Jordan

My first impression of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was stifled by heat. Once I got past the summer temperatures, I was impressed by the ruins and the local customs. The service was fascinating. One hotel greeted us with orange juice and horses at the door--orange juice for drinking, and horses just in case we wanted to take a little jaunt before we checked in, I suppose. After dinner, the waiters helped us form a circle around the dinner bar where we did a simple Jordanian folkdance before bed. I was also intrigued by the gender ideologies in Jordan. Women can choose whether or not to wear a head covering, and it seems that the majority of them do. As tourists, we are taught to be especially wary of the local men. If you happen to visit, don't wink, don't stroke your mustache, and don't go out with wet hair...these things have highly promiscuous connotations. My favorite activity was a walk down local Amman, where the morning wares were being set out for the day. I blame my parents for the ridiculous delight that I take in stands of fresh local produce, live poultry, and barrels of spices.

Petra

They say that the ruins at Petra are sufficient to occupy archaeologists for the next 100 years. Indiana Jones doesn't do it justice.

Anticipated temperature: 102 degrees farenheight

Number of steps up to the monestary: 900

Pictures taken: approximately one kajillion

Items crossed of the bucket list: one

Machaerus

Machaerus is Herod's hilltop palace where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded (Matthew 14). We sang "We Thank Thee, Oh God for a Prophet" in rememberance of the man.

Like John, I need to remember that "He [Christ] must increase, and I must decrease..." (John 3:30)

On second thought, maybe our pictures of dancing Herodian daughters and beheading weren't appropriate...

Shoback Castle

Climbed the antiquities and discovered a long creepy tunnel. Check.

Mt. Nebo

This is where Moses looked out over the land of Israel though he did not enter in. Tradition holds that Moses was also buried on Mt. Nebo, though the exact location is unknown because angels performed the ritual...an interesting correspondance with our own restored knowledge that Moses was actually translated! Knowing that Moses and Elijah were both translated in this general location, we rejoiced in the reappearances of the men in the latter days. In celebration of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we sang "The Spirit of God."

Jerash

Roman ruins from a Decapolis city (the New Testament tells us that Jesus taught in several Decapolis cities). I've seen a whole lot of Roman ruins, but these definitely took the cake. We spent a couple of hours hiking, performing in the theater, dancing to bagpipers (and you thought they were all Scottish), and buying cheap ice-cream and jewelry.

Citadel at Ammon

Modern Ammon is Old Testament Rabbat Ammon (where Uriah died in battle at David's behest) and New Testament Philedelphia, another Decapolis city. ...mostly we loved posing as Hercules in the Hercules temple.

Jabbock River

Possibly the most sacred site that we visited, the Jabbock River is where Jacob wrestled with an angel. He crossed over the river on his way to Bethel (where he covenanted with God in his ladder dream) and again when he was facing the difficult commandment of returning to his homeland where Esau threatened. The location fostered a marvelous devotional about covenants, and made me stop to reflect about my own covenants. How thankful I am to know that I Jacob's descendant, able to recieve all of the blessings and covenants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!

Madaba

Mosaic town, with a 5th century church full of splendid mosaics (notably the archaeological classic map of Old Jerusalem).

Baptismal Site.

It's funny that being at the Jordan River (at the precise spot that scholars predict Jesus' baptism took place) doesn't guarantee a spiritual experience. I feel guilty for even suggesting that the experience could be anything less than revelatory. In fact, my feelings were simple. I was thankful for the simple doctrines of the restored gospel, and most especially for the gift of the Holy Ghost. What would my life be like without the guidance of the Spirit? Isn't it wonderful that we know that ordinances such as baptism are extended to all of God's children, even through vicarious temple work?

Old Testament: A Book of Epic Proportions

Imagine. You are king of a large city, whose population recently exploded due to an influx of refugees from a neighboring state that was breached by the Assyrian army. Lachish and Azekah, the two fortress cities that stand between you and the Assyrian army, have fallen. The Assyrians are expanding their mighty empire by utilizing terror, displaying the slain and sending survivors to tell the sad tale. You build up walls around your city and send tributes from the temple treasury to appease the Assyrian king, but the threat is imminent nonetheless.

One day, a man named Rab-Shakeh appears at the city gate with a message to your people—“Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly…” (2 Kings 19:10).

When Hezekiah received the news from his counselors, he didn’t mourn. He didn’t hide. “Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord” (2 Kings 19:14). He uttered a powerful prayer, explaining to God about their daunting enemies and beseeching him with absolute faith to save them from the impossible odds. That night, 185,000 of the Assyrian army died by the Lord’s hand, and Hezekiah and Jerusalem were saved by the hand of the Lord (2 Kings 19:35).

I love this story, not just because it is larger-than-life-reminds-me-of-Lord-of-the-Rings sort of cool. I love it because Hezekiah took his impossible problems and spread them out before the Lord. He didn’t run from them or cry about them. He trusted in God to deliver, and God did so.

Epic? Yes, sir. Feels like it was written just for me? Mm-hm.

Oh, how I love the Old Testament.

Missed You, Dear Blog

Dear blog, I missed you last week. My little fingers didn’t want to type a word, so I skipped the promised weekly update. Here are a few highlights:

*CITY OF DAVID. Watched a heart-warming propogandic historical overview of Jerusalem’s history in 3-D. Visited the ruins of David’s palace, where Isaiah counseled the kings of Judah. Walked through chilly thigh-high water in a tight little tunnel …scary but oh so fun. Read about Christ healing a blind man at the pool of Siloam where healed a blind man 2000 years ago.

*TEMPLE INSTITUTE. They’re earning up to build the third temple of Jerusalem, and they have a cute little museum to tell you about it. Who knew what the instruments of the second temple looked like? My favorite part is definitely the table of shewbread. I always imagined a little sacrament tray, but it’s much bigger. Think of a huge brass display for 12 gigantic loaves of bread. I wish I could procure one for our Thanksgiving pies.

*SEDER MEAL (Passover). A three-hour ordeal that consists of reading Jewish scripture, tasting bitter herbs and symbolic foods, singing Hebrew songs, hide-and-seeking unleavened bread, and partaking of a scrumptious meal. A beautiful family ritual of remembrance, enjoyment, and fun.

*TOUR OF THE SEPARATION WALL. A little sensationalized, but pretty serious. Walls are never going to create peace in my opinion. Especially walls that divide families and keep Palestinians from important resources. Pictures pending.

*VISIT WITH A NEIGHBOR. My stay in Jerusalem is officially complete. I’ve had a cold drink with our neighbor down the street. The elderly gentleman gave us orange juice (“You Mormon, I know. No tea, no coffee.” For no proselyting in the region, they still manage to know an awful lot about us) and showed us pictures of his grandkids. He also talked politics, which was pretty thrilling to hear from someone who has lived through ’48 and ’67.

*FLIP-of-the-COIN DECISIONS. This week’s method of exploring the Old City was to flip a shekel at every fork in the road—left is heads, right is tails. We found some nice Muslim neighborhoods, a Pilgrim’s Home (what is that?), an ancient chapel, a pita factory, a women’s co-op, a ceramic shop, and a grocery store that I’ve never seen before. I tasted a Happy Hippo for the first time, and it is undoubtedly the best sweet I’ve discovered here.

*ISRAELI FOLK DANCING. Oh my goodness, please make this a regular part of BYU-Provo life! The steps are simple, the music is jiving, and the energy is high. I’ve got to get my hands on some dancing music.

*SHEPHELAH(pronounced “Sh-f-aylah,” means “low hills”). Fortress city ruins, the birthplace of Sampson, the valley where David slew Goliath, and giant Byzantine bell caves.

Making Peace

The kindergarten is the crowning jewel of Jerusalem's YMCA. It is comprised of Jewish, Arabic, and Christian kids. The children communicate in a mixture of their various languages, and they play as peacefull (or as naughtily) as all children do. When heads of state and diplomats visit the YMCA, this is the first thing that they are shown.

...

At the end of an hour-long lecture, a student asked forum speaker Bernard Sabella (member of Palistinian Parliament and Christian professor at Al Kudz University) what we could do to support Arab-Israeli peace. His response? "Be impartial, and recognize that the futures of both people are dependent on the other. Call for peace. Try to understand the pain of both sides. Maybe get Palestinians and Israelis to know each other better. Support peace and justice. Don't take sides."

...

"You've been here for four weeks now, and have you noticed how we're not in a war zone?," journalist Matthew Kalman pointed out. He's right. People here are just living. There are tussles I'm sure, and I realize that the situation in the region is of serious consequence, but there is a whole lot of peace, too. Kalman kept us in stitches telling stories about freckled terrorists singing Punjabi love songs and a man who went from checkpoint to checkpoint doing impersonations of political leaders. I love knowing that humor and comraderie are commonplace even when the papers paint ugly pictures.

...

Peace is possible.

Holy Envy

During my first few years of college, I started to worry about myself. Should a person feel so inspired and uplifted by Buddhist literature? Was I wrong to be enamored with other religions? Was it bad to wish that we had Sabbath day worship rituals like the Jews do? Could I entertain this sort of admiration for other religions while sticking to my own?

Oh yes. Oh, yes.

My Modern Near Eastern Culture professor took a most profound tangential turn from his lecture on Tuesday. In tactful response to an intent but egocentric (religiocentric?) question, "What disqualifies Jesus from being a Jewish Messiah?", he gave this list from Bishop Kristal Standoff. Here is the list, as taken from my class notes:

1. Compare equals. Don't compare the finer parts of yours to the weird of theirs.

2. Make room for "holy envy." You don't have a monopoly on everything that is good and holy and true.

3. Let the other speak for himself...recognize that the conceptual map that you frame of religion (based on your religion) is not the same as someone elses. (He said this because the Jewish concept of Messianism is not nearly as central to their framework as it is to ours.)

I believe that this "holy envy" is good. For me, it is a tool of the spirit. Don't think that I am being apologetic about my own religion. I am grateful to be a member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. I am thankful for a living prophet and the Book of Mormon and incredible doctrines about the family. But I value truth and goodness wherever it is found. I am happy to learn from believing people of many types. I realize that we all entertain inconsistencies, even in our finest and most favored frameworks. I have questions about my own religion, but I savor the things that I don't know because I trust in an eternity of learning. As Elder Christofferson says, "[I] do not know everything, but [I] know enough."

It's Not the Rocks

We joined a group of non-denominational pastors from Ohio for our Shabbat-morning visit to the Garden Tomb. Upon learning that we were Mormon, one of the pastors inquired, "So what do these sites mean to you?" It was a good question, and I wish that we could have told him more about what we believe.

Maybe the most appropriate response to his query is an echo of what our tour guide told us. In a lovely British accent, the elderly gentleman led us through the garden and explained the rational for selecting the quiet garden site outside Damascus gate as the likely Garden Tomb where the Savior was buried. At the end of his speech, he stressed that it's not the rocks that matter. "If these things bolster your faith and give you biblical context, then they are worthwhile," he said. "But what matters isn't the place. What matters is that He is risen."

That's how I feel about Jerusalem. Archaelogy is nice. The rocks are old. The ruins and maps and history lessons are intriguing. But what really matters is that He is risen.