Wednesday, June 13

Day 10: Wednesday, June 13, 2007
By Richard Boyer
This was the best day of all!
Today we walked in the footsteps of Jesus. In our early morning devotional, one of the members of the tour sang the lovely hymn I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked. In the closing verse of that song, there is the line, "I knelt today where Jesus knelt." When I heard that line, chills went through me and I knew what I needed to do before the day was over.
We first went to the traditional location of the Last Supper. It is in a nice church just south of the wall of Jerusalem. We climbed the steps into an upper room about the size of a small cultural hall in an LDS Church. We waited a few moments for another tour to leave and then had the room to ourselves. Brother Pace reviewed the scriptures that tell the story of the Last Supper of the Savior. He then reminded us that this was the location where the disciples were gathered when the resurrected Christ appeared to them on that first Easter Sunday and where He returned one week later to meet again with the disciples, including Thomas, who had been absent the first time. Finally, he read a single verse indicates that there are other important things that happened in that room which endowed the apostles with power for their subsequent ministry to the world. This was a wonderful place to visit! I felt the spirit of the Lord strongly here, as much as anywhere that we have visited.
We then drove a short distance to a church known as St. Peter in Gallicantu, the traditional location of the palace of Caiaphas where Christ was tried before the Sanhedrin and where Peter denied three times knowing the Christ. Ironically, a rooster crowed as we walked into the church. (I prefer to believe that Peter was following the instructions of his master when he denied the Savior three times. None of what I read about the Apostle Peter would suggest that he was a weak man. Just a few hours earlier, he nearly started a battle which would have taken his life when he cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. I tend to believe that the phrase of the Savior "thou shalt deny me thrice" was the future tense instructive voice telling Peter that, in order to save his life, he needed to deny knowing the Savior three times.) We also visited the dungeon of that church where the Savior was probably held for some hours during that terrible night. Again, the spirit seemed to whisper, "This is the right place."
We then drove to the east side of the old city will to visit in the Garden of Gethsemane. The garden has been well maintained, actually improved since I was last here. There are 8 or 10 ancient-appearing olive trees in the garden surrounded by nicely kept flowerbeds and a few tastefully organized flowers. Again, we reviewed the events of this sacred place. We were then given some time on our own to reflect. Recalling the line from the song in the devotional this morning, I knew that I had to somehow kneel in the Garden of Gethsemane but wanted to do it in the least conspicuous way. Jennie was sitting outside the fence that surrounds the olive trees writing in her journal. I walked to her side, put my journal on the ground and knelt down on it on one knee. I was able to stay there for several minutes pondering and praying to express my gratitude for what happened there.
The Garden of Gethsemane closes for a two-hour lunch at noon, so we had to leave. We went to a small street which descends from the top of the Mount of Olives and is probably the way by which the Savior made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday prior to his crucifixion, the day that has become known as Palm Sunday. Crossing the street and walking a little way up the Mount of olives, we entered the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden. When we were last here, this garden was just being planted in the spring of 1979 and was dedicated later that year by President Kimball. My grandfather, Legrand Richards, was president of the Orson Hyde Foundation, which raised $1 million (a lot of money in 1979) which was then donated to the city of Jerusalem to keep this property in perpetuity for 999 years. When our family came here last time, we were able to hold a family meeting in an amphitheater near the top of the garden. Unfortunately, time did not allow for us to climb to the top of the garden and see that spot. Our guides told us the story of the creation of this garden and Sister Pace told us a remarkable story when she exhibited Christlike patience and forgiveness for a foster daughter-in-law. She is a remarkable lady! We then also had time for a few members of the group to bear their testimony. Some of our family took the opportunity to do so.
After a quick lunch shortened because of waiting for our bus driver who was confused as to where we would be, we went to the Garden tomb. This was definitely a highlight for all of us. The contrast between the Garden Tomb and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which we saw two days ago is rather striking. Upon walking into the Garden Tomb area, the noise of the street and busy bus station next door is quickly left behind and one only hears the many birds singing. We had a thoughtful Scottish man take us through the garden. He gave his reasons why his organization, which cares for this lovely spot, believes that this location is correct both for Golgotha and for the burial spot of Jesus Christ. Interestingly, he said that they now believe that Christ was not crucified on top of the hill, as I had previously been told and is often pictured, but was probably crucified at the bottom of the hill near the passing crossroads where he could be ridiculed, slapped, spit upon and in other ways humiliated. We each had the opportunity to enter the tomb and remember again that the tomb was empty on that wonderful Easter Sunday morning, as it still is. We then gathered as a group and sang some hymns, read some scriptures and had a few more testimonies.
Leaving the Garden Tomb, we entered the city via Lions Gate and walked some of the streets that Jesus may have walked while carrying His cross prior to His crucifixion. We visited the lovely church of St. Anne (mother of Mary) with its marvelous acoustics. Adam and Martha saying "Nearer My God to Thee". I knew that Martha had a lovely voice, but I never knew that Adam sang so well! It was really lovely! We also sang a number of hymns as a group to enjoy the remarkable acoustics.
After dinner, we had a family meeting in our room to reflect upon our experience in the Holy Land. Each of us was given the opportunity to share an experience, an impression, an insight or some feeling. But it was not done as formally as a regular testimony meeting. I wanted to keep it a little bit lighter than that and more spontaneous. It was a wonderful time for sharing. I wish that I had a recording of what everyone said, but that may have inhibited the free-flow of feeling and emotion. We closed with a family prayer and said goodbye to Martha, Adam and Marian who will leave early tomorrow morning for their flight back to the States. It's hard to see them go, but I don't think it would be smart to take Marian to Egypt. The rest of us went to our rooms to pack. We don't leave as early as they do, but we are going to be on the road in Egypt for the rest of our trip. What a wonderful day!