_Thursday, 14_.--The papers of this date report that the island of Ternate [4] was nearly ruined by earthquakes on the 14th and 15th February, 1840.
_Letter of the Prophet to Elders Hyde and Page--Palestine Mission Considered_.
Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, May 14th, 1840.
Dear Brethren:--I am happy in being informed by your letter that your mission swells "larger and larger." It is a great and important mission, and one that is worthy those intelligences who surround the throne of Jehovah to be engaged in. Although it appears great at present, yet you have but just begun to realize the greatness, the extent and glory of the same. If there is anything calculated to interest the mind of the Saints, to awaken in them the finest sensibilities, and arouse them to enterprise and exertion, surely it is the great and precious promises made by our heavenly Father to the children of Abraham; and those engaged in seeking the outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah, cannot fail to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord and have the choicest blessings of Heaven rest upon them in copious effusions.
Brethren, you are in the pathway to eternal fame, and immortal glory: and inasmuch as you feel interested for the covenant people of the Lord, the God of their fathers shall bless you. Do not be discouraged on { 129} account of the greatness of the work; only be humble and faithful, and then you can say, "What art thou, O great mountain! before Zerubbabel shalt thou be brought down." He who scattered Israel has promised to gather them; therefore inasmuch as you are to be instrumental in this great work, He will endow you with power, wisdom, might, and intelligence, and every qualification necessary; while your minds will expand wider and wider, until you can circumscribe the earth and the heavens, reach forth into eternity, and contemplate the mighty acts of Jehovah in all their variety and glory.
In answer to your inquiries respecting the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon, hymn-book, history of the Church, &c., &c., I would say that I entirely approve of the same, and give my consent, with the exception of the hymn book, as a new edition, containing a greater variety of hymns, will be shortly published or printed in this place, which I think will be a standard work. As soon as it is printed, you shall have some sent to you, which you may get translated, and printed into any language you please.