The meetings with the Israeli government officials had gone extremely well today and a special reception was held in honor of the new Prime Minister. Elders J. Spencer Maxwell, Bruce M. Snow, and Orson J. Hyde — members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were pleased at their inclusion in the invitations to this event. Years of careful preparation had gone into developing good relations with the government of the nation of Israel. Brigham Young University’s Jerusalem campus had become a hotbed of activity for study of ancient scrolls and texts that had been uncovered during various excavations. Although the Church was clearly a partisan in the world as far as advocating its doctrines, the scholarly integrity of its professors and researchers had earned wide acclaim among non-members.
The decades of restraint the Church had shown in withholding its proselytizing missionaries was respected by government and religious officials alike. It wasn’t until nearly a year and a half earlier that a large scroll fragment had been found that, when translated, showed unmistakably, that many uniquely Mormon beliefs were taught as esoteric teachings among an inner circle of influential rabbis near Bethany some three-thousand years ago. Another astonishing discovery was a record kept on brass plates that contained a prophesy and prayer that would later be written and uttered on the Mount of Olives by a Mormon Apostle in 1838, dedicating the land of Palestine to the return of the Jews and the gathering of Israel.
The government of Israel had been ruled by coalition governments for many years, with no political party ever getting a majority. Following the collapse of the United States and the drying up of foreign aid, Israel had been forced to come into its own as a regional power and as a nation. A liberal party had taken the vote at the polls and had swung the nation in the direction of liberalization and new peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and other neighboring states. The new Prime Minister was elected on his promise to turn Israel into a more pluralistic
society by the granting of citizenship to non-Jews for the first time in the nation’s history. There were serious foes to this movement, but the political pendulum had swung away from the Orthodox and Conservatives and had brought sweeping changes.
As the guests mingled at the reception, the Mormon Apostles were introduced to a number of officials from the administration and the military. Among them was a middle-aged Air Force officer wearing pilot wings on his dress uniform. Elder Hyde, who had himself been a pilot in his younger days, struck up a conversation with the officer.
Orson Hyde, from the United States,” he introduced himself and extended his hand to the officer. “Captain Mikhail Nureyev,” he responded cordially. “I’m from Belarus originally, but I live in Tel Aviv now,” the Captain replied with a trace of a Russian accent. “I emigrated from there five years ago.”
“I see you’re a pilot? Did you fly in the Russian Air Force?” Elder Snow inquired.
“Yes, I was pilot for MiG-29. Your military calls it “FULCRUM.”
“That’s a very impressive plane,” the Apostle commented, openly showing his admiration for those who fly high-performance aircraft.
“Now I fly F-16 for Israel,” the officer smiled, obviously proud of his achievements.
“Once upon a time, I flew F-105’s…in Vietnam. But that was very long ago,” remarked Elder Hyde.
The two men talked at length of their love of flying and their experiences in the cockpit. The conversation drifted to how the younger pilot had emigrated to Israel and the struggles he faced in leaving his homeland and in finding acceptance in his new home. Elder Hyde praised him for his persistence despite such overwhelming obstacles and was pleased to learn that Captain Nureyev had since married and begun a small family. As they compared notes, Nureyev was stunned to find that the Mormon Elder was the father of eight children and had 38 grandchildren.
“It’s like my grandfather in Belarus,” he commented. “He had very large family also. Many, many grandchildren. I miss my family there very much. It may be many years until I can see them again.”
As the conversation wound its way through various topics of interest to both the young Russian Jew and the older American church leader. They discussed his family, his emigration from Russia, and his struggle to find acceptance in the Israeli Air Force.
“It is very odd that your name is Orson Hyde,” remarked the officer.
“Why is that?” Elder Hyde asked.
“That name is very well known in the Israeli Air Force.”
“It is?” replied the puzzled Apostle.
“Yes. When we pilots complete our training. We go to Masada. Do you know of Masada?”
“I’ve heard of it. It’s an ancient fortress, isn’t it?”
“Yes, yes. And we go there to receive our, our…how you say…commissions. We go there and we raise our hands in this place, where the last ancient fighters in Israel died rather than surrender, and we take an oath that we will never again be driven from our land…”
“But I don’t see the connection…” the Elder interrupted.
“…And when we are in this place, this holy place, we recite the words of a prayer. We say the prayer in Hebrew, but it is not a Jewish prayer. It is the prayer of a man named Orson Hyde. He dedicated the land of Israel for the return of the Jews.”
Elder Hyde regarded the pilot and the reverence in which he held this prayer. “Orson Hyde was my great-grandfather,” he offered. “I was named after him. I had no idea that his dedicatory prayer was well known at all in Israel.”
“Every military officer takes his oath there. We all know of it. It is a great honor to meet you, great-grandson of Orson Hyde. What great thing will you do for my country in this day?”
Elder Hyde looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say; not knowing how to deflect this obviously undeserved admiration and give the glory to the God he and his namesake both served. As he sought something to say, there was a disturbance of some kind near the back of the room, near the doors that exited to the banquet room and kitchen beyond. Some of the guests moved towards the area to see what was going on, others began to move hastily towards stairwells and exits. Suddenly, there was a loud report, like a gunshot, and a chorus of screams
came forth from the crowd. A human stampede began as terrified guests began to race for the doors.
A masked man jumped upon the table near the serving line and poured a volley of automatic gunfire into the fleeing throng. A security officer opened fire with his nine-millimeter pistol and took the gunman out with a single headshot. From the left side of the room and explosion took
place, bringing down a portion of the ceiling and a great chandelier.
Major Nureyev had grabbed Elder Hyde by the arm and was quickly escorting him to the closest exit. He had no weapon of his own, but attempted to shield the elder man with his own body. Bullets whizzed by overhead and another explosion rocked the room. Was this some kind of terrorist attack? Negotiations had been going well with the Palestinians. Perhaps it was some ultra-right wing group that wanted to disrupt the peace process.
As they broke into the light of day outside the reception, the low afternoon sunlight prevented them from seeing Elders Snow and Maxwell. People outside the building, pedestrians, businessmen, and passengers of passing public transportation took cover from the assault. A large explosion detonated forty yards to their left and sent shrapnel and debris flying. Captain Nureyev threw Elder Hyde to the ground and lay on top of him to protect him. As the debris cleared, security agents in helmets and flak vests fanned out around the area. A large crater filled the street where the car bomb had detonated last.
In the confusion and chaos that followed, Elder Hyde walked through the carnage like a man asleep in a nightmare, seeking his companions. After a few minutes, he was found by a medical technician and escorted to a waiting ambulance where he sat down and was treated for superficial cuts on his head and hands. Within a few minutes, he was joined by Elder Maxwell, the Mission President, who had come through the incident in fairly good shape.
“What happened?” Elder Hyde inquired.
“It appears to be an assassination attempt on the new Prime Minister. I’m afraid they were successful,” Elder Maxwell replied somberly.
“That’s awful,” declared Elder Hyde.
“That’s not the worst of it.”
“What! Tell me!” Hyde exclaimed.
“Elder Snow was next to the exit where the car bomb went off. He was killed.”
“Oh, Lord…” Elder Hyde prayed silently, tears welling up in his eyes.”
Elder Maxwell sat silently mourning the loss of their companion with his friend. They had served many years together in the Quorum of the Twelve. There was no closer fraternity on earth than the group of twelve men who shared the burden to bring every person on earth to Christ. Their missions bound them together with a bond that no words can express.
“Come on, we need to get back and report to Salt Lake. President Thurgood will be heartbroken,” Elder Maxwell said as he helped his friend to his feet. On the way out, they gave contact information to the authorities in case they were needed as witnesses. As they passed by the front of the hotel, bricks, stone, and mortar were scattered all about. Bodies of victims were being photographed by police before being “tagged and bagged” for identification by their loved ones.
Thirty feet from the exit from which Elder Hyde had emerged, he saw the body of an Air Force officer, lying face down in the street. The back of the officer’s uniform was torn and drenched with blood. As he passed by, Elder Hyde could have sworn he heard a still, small voice saying, “No greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” He reflected on the last words he remembered from the officer.
“…Great-grandson of Orson Hyde. What great thing will you do for my country in this day?”