Responding to a message to Judah from Joseph

This is my response I mailed to my Professor for my The Jews vs. The Mormons class. Some people call it Judaism and the gospel. But seriously, we know we are right...

(by the way, I believe President Benson was a prophet :)

"Speaking Today.....": A message to Judah from Joseph
By: President Ezra Taft Benson

Link!

What I Wrote: (!)

I am a Middle East Studies/Arabic student and I just returned from a study abroad visiting Palestine and Israel in the context of studying Arabic. The nature of my course of studies lends to skepticism and careful criticism of what I read especially as it pertains to the issues of conflict in the Arab/Israeli Palestine.
Bearing that in mind, certain passages in the message given by President Benson caught my attention. Understanding, of course, that it was not a political treatise, i could not help but to fill in the blanks as I read. For example, President Benson says, "Since 1948, the people of the world have witnessed a marvelous drama taking place before their eyes; and yet it is a miracle that has gone rather unnoticed and unappreciated. One of the greatest events in history is the literal gathering of Jews to their homeland from 'the four corners of the earth.' It is as Isaiah prophesied, 'a marvelous work and a wonder." Yet while the truth of an unnoticed and unappreciated drama rings to Jewish benefit, the same can be said of the unnoticed and unappreciated plight of those the land was taken from.
The difficulty of my position is my appreciation for how much the Palestinian people have suffered while still maintaining and nurturing my conviction in the fulfillment of prophesy. I am reminded of similar situations in our own history. The Book of Mormon clearly prophesies the downfall and destruction of the Lamanite people as a result of their iniquity. The fulfillment of this prophetic decree was actualized in the destruction of the Native American population with the spread of such Nationalistic doctrines as Manifest Destiny (one example). The realization of prophesy does not, however, cleanse our hands from the disgraceful trail of tears.
Therefore, in my opinion, there are two ways to address the badlands that lie between the Politics and Prophesy of the restoration of Israel to the Holy land. The first is an unfettered charge in which the flag of "It's God's Will" is flown foreword, justified by ancient scripture and a bilateral outcome of the restoration of the chosen and the displacement of the other. The second is a recognition of Christ's admonition to love the neighbor and the enemy, searching out every possibility to first live in peace, together. Our first charge as followers of Christ is to search out peace. If it ends up taking longer for scriptural prophecy to be fulfilled following such a doctrine, so be it. At least we will bring to pass the designs of God without staining our hands in the process.