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The Mormon attachment to Jerusalem goes back, way back, to the fall of 1841.

That's when LDS apostle Orson Hyde first visited the Middle Eastern city, considered a holy site to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

On assignment from Mormon founder Joseph Smith, Hyde climbed the Mount of Olives — where Christians believe Jesus uttered his impassioned prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane — to offer his own prayer for the return of the Jews and the restoration of Jerusalem.

Last week, Mormon apostles Jeffrey R. Holland and Quentin L. Cook gathered with U.S. Jewish dignitaries on the historic site to commemorate 175 years of friendship between the two communities of faith.

"We believe the work of modern Elder Orson Hyde has played a key role in God choosing Jerusalem again in the fullness of times," Holland said at the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. "We pray for the preservation of the Jewish people and for their peaceful association with all who dwell in what is truly the Holy Land."

The Jewish delegation included former New York Attorney General Robert Abrams, who has helped build bridges between Mormon and Jewish communities, and former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman from Connecticut, who was the vice presidential nominee under Al Gore, and a handful of others.

"There is nothing more noble than extending the hand of friendship to fellow human beings. The world needs more understanding and respect among people, and it is encouraging to see the fostering of that core value here today," Abrams said, according to an LDS Church news release.

"The relationship between Mormons and Jews is a natural one," Lieberman added. "I've lived long enough now to know that a lot of things that are natural don't happen unless people take action to make them happen."

The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expressed its commitment to the Holy Land in 1988 by building the center, which overlooks the Mount of Olives — and by agreeing not to proselytize.

Holland was BYU president during the construction and has remained involved there and throughout the Middle East.

A nearby park with a panoramic view of the Old City was dedicated in 1979 as the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden to honor that early Mormon apostle — and his prayer for peace.

Peggy Fletcher Stack