“Lebanon Shall Be Turned into a Fruitful Field”

"As a proof of the Divine power and interest in human affairs, Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest. That is to say, the fertility and productiveness of the country will be so great, with the blessings of God, that there will seem to be no difference between a natural forest and an artificial park. All will have the appearance of a well cultivated garden.

"This has been corroborated in our own day. In less than 25 years, the actual development of Palestine, agriculturally, commercially and intellectually, is the marvel of history. The Jews in Palestine, as the Latter-day Saints in America, have, literally, turned a desert into a garden. They have brought money, knowledge, idealism, and the type of people settled there is the best human material available for the building up of a country. Of the 400,000 Jews in Palestine about 10,000 are said to be immigrants from America. They have contributed much, particularly through investments, toward development of the orange groves, shipping and commercial companies and industries." (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 400)