Blossoming as the Rose: A How-To Guide
There are two prophecies in scripture referring to "blossoming as the rose". The fulfillment of one of those prophecies may provide a roadmap for how the other could be.
To my knowledge there are two prophecies in scripture referring to "blossoming as the rose".
1. Doctrine and Covenants 49:24:
"But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose" (Emphasis added).
2. Isaiah 35:1-2, 6-7:
"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be clad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose (Emphasis added)."
An interesting thing about Isaiah's prophecy (made in about 730 BCE) is that at no time in Israel's history was it ever fulfilled. Waters never did "break out", and Israel never really had "streams in the desert" (Isa 35:2).
Then in 1841, Latter-day Saint apostle Orson Hyde dedicated Israel for what must have seemed impossible at the time: the return of the Jews to the Holy Land.
Among other things, Elder Hyde prayed,
"Grant, therefore, O Lord, in the name of Thy well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to remove the barrenness and sterility of this land, and let springs of living water break forth to water its thirsty soil."
For 2,600 years, Isaiah's prophecy of the desert blossoming as the rose went unfulfilled. But not long after Elder Hyde's prayer, things started to change.
. In 1896, Theodor Herzol published a pamphlet called "The Jewish State" which became widely cirulated internationally.
. In 1905, the failed Russian Revolution caused large numbers of European and Russian Jews to immigrate to Palestine.
. In 1945, at the end of World War II, more Jews returned to Palestine, and the USA and United Nations took up the Zionist cause as a means of protecting Jews from widespread European anti-Semitism.
. In 1948, Israel was officially a nation again.
. In 2022, more than 9.2 million people live in Israel — a miracle made possible by an underrated yet extremely important technology: irrigation.
Northern Israel gets up to 40 inches of rain per year, but southern Israel gets only 1 to 5 inches. Thanks to manmade irrigation, water "breaks out" of its geographical area and Israel has "streams in the desert".
Thus Israel blossoms like the rose today.
When you think about it: God didn't fulfill Isaiah's prophecy, God's people did.
But when you think about it: God didn't fulfill Isaiah's prophecy, God's people did. And it took a LOT of effort, money, sacrifice, vision, and several decades to do it.
As a Native American, I sometimes wonder if that is the pattern for how the Lamanites will "blossom as the rose".
The fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy was by no means passive.
To make Israel's desert blossom, its people had to work through tremendous adversity. And Israel absolutely needed substantial help from non-Jews to make it happen.
I completely believe that the Lamanites will blossom as the rose, but I doubt that the fulfilment of this prophecy will be passive.
Therefore I don't think "just wait for God to do this for us" is a good Plan A.
Like the blossoming of Israel's desert, the blossoming of the Lamanites will probably take time, a vision, real effort, persistence, and substantial assistance from faithful non-Indiginous people to fulfil that prophecy.
Thanks for listening.
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History.com Editors
Tom Pittman
