Sunday, June 10, 2007

Day 7: Sunday, June 11, 2007
Jerusalem
by Richard Boyer
It didn't seem much like Sunday today. It felt like some kind of a combination between Saturday and Monday -- Saturday because it was a day off work to do other things and Monday because it was the day after Sabbath. When in Israel, Sunday is like a Monday, the day after the Sabbath and the beginning of a new working week. So we took it as a weekday and did regular activities.
We were up early, as usual, and had devotional at 7 a.m. It was Sammie's turn to give the devotional message. He spoke about how, when we know the background of songs and hymns, they become more meaningful to sing. He told the story of I Often Go Walking, which he learned was written by a woman who came from a dysfunctional home because her mother was virtually psychotic. The only time that her mother related to her children and became emotionally/mentally normal was when out in the country, they would go walking through the forest and the flowers. This song was written in an attempt to capture those moments as memories of her mother. Sammie was quite emotional in the telling of the story, reflecting his deep feelings for this story as well as his deep feelings for the experience we are having in Israel.
We drove first to the Old City and entered the Temple Mount. Since we were last here, there has been a lot of excavation near the Western Wall. We walked up a constructed ramp which was not there before leading us to a security checkpoint to gain access to the Temple Mount. Fortunately, we were early in the morning, so the line to get through security was not very long. We walked past the El Aksa mosque, which appeared to me to be pretty tightly sealed up. We were not allowed to go into the mosque. Nor were we allowed to go into the Dome of the Rock mosque. We were informed that since the year 2000, tourists do not enter either of these places. However, we did have the opportunity to visit in a shady spot on the Temple Mount. Brother Pace talked about some of the important events in the life of the Savior which occurred there, including when He was presented at age eight for circumcision and His experience at that time with Simeon and Anna. He discussed the episode at age twelve when Christ was found there in the Temple teaching the scribes, teachers and Jewish leaders. He also described the Savior's cleansing of the Temple at the beginning of His ministry, when He referred to it as "my Father's House" and at the end of His ministry, when He referred to it as "My House". Finally, before He was crucified, when He referred to the Temple as "your house" indicating that it was no longer His house because the wicked, apostate Jewish leaders had rejected Him, their Messiah. Brother Pace did not mention, but it is important to note, that the 40 foot veil of the Temple separating the Holy of Holies from public view was rent from top to bottom at the time of the death of the Savior on the cross. This is significant because of the fact that the Temple was rejected by Him and was now profane. The Temple was destroyed in the year 70 A.D. by the Romans who thought that Jewish gold was buried in the Temple and destroyed it, not leaving one stone on top of the other. Lori and I marveled how they would ever be able to destroy the Temple, because it was so huge.
After visiting the Temple Mount, we then passed through another security checkpoint and were admitted to the plaza in front of the Western Wall. With the men covering their heads and separating from the women, we were able to approach the wall and see the Orthodox Jews in their black hats, black coats, white shirts, ringlets, fringes and phylacteries bobbing back and forth as they chanted their prayers in front of the Western Wall. We saw the small slips of paper on which were written the names of the people who need special prayers which were packed into the seams between the rocks of the wall. We recalled our discussion during devotional this morning in which the similarities between the Jews praying at the Western Wall and the prayers in our temples for those with special needs. Then we went inside to a covered area where scrolls are stored in their libraries. An area of the floor had been excavated and covered with plexiglass so we could look through it. The wall continued down another 30 or 40 feet, showing the entire height of the wall. The full depth represents the street level at the time of Christ. With successive civilizations and their destruction, piles upon piles of rubble of civilizations have been layered on top of each other through the centuries and until the street level at the time of Christ is much lower than the current street level.
We then visited an excavation site near the Western Wall. We viewed a movie which showed a computer depiction of what the old city of Jerusalem may have looked like at the time of Christ. Following the movie, we went back to the Southern Wall and saw remnants of Robinson's arch, the pinnacle of the Temple, the steps and gates in the Southern Wall. We stood on a rock which was at the base of the exiting stairs from the Temple Mount and were told that this is one of the most authentic places in Israel where Christ must have walked because it was the primary exit from the Temple Mount at the time of Christ.
We are having a bit of a heat wave in Jerusalem today. Boy, was it hot! We were glad to get back on the bus and drive a short distance to a local merchant store and for shopping and lunch. After some delay, Dominos delivered several cheese pizzas which were heartily consumed by the group for the cost of three dollars each. There was lots of buying going on. Lori found a lovely opal Star of David necklace. I splurged and bought a $10 T-shirt. Lesli Rice got a $1500 necklace, I’m told. She is quite the shopper!
Back on the bus, we drove into the old city and entered Jaffe’s Gate. The bus let us out and we walked through the bazaar and visited the Citadel of David Museum. It was fascinating to see this reconstruction of the palace where the wise men visited Herod the Great inquiring where the new King had been born, whose new star they saw in the east. This was the same place where Jesus was taken on the morning of His trials to be interrogated by Herod Antipus, the only man of whom we have record to whom Jesus would not speak. This was an historical/archaeological treasure trove, but we didn't have much time to linger. I could have spent the whole day here.
We then walked to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and spent some time there. This church was originally built at the time of the Holy Land visit of Constantine's mother, who identified many of the proposed locations of sacred sites in the land. The church was subsequently destroyed, prompting the Crusades and the rebuilding of the church approximately 800 years ago. We saw the place supposed to be the site of the cross as well as a slab of stone upon which Christ's body was supposed to have been laid after He died in preparation for His burial. We waited in line to go inside of the grotto-like enclosure supposed to be the site of the tomb of Christ. Unfortunately, Jennie and Anna were not able to go in because of the length of the sleeves of their shirts. I was touched by the sincerity of the people who came there believing that this was the real place for them. Our guide indicated that many scholars have suggested that this location may be correct. My feeling is that the Lord has veiled the minds of those who would try to locate the true location of Golgotha and the Tomb, which prophets have told us is outside the walls of the city at Gordon's Calvary and The Garden Tomb. I believe that the Lord has protected these locations from the knowledge of the religious leaders and archaeologists in order to preserve the serenity, peace and beauty of these locations. We had a discussion in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher about the atonement and the suffering of Christ. I hope it was useful to some of our children who were there.
We had some free time to walk through the bazaar. I was able to find an electronics shop where I replaced the cable to my digital voice recorder which I had borrowed from our guide. I had to follow a young boy through the streets from one electronics shop to another. I would have been totally lost, if he had left me, so I put my hand on his shoulder and said, “Don't leave me!” He got me back to his father's shop and I was able to find my way back to the plaza outside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Lori was not as fortunate. She did get lost and finally had to have a merchant help her find her way back to the group.
Our last museum who was an underground museum of restored ruins from approximately A.D70. We were impressed by the beautiful homes and the restoration of a portion of the city near the Western Wall, above which now has been built new homes and buildings.
We returned to the hotel for a brief dinner. Then we had a special treat. Lesli Rice had arranged with our guide, Amos, for a special tour of the Orthodox Jewish section of Jerusalem. So Scott, Lesli with her two boys Mike and Tyler as well as Melissa and Sammie, Martha, Adam, Marian, Lori and I took a van to the nearby Orthodox area of Jerusalem and took a walking tour at dusk through an area that most tourists do not see. We were not welcome! There are slurs thrown at our women by the children and threats made to our guide. Signs above our heads told us not to enter their area with immodest clothing. Because some of our women's heads were not covered and their shirt sleeves did not reach to their wrists, they were considered immodestly dressed. I was actually fearful that we might receive some physical violence, but we made it through without difficulty. I have nearly an hour of recording of questions and answers for our guide, who is a secular-religious Jew, who told us much about Jewish life. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
Back at the hotel, we sat in a lounge for a few minutes while I recalled for our small group the story of a conversation between Brother Dan Ludlow and my Grandfather Richards regarding the building of the temple here in Jerusalem. Lesli had asked me a question prompting the telling of the story. The bottom line is that Brother Ludlow believes that it is the Jews who will build the temple here in Jerusalem on the Holy Mount, not the Latter-Day Saints, and that it will be an important precursor to the return of the Savior.
Back in the room, Melissa posted three days worth of blogs and Sammie worked on the Internet and on downloading the pictures from this camera to my laptop for backup copies. I couldn't stay awake and fell asleep on the bed while Lori washed out clothes in the bathroom. After a brief nap, I woke up and have dictated my journal for today sitting in the bathroom so not to wake Lori. It was a great day! More tomorrow. . .