No Stone Left Unturned

-- The book of Matthew records that as the Savior departed from the temple he spoke to his disciples ….“And Jesus said unto them, “See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matt 24:1-2) We know that that prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies led by Titus destroyed Jerusalem and not one stone of Herod’s temple was “left upon another”. That prophecy was LITERALLY fulfilled when the temple burned and the gold from the temple melted down through the piled stones. The soldiers literally turned every stone searching for every piece of remaining gold. Today in Italy a monument to Titus (The Arch of Titus) built by his brother remains, depicting the soldiers returning to Rome with the menorah and other precious spoils of the temple in hand.

I'd Walk a Mile for a Camel

___ I'd walk a mile for a camel. No, not that kind of camel!!☺☺ I loved the camels in the Middle East. They were hanging out all over the the desert, however, there are not any “wild” camels. They are all owned by someone. Their proud owners love and name their camels. Wikipedia says they provide milk, meat, and hair for textiles. They live up to 40-50 years. They can run in short bursts up to 40 mph. I saw some kids on camelback racing one day. It was totally entertaining. I love them…….from a distance. Camels in the Middle East noticeably only have one “fatty” hump. The camels Shel Silverstein was talking about in his poem “They Put a Brassier on the Camel”, were the double hump camels from Central Asia. We saw some of those recently at the fabulous Saint Louis zoo, but I still prefer those single hump camels. They are my favorite! Here’s half of Shel’s poem…..You get the idea..... They’ve put a brassiere on a camel,
 She wasn’t dressed proper, you know.
 They’ve put a brassiere on a camel,
 So that her humps wouldn’t show. And they’re making other respectable plans,
 They’re even even insisting the pigs should wear pants,
 They’ll dress up the ducks if we give them the chance
 Since they’ve put a brassiere on a camel.:):).....Oh that crazy Shel.

The Land of Milk and Honey

--Hey! How about a date? A Medjool date that is! Don’t you love them? One of my daughters taught me to break them open, take out the pit, add a walnut or two, insert into mouth, and enjoy! I don't mind if I do!!!! No candy is better! Did you know that the Holy Land was called the Land of Milk and Honey because of all of the dairy from the goats AND the honey was made from the wonderful abundance of dates? Date honey that is. In Israel they grow on trees, in Chicagoland they grow at Costco. Yum, I think I need to go shopping :)

My Sheep Hear My Voice

-- Not far from the busy streets of Bethlehem we found ourselves passing Shepherd’s Field. “THE” shepherd’s field. The traditional site where shepherds saw the star and heard the angels sing. We were fortunate that day to find that the field was occupied by a shepherd and his flock. The shepherd didn’t care much for tourists so he stood up and began walking up the street with his faithful sheep following at his side. We learned that a shepherd, in the days of Christ, would break the leg of a wandering lamb and then bind the wound and carry the lamb across his shoulders. The lamb's head would rest near the shepherd’s heart. The lamb became dependent on his master and learned complete obedience. Once healed the lamb would never stray again. I’ve read since then that many consider that story to be an urban legend. Whether it is or not, we know that once "broken", we too no longer have a desire to stray, we have love for our shepherd, we recognize him, hear his voice and desire to follow him. Like the broken lamb, our shepherd carries and feeds us, loves us and asks that we “come and follow him”. I like the way Job said it: "For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole." (Job 5:18)

Blessed Are the Pure In Heart

I always liked Harold B Lee’s thoughts on the Beatitudes. He referred to them as the the constitution for a perfect life. Well put. Some refer to them as “beautiful attitudes”, and still others refer to them as “the way we should be”. I like them all. We recently had the opportunity to stand on the mount where multitudes gathered to hear those attitudes of the way we should “be” from the Savior Jesus Christ. Rising up from the Sea of Galillee is a beautiful green "mount" where thousands gathered to hear His famous sermon. Have you ever wondered just how such a large multitude of people gathered together on a mount could all hear one man’s voice? (I had a difficult time hearing our tour guide most of the time and there were less than 30 of us.) We discovered from our visit that the natural acoustics found right where the Savior would have given the Sermon on the Mount are quite incredible. It is a natural amphitheater so to speak. Amazing. But, I guess He would have known that. I am just a slow learner.

Oh Jerusalem!

In March of this year we had the most amazing opportunity to go to Israel and Jordan. It was an incredible journey. Traveling is the fast track to learning. Of all of the incredible things we saw and learned, I think I loved the view of Jerusalem and the old walled city from the BYU Jerusalem Center the most. As we sat in the chapel of the BYU Jerusalem Center during Sacrament meeting one Sunday morning it was hard to pay attention. Facing the podium we looked through an entire wall of windows to the magnificent view of Jerusalem and the walled city. My husband leaned over to me and said, “those windows must be magnified, look how big the Dome of the Rock looks.” Indeed it did. The scene lying before us must have been magnified by the windows that separated us. It was spectacular. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Needless to say, I didn’t get a lot out of what was said in Sacrament meeting that day. I am fascinated by the Dome of the Rock and the history of the temple mount that it sits on. It sits on the highest point of the temple mount inside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem and is one of the most contested religious sites in the world. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years. At least four religions are known to have used the Temple Mount. The mount is believed by Christians to be Mt. Moriah, the place Abraham took Isaac for sacrifice.. Muslims believe that it was Ishmael born to Hagar whom Abraham took to sacrifice there. It is believed by some Muslims as well that this is the place where Muhammad ascended into heaven. It is believed that Solomon’s temple, the second temple, and Herod's temple each stood there. It is the holiest site in Judaism and the Jews believe that this will be the site of the final temple. Likewise, some Christians including Mormons believe that the temple will be reconstructed in that holy place before, or in conjunction with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I just love to look at it:)