Shabbat in Jerusalem - June 2nd

We began the day with a visit to the peaceful and serene Orson Hyde Memorial Garden on the Mount of Olives. After a short meeting, we moved over to Mount Scopus for a tour of the spectacular BYU Jerusalem Center facility and stayed for Sacrament meeting with the Jerusalem branch. It was an unforgettable experience to view the Temple mount and Old Jerusalem through the floor to ceiling windows that backed the speakers.

After a lunch of shwarma and falafel, we started the afternoon by visiting what is believed to be location of Caiaphas’ house where Jesus was brought after being arrested and where Peter denied knowing the Lord three times. We then drove a short distance to the Garden of Gethsemane where olive trees, some hundreds of years old, still grow.

We finished the day with a visit to the Garden Tomb, one of the possible locations of Christ's crucifixion and burial. Unlike so many other location of significance to the life of Jesus, this one is not covered by a massive church, but instead appears to have been carefully excavated and preserved as much as possible in its original state. Our host at this site, Bob McLean, provided a detailed description of the sites features and some arguments for why this was likely the actual place where Jesus' body was laid to rest.

Following the days activities, many of us took time to explore more of the Old City. Some found more they bargained for!