Shabbat Shalom

The BYU Jerusalem Center

When I lived in Israel, Sabbaths were amazing. By about 4:00 Friday afternoon things shut down. If you didn't get your grocery shopping done before then, you were out of luck. The evening was quiet and reflective.

Sabbath services were nothing short of life changing. We took the sacrament as we looked out the panoramic windows overlooking Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb. The sacrament was blessed by a Palestinian and a Jew. That was a miracle in and of itself.

After church, I would go outside and sit on the grass facing the incredible view of old Jerusalem. I read my scriptures and wrote in my journal. My heart would literally ache at the thought of one less Sabbath to spend there. It was my favorite time of the week.

I want that back. Somehow I want to create my own little Jerusalem right here in Provo.
I long for just an hour with my face in that Jerusalem sun with my scriptures open, reading about the places that I can see right in front of me.

But it isn't it wonderful that I can participate in the sacrament ordinance right here in Provo, Utah and it is just as cleansing as it is in the land where the great atonement took place?

I think the greatest truth that I learned in the Holy Land was that I didn't need to go there to find Jesus. He is wherever He is invited. Even in Provo.

Shabbat Shalom.
Have a peaceful Sabbath.