Dr. Kimball Taylor, the founder of the Children of Israel Foundation, first went to Israel in 1987. He immediately felt a kinship and love for the people and the land of Israel, and began to study the subject in earnest soon after. Desiring to know more, he applied for and was accepted to a Master's Degree program in Jewish Studies at Chicago's prestigious Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in 1995. His study led him to want to do something meaningful for the Jewish people, and upon the advice of Rabbi Byron Sherwin, Vice President of Spertus, he decided to form an organization with the goal of assisting needy Jews throughout the world.

The Children of Israel Foundation soon became a reality and was officially incorporated in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 6, 1998. Rabbi Sherwin was instrumental in introducing Dr. Taylor to Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and director of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a Chicago-based organization with many goals similar to what Dr. Taylor envisioned.

On a trip to Israel in 1999, Rabbi Eckstein introduced Dr. Taylor to Mr. Zvi Raviv, Advisor to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel. This has led to a wonderful association with the City of Jerusalem and a love affair with the City and its people. The Foundation presently supports several projects within the City.

When the Kingdom of Israel became divided, the tribes of Benjamin and Judah lived in an area called Judea. The symbol of this southern kingdom was the Lion of Judah - the ancient symbol of the tribe of Judah. The remaining ten tribes who lived in the north of Israel were often symbolized by a bull. Thus, the logo of the Lion (Judah) and the Bull (Ephraim and the remaining tribes) symbolizes a hope for unity and peace for all of the Children of Israel. The hope of The Children of Israel Foundation is that The Lion and The Bull will again be one - a Zion of one heart, and one mind.

David Ben Gurion once said "There are no people in the world who understand the Jews like the Mormons." (address by Ezra Taft Benson, May 2, 1976). Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jews do have a special kinship and much in common:

• both have been led by prophets across a wilderness to settle in a "promised land".
• both have settled in a desert land by a lake of salt.
• both have known much of persecution and dispersion.
• both believe that the House of Israel are God’s covenant people.
• both want to live in and believe in a place called Zion.
• both look for the coming of the Messiah.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a great belief and understanding of the "gathering of Israel." It is written and prophesied of throughout scripture, and the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Nephi are being fulfilled. We believe that the prophecies made concerning Israel’s establishment and protection are true, and that the Jews have been led by God to rebuild their homeland and Jerusalem. We feel a kinship to them, and should be involved with blessing and strengthening them without any ulterior motive other than love for our fellow man.

The Children of Israel Foundation desires to bless the lives of the Jewish people wherever they are in need, and to assist them in building Jerusalem and building strong Jewish families.

Ours is not a missionary effort in any way, and those involved in working with the Foundation are not allowed to proselyte. Ours is a message of hope and support for God’s covenant people. Isaiah, referring to the promises made by God to Israel, wrote, "For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest." (Isaiah 62:11) The Children of Israel Foundation invites you to not hold your peace and to not rest, but to do something to bless Israel.

Learn now how easy it is to get involved.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel, wrote this kind "thank-you" note to Dr. Kimball Taylor, President of The Children of Israel Foundation. The Children of Israel Foundation enjoys a close relationship with many civic leaders in Israel and Jerusalem.

Excerpt from Righteous Gentiles by Sheila Raviv
Published in "Bimah" magazine, Nov. 1999

In this world of fast fame and fast money, instant gratification, there are some special people who think only of the good of their fellow men. Among them, few and far between, there are the rare good souls who act on their good intentions with incredible and wonderful success. Meet three of them. Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, a Jew who founded the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in Chicago, Dr. Kimball Taylor, a Mormon Christian Doctor from Calgary, Canada and Pee Kuliveina Calvanist Christian from Holland.

Dr. Kimball Taylor is a family doctor, a good man with a great love for his family, for God and for Israel. He is not a rich man but has managed to convey his deep love, for Jerusalem in particular, to some 900 Mormon doctors and many more ancillary medical staff who have raised enough money to provide a special medical clinic for the Ethiopians. Kimball Taylor cried when told of the Ethiopian woman that came to the doctor at Givat HaMatos and said that her heart hurt. Her doctor rushed her to the hospital where the frightened lady underwent every test imaginable......to find out later that she meant to say that she was sad. After hearing this story the group of doctors funded a special clinic with trained Ethiopian women to translate both language and emotions. Another project Dr. Taylors group has taken on is a Community Centre in a particularly poor area of Jerusalem with a high percentage of new immigrants. Thanks to his help the Pat Community Centre is thriving and provides classes and social meetings including special programmes for new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union.

Each year thousands and thousands of Christians, particularly from the United States and from Holland, but from places as far flung as Samoa, Korea and Sweden, come to show their love. When disasters have happened here, it is the Christian groups who strengthen their numbers and come to help us be strong. It has been my honour to have been involved, at a second-hand level, with all of these people and their projects. My husband, Zvi Raviv, in his capacity of Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has been deeply involved. This involvement with such amazing people has shown him a side of Jerusalem that he did not know existed. It is thanks to their will to help that we are not only aware of the problems but have a solution.

The lesson to be learned is that friendship is precious from every source. It need not come from within, sometimes it is all the sweeter when it comes from without. Maybe the new Bishop of Llandaff would like to meet or contact these glorious humans who would love to show him their Jerusalem, as indeed I would. My greatest joy is having met Kim, Dr. Taylor, who has become one of our closest and dearest friends. To see his joy, sitting with us for Friday night supper, the candles reflected in his eyes, sharing our lives, is to understand the words...A Righteous Gentile. These men are truly "Lights unto the Nations".