In 2 Nephi 27:28, speaking of the conditions that would be contemporary with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, Nephi prophesied that:
But
behold saith the Lord of Hosts: I will show unto the children of men that it is
yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest.
While “Lebanon” could be
metaphorical, It is interesting to note that Lebanon itself did prosper economically
in the 19th century. As we read on Wikipedia:
During
the nineteenth century the town of Beirut became the most important port of the
region, supplanting Acre further to the south. This was mostly because Mount
Lebanon became a centre of silk production for export to Europe. This industry
made the region wealthy, but also dependent on links to Europe. Since most of
the silk went to Marseille, the French began to have a great impact in the
region. ("History
of Lebanon," Wikipedia, accessed October 12, 2023)
This was noted by scholars in the
early 20th century. In the
1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica entry for “Lebanon,” we read that:
The
mixed population, as a whole, displays the usual characteristics of
mountaineers, fine physique and vigorous independent spirit; but its ancient
truculence has given away before strong government action since the 19th
century and the great increase of agricultural pursuits, to which the purely
pastoral are now secondary. The culture of the mulberry and silk, of tobacco,
of the olive and vine, of many kinds of fruits and cereals, has expanded
enormously, and Lebanon is now probably the most productive region in Asiatic
Turkey in proportion to its area. ("Lebanon," in The Encyclopedia
Brittanica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, and General Information
[11th ed.; New York: The Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 1911] 16:348)
While the entire article should be
read, scholar Kais Firro noted that:
The
production of silk on Mount Lebanon dates back to the time of the Byzantine Emperor
Justinian. From his reign in the 7th century until the 19th century, despite
fluctuations in the production of silk, Mount Lebanon and parts of the Beckaa
valley continued to produce "Syrian silk." In the latter part of the
19th century, silk production on Mount Lebanon and elsewhere even expanded as
new areas for growing mulberry trees were added along the coast from Antioch to
Sidon. The silk-growing area eventually reached the Golan and Hawran. . . .
After
1860, silk on Mount Lebanon had become a monoculture. Close to 80 percent of
the cultivable land of Mount Lebanon was covered with mulberry trees, as was a
large part of the Beckaa and the coastal area. . . .
Mount
Lebanon was more affected by this trend toward agricultural mono-culture than
were other cash-crop areas. It comprised 320,000 hectares of land, of which
17000 to 20,000 hectares (6.25 percent) were under cultivation by 1914. Most of
the cultivated area (14,000 hectares, or 70-80 percent) was devoted to growing
mulberry trees, and most of the rural population was employed in tending them. (Kais
Firro, "Silk and Agrarian
Changes in Lebanon, 1860-1914," International Journal of Middle
East Studies 22, no. 2 [May 1990]: 151, 152)
This is another example of a prophecy
in the Book of Mormon being fulfilled post-1830, showing that the “prophetic horizon”
of the text does not cease c. 1827-1830.
Further Reading: