In 1841 Orson Hyde, a Christian apostle traveling in the Middle East, knelt in humble prayer on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. At a time when only 10,000 Jews lived in Palestine, the church leader dedicated the land \”for the gathering together of Judah\’s scattered remnants, for the building up of Jerusalem again … let the land become abundantly fruitful when possessed by its rightful heirs … raise up Jerusalem as its capital, and constitute her people a distinct nation and government.\”