"The Shoulders of the Philistines."
Ephraim, in ancient times, "mixed himself among the people". (Hosea 7:8.) Consequently the Latter-day Saints, who are mostly of Ephraim, also have "Gentile" blood in their veins. "Gentile" is not a term of reproach with us. It springs from "gentilis", meaning "of a nation", and was used anciently to designate those nations that were not of Israel. Japheth, son of Noah, is the sire of the "Gentile" race, while Abraham and his seed are descended from Japheth's brother Shem. We "Mormons" have no quarrel with the "Gentiles". They are virtually our co-laborers in this great work of preparation. We cannot do it alone. It is too vast, too arduous. We need the help of the "Gentiles", their wealth, their power, their wonderful insight into and command over material things, their intelligence and skill in manipulating temporalities. We need their means of rapid transit and communication. We could not gather God's people without the aid of the "Gentiles". "They shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the West." So wrote Isaiah concerning Israel, with prophetic eye upon this very period. "The shoulders of the Philistines" are the ships and railroads of the "Gentiles".
Our friends on the outside—our fellow "Gentiles" shall I call them?—have not always understood us, nor have we always understood them. There has been much bitterness and estrangement between the two classes. I am convinced that if the "Gentiles" knew us better, and we more fully realized our relationship to them, all would feel kinder and more charitable. We would recognize that we are engaged in the same great cause—for so we are, in a general way—and that we have no right to hate each other, no right to work against each other—that is, when in the line of our duty, doing what God has given us to do.
The "Gentiles" have not the fulness of the Gospel, nor the powers of the Priesthood; they are not the oracles of God, nor the ministers of salvation. These are prerogatives of the House of Israel. But the children of Japheth doubtless have their special mission, and it is a part of the divine plan for human progression. This is God's work, and he is doing it in his own way. He has instruments outside as well as inside the Church. Whether men know it or not, they are working out the ends he has in view. He may not always notify them of their appointment to serve him, nor does he ask permission to use them; but he uses them just the same. We are here not only to act, but to be acted upon. The Lord put his spirit upon Columbus and impelled him across the great waters to discover the Land of Zion. He nerved the arm and fired the soul of Washington, when he and his ragged regiments were fighting for freedom, for independence, for the founding of a government—though they knew it not—under which God's work could come forth and not be crushed out by the tyranny of man. The God of Israel was with those "Gentiles", the founders of the American Republic, who were probably of a mixed lineage, having much of the blood of Israel in their veins. And He is with all good and great men whose hearts are set to do right and to uplift humanity. He is with them, whether they recognize it or not. Their strength is a part of his omnipotence.