ORSON HYDE MEMORIAL GARDENS
In 1841, just 11 years after the Church was organized in this dispensation, Orson Hyde visited Jerusalem, the first latter-day apostle to do so. While there, he offered a prayer on the Mount of Olives for the gathering of Abraham's children, especially the Jews, and for the building up of Jerusalem.
On Oct. 24, 1979, after seven years of planning and negotiating with government officials, and funded by private donations, the Orson Hyde Memorial Gardens were dedicated on the Mount of Olives by President Spencer W. Kimball. The gardens are on the largest single tract in a park developed by the Jerusalem government to surround the city.
They are a lasting monument to the efforts of Elder Hyde and the Church to sanctify this location where the Savior instructed His disciples and which will be prominent in events of His second coming.
