formerly said to the people, "according to thy faith be it done unto thee;" and said I, I presume he is of the same mind still; but the people have no faith in the power of God, therefore no miraculous favors are shown them; and because the religious world have lost sight of their privileges, the horizon of their their minds beclouded, and faith driven from their hearts by the vain and foolish traditions of uninspired men, the Lord hath sent an holy Angel from the Temple of Light, bearing to the earth truth's unfading laurels, and has boldly asserted the rights and privileges of all who would seek the face and favor of the MOST HIGH. But against this heavenly message, streaming from the bosom of a compassionate God, with

the purest love and good-will to a fallen race, and beaming in the face of men with a celestial radience [radiance], is arranged the cold-hearted prejudices of an unbelieving world. Well did the Saviour [Savior] ask this question-"When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" With this testimony have I come to Jerusalem; and in the name of my master, who here bore our sins, in his own body, on the tree, I warn all men, so far as I have opportunity, to beware how they lift their hands or their voices against it, for, by the voice of the Lord from heaven, am I made a witness of the eternal reality of what I have declared.

Mr. Whiting then asked if we acknowledged any to be christians except those who embraced our doctrines and joined our church? To this I replied in the following manner:-"We believe there are many in all the different churches, with many who are externally attached to no church, who serve the Lord according to the best light and knowledge they have, and this service is unquestionably acceptable in his sight; and those who have died in this condition have no doubt gone to receive the reward of their labors in the mansions of rest. But should He be pleased to send more light and truth into the world, or revive those principles of truth, which have been made to yield their sovereignty to the opinions of men, and they refuse to receive them, or walk in them, their service would cease to be acceptable to the Lord, and with no degree of propriety could we acknowledge them true christians; and we do know, and are sure, that the Lord has caused more light to shine, and that he will hold none guiltless who refuse to walk in it after the means of obtaining it are brought to their knowledge, and placed within their reach." These were hard sayings. They observed, that they could not say that these things were not as I had said; but to them they appeared incredibly strange.

I then requested that some of them would do me the favor of an introduction to some of the principle Jews in the place; but this request was greeted with a number of hems, which commonly mean no more than to allay a little irritation, or tickling in the throat; but on this occasion, from the peculiarity of their tone and cadence, I judged they wished to be a little metaphorical, and so used the term figuratively, to mean the following:-"We have our scruples about complying with your request, lest it might detract from our influence and popularity." They observed, that Mr. Johns, the English Consul, might be the most proper man to grant me the desired favor. I replied, that I knew as little of Mr. Johns as I did of any Jew in Jerusalem, but that I would not insist upon my request being granted. Mr. Whiting then remarked, that he should have no particular objections to do it, but that it could not be well attended to until a day or two hence. This reminded me of a circumstance in England, where duty once led me to call upon a clergyman to do me a little favor, but he said he could not grant it, because I had not come recommended by any one with whom he was acquainted. I replied, that I was very sorry to be so unfortunate on that occasion, as to be recommended by none but my master, who was the Saviour [Savior] of the world. The two are not exactly similar, yet the former reminded me of the latter. I thanked Mr. W. however, for his kindness, and our interview closed. The fact is, God has one system of etiquette, and reciprocity and this sign-seeking generation has another. The former is hospitality and kindness to the stranger; but the latter is--be very cautious and particular that you render him no assistance, neither show him favor unless he come recommended by our party, or by some others who are honorable and orthodox, like ourselves. But no man is justifiable in the eye of humanity, in the eye of the gospel, or in that eye that never sleeps, in rejecting the reasonable petition of a stranger, though he do not come clothed with letters from the chief priests, scribes and elders of the people; and it is what no gentleman will do, unless his frankness and liberality have become blasted by the chilling winds of a sectarian atmosphere.

With what feelings of commingled pity and contempt does every Latter Day Saint, whose mind has thoroughly canvassed the principles of our faith, and in whose heart dwells that "unction from the Holy One," look upon that want of generosity and frankness, which he is often compelled to witness, when he knows that in his own bosom, independent

of a boasting spirit, or any desire of vain glory, are jewels of light, truth, and knowledge, as far superior in lustre [luster] to any thing which they posses [possess], as the purest diamond is to the common pebble of the rivulet!

I concluded, however, that I would try to discharge my duty before God, without subjecting any one to the humble mortification of giving me an introduction. For myself, I feel not very jealous of my popularity where the cause of truth requires me to hazard it, and am not so very particular. If my name be only recorded in heaven, on the list of the sanctified, it will abundantly compensate me for the sacrifice which duty calls me to make of it among men. Let them, therefore, look upon me as they may, a deceiver or a deceived, a wise man or a fool, I feel very thankful to the Lord for what mine eyes have seen, mine ears have heard, and more than all, for what my soul has experienced; and it is my constant prayer to an over-ruling Providence, that his free grace may be amply sufficient to bear me triumphantly through life's conflicting scenes, that my poor heart may swell the notes of praise and thanksgiving for ever and ever to HIM who died to save me and wash me from my sins, in his own most precious blood.*

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You will discover by this letter, and more particularly by the one written from Alexandria, to Elder Pratt in Manchester, England, that, through the goodness of the Lord, I have been enabled to accomplish that which was told me prophetically, several years ago, by Brother Joseph Smith.

Though the blustering snow-storm has thrown the gorgeous folds of his crimson mantle over the mountain tops, which half encircle us on our north and east as we lie here in quarantine, yet their sides towards the base, beautifully terraced and thickly set with vines and olives, though not in their summer dress, present a widely extended scene of rural beauty and loveliness. All the irregularities and deformities of nature (if, indeed, there are any,) are completely lost in the distant view, though we gaze through the ships, powerful magnified; so, when the eye of imagination surveys the saints far in the west, their faults and foibles are lost in the distance, (if, indeed, any they have) and nothing but their virtues appear, which render the society very inviting and extremely desirable. The simple unrestrained language of my heart is-I want to see my brethren, for in their bosoms, I am sure, is a corresponding echo which--

Like the harp when the zephyr is sighing

To the breath of that zephyr, in music replying

Friendship can tremble with feelings as true.

I have just been upon deck to witness the king of day retiring in his robes of state to the western portions of his kingdoms, to proclaim there, in propia persona, the advent of 1842, after opening and lighting up the glory of the new year in the east. As his golden disk was sinking behind the western rim of the deep blue waters of the Adriatic, and throwing back, in rich profusion, his soft and glowing beam upon the clear blue sky, with a radiance and splendor peculiar to none but him, thought I, oh, that thou couldst take a thought or good wish from me and bear it on the pathway of one of thy golden beams to my dear little family, which perhaps at this moment is pouring his noon-day splendor obliquely upon the home where they dwell. But another thought succeeded-I will not be a Parsee. There is a Being whose throne is high, and whose glorious image shines forth in the mirror of all his works to feast the mental eye and heal the wounded heart, "His ear is not heavy that he cannot hear, neither is his arm shortened that he cannot save;" to HIM, therefore, I will send a thought on the wing of my evening devotion, and breathe an asperation [aspiration] that his favor may gladden and cheer the cot where dwell all my earthly hopes and earthly riches: therefore, tarry not for me thou glorious orb of light, but speed thy course onward in the circut [circuit] of the heavens, to dye the sheen of other climes, and to roll in the hour when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God.

Jerusalem at this time contains about twenty thousand inhabitants; about seven thousand are Jews, and the remainder mostly Turks and Arabs. It is enclosed by a strong wall from five to ten feet thick, On those sides which are most accessible, and consequently most exposed

*This part of the letter has been published before, as extracted from the "Millennial Star.

to an attack, the wall is thickest, and well mounted with cannon; it is from twelve to thirty feet in height. The city is situated at the south-eastern extremity of an inclined plane, with the valley of Kedron on the east, and the vallies [valleys] of Hinnom and Gihon on the south and west, all converging to a point in the valley of Jehosaphat [Jehoshaphat], south-east of the city: from the eastern gate of the city to the top of Mount Olivet, as you pass through the valley of Kedron, is just about one English mile. On the top of this mount you have a fair view of the Dead Sea and river Jordan, which are about fifteen miles in the distance. As I stood upon this almost sacred spot and gazed upon the surrounding scenery, and contemplated the history of the past in connection with the prophetic future, I was lost in wonder and admiration, and felt almost ready to ask myself-Is it a reality that I am here gazing upon this scene of wonders? or am I carried away in the fanciful reveries of a night vision? Is that city which I now look down upon really Jerusalem, whose sins and iniquity swelled the Saviour's [Savior's] heart with grief, and drew so many tears from his pitying eye? Is that small enclosure in the valley of Kedron, where the boughs of those lonely olives are waving their green foliage so gracefully in the soft and gentle breeze, really the garden of Gethsemane, where powers infernal poured the flood of hell's dark gloom around the princely head of the immortal Redeemer? Oh, yes! The fact that I entered the garden and plucked a branch from an olive, and now have that branch to look upon, demonstrates that all was real. There, there is the place where the Son of the Virgin bore our sins and carried ours sorrows--there the angels gazed and shuddered at the sight, waiting for the order to fly to his rescue; but no such order was given. The decree had passed in heaven, and could not be revoked, that he must suffer, that he must bleed, and that he must die. What bosom so cold, what feelings so languid, or what heart so unmoved that can withold [withhold] the humble tribute of a tear over this forlorn condition of the Man of sorrows?

From this place I went to the tombs of the prophets in the valley of Jehosaphat [Jehoshaphat], and on my way around the city, I entered the pool of Siloam and freely washed in its soft and healing fountain. I found plenty of water there for baptizing, besides a surplus quantity sent off in a limpid stream as a grateful tribute to the thirsty plants of the gardens in the valley. The pool of Bethsada, which had five porches, yet remains in the city, but in a dilapidated state, there being plenty of water to meet the demands of the city of a better quality, and more convenient-this vast reservoir is consequently neglected. This pool was unquestionably as free and accessible to all the people of Jerusalem as the Thames is to the Cockneys, or the Mississippi to the people of Nauvoo; and from its vast dimensions, it would certainly contain water enough to immerse all Jerusalem in, in a day: so the argument against immersion, on the ground that there was not water enough in Jerusalem to immerse three thousand persons in, in one day, is founded in an over anxiety to establish the traditions of men to the subversion of a gospel ordinance; and it will be borne [born] in mind also, that the day of Pentecost was in the month of May, just at the close of the rainy season, when all the pools and fountains in and about the city were flush with water.

What were anciently called Mount Zion and Mount Calvary, are both within the present walls of the city. We should not call them mountains in America, or hardly hills; but gentle elevations or rises of land. The area of what was called Mount Zion, I should not think contained more than one acre of ground; at least as I stood upon it and contemplaed [contemplated] what the prophets had said of Zion in the last days, and what should be done in her, I could no more bring my mind to believe that the magnet of truth in them which guided their words, pointed to this place, any more than I could believe that a camel can go through the eye of a needle, or a rich man enter into the kingdom of God. But on the land of Joseph, far in the west, where the spread eagle of America floats in the breeze and shadows the land; where those broad rivers and streams roll the waters of the western world to the fathomless abyss of the ocean; where those wide-spreading prairies (fields of the wood) and extensive forests adorn the land with such an agreeable variety, shall Zion rear her stately temples and stretch forth the curtains of her habitation. The record of Mormon chimes in so beautifully with the scriptures to establish

this position, that an honest and faithful examination of the subject is all that is required to expel every doubt from the heart.

The customs and manners of the people of the east are so similar to what they were in the days of our Saviour [Savior], that almost everything which the traveller [traveler] beholds is a standing illustration of some portion of scripture: for example, I saw two women grinding wheat at a little hand-mill, consisting of two small stones with a little rude tackling about it, the whole of which one man might take in his arms and carry almost any where at pleasure. One would turn the top stone until her strength was exhausted, and then the other would take her place, and so alternately keep the little grinder in operation, It appears that our Lord foresaw the perpetuity of this custom, even to the time of his second coming; for he said, "Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one shall be taken and the other left; and for ought I know, these two I saw were the identical ones. I also saw the people take a kind of coarse grass and mix it with some kind of earth or peat that had been wet and reduced to the consistency of common mortar, and then lay it out in flattened cakes to dry for fuel. I then, for the first time in my life, saw the propriety of our Saviour's [Savior's] allusion. "If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, &c." I might swell this letter to a volume upon these subjects, but I forbear for the present. One may read of the customs of the east, but it is not like seeing them. To read of a good dinner may brighten up a man's ideas about eating, especially if he be a little hungry; but to sit down at the luxurious board and eat is far more satisfactory. The two cases are not exactly parallel, yet the latter serves to illustrate the former.

As I walked about the environs of the town, my spirit struggled within me in earnest prayer to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would not only revolutionize this country, but renovate and make it glorious, My heart would lavish its blessings upon it in the greatest prodigality in view of what is to come hereafter. After returning to the city, I found my feet and legs completely coated with dust; for the whole face of the country was like an ash bed in consequence of the great length of the dry season. I then thought how very convenient it must have been for the ancient disciples to fulfil [fulfill] one injunction of the Saviour [Savior], "shake off the dust of your feet."

Syria at present is in a very unsettled state. The Drewzes and Catholics are fighting almost constantly. They sometimes kill hundreds and hundreds of a day. In some sections it is not unfrequent [infrequent] that the traveller [traveler] meets some dozen or twenty men by the way-side without heads, in a day. In a letter from Bavaria, I stated that hostilities had re-commenced between the Turks and Egyptians; I took the statement from a German paper, but it was a mistake. The hostilities were between the lesser tribes in Syria. The American missionaries at Beyrout [Beirut] and Mount Lebanon have received official notice through Commodore Porter, our minister to Constantinople, from the Grand Sultan, that hereafter they can have no redress by law for any violence, outrage, or cruelty, that may be practiced upon them by the people; and advises them to leave the country. This course is approved of by Commodore Porter. I read the correspondence between him and Mr. Chassan, our consul at Beyrout [Beirut]; but all is going on in the Providence of God. Syria and Palestine must ferment and ferment, work and work, until they work into the hands of Abraham's children to whom they rightly belong; and may the God of their fathers bless the hand that aids their cause.

I must now begin to think of coming to a close, I have nearly three weeks yet to remain in quarantine. The time seems long; yet I endeavor not to let it run to waste.-When our ship shall have obtained her prattique, I shall proceed, if the Lord will, directly to Germany over the Alps, and try to light up a fire there. Will you give me your prayers that God may bless my exertions, and that I may be enabled to conduct myself with dignity and propriety in all things which become a man of God, and which the purity and virtue of the cause I advocate, so justly merits; and further, that in my great weakness celestial strength may appear.

My kind respects to the presidency of the church, and a happy new year to all absent and enquiring [inquiring] friends.

With the most kind and tender feelings towards you, and with a heart that will burst with blessings on your heads when your faces I behold, allow your unworthy brother in Christ to close by the following lines which he offers you as a farewell token until Providence shall permit us again to meet:-

Where the sun leaves his last golden ray,

Far over the sea's swelling tide,

Will friends dear and true for me pray,

That I in the Lord may abide?

Though distance and time do us part,

And scenes new and strange roll between,

Your memory is dear to my heart,

And friendship's bright star gleams the same.

In the west, let its ray pour a light

On the circle of Zion's true sons,

To greet them with joy in the sight

Of HIM who has said we are one.

To share in the spoils of my love,

Her daughters though last, are not least;

For surely 'twas blest from above

Which graced the end of the feast.

ORSON HYDE.