Easter Gift--Photo Essay of Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb

GETHSEMANE

And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane, which was a garden . . .

JST Mark 14:36

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Luke 22

The Garden Tomb

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and others with them.

And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

Luke 23-25

HAPPY EASTER!

And may the message of the resurrection, always bring . . . joy to your journey.

A full week of great blessings! . . . and photos from the temple mount

Life has been full this past week. I love full weeks!!

1. First off, last Sunday we attended the baby blessing of our first grandson! His father gave such a beautiful blessing. I was so proud of him. And it was so much fun to attend their ward and have a delicious lunch at Kali's parent's home afterward. I took pictures, but unfortunately I left my camera at their house and won't get it back until later today.

Which is why I don't have any pictures of our good times this past week. BUT . . . pictorially documented or not, we still had a great week.

2. My oldest daughter, Camille, celebrated her birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMILLE! I am going to be seeing her next week and am so excited for that. And (shhhh) but I bought her the cookbook by the ladies from "Our Best Bites" as a gift. I know she will be happy to have that. I am loving mine!

3. Last Saturday, our daughter Kristen and her friend Jayna arrived to spend five glorious days with us!! They both are elementary school teachers (interns) and were on spring break so they came to thaw out from the Utah cold. They hiked, biked, went to the movies, got facials, (thank you Kali!!) and shopped for graduation dresses (as they will graduate from BYU next Friday.) It was so much fun to have them here. Although I learned that with Wes, Michelle, the sister missionaries and our two guests all here, you do NOT want to be the last person to shower in the morning!

4. I found black rice!! I read a couple months ago that in addition to quinoa, black rice is the new super food. So I set out on a mission to find some. Target? No! Walmart? No! Sprouts? No! (But I found some very yummy dark brown rice). But then yesterday I went to a Chinese market looking for cellophane noodles for a luau I am doing later this month and discovered black rice!! I was so excited to eat it and made some for dinner last night. I will admit it just doesn't seem right to be eating black anything (unless it is licorice) but I really did like the flavor and the texture--which is nutty similar to brown.

5. I got back on my exercise schedule, but am having a hard time getting back to healthy eating. I have some treats tucked away in the pantry and was being really good about not eating them until everyone else started to eat them and then I just had to have some as well. But I tell ya, it is a bit embarrassing to be at the gym, pull out your pass to be scanned and have candy wrappers fall out of your pocket!

6. I have also been looking at my pictures from Israel and wanted to share a few more. Here are some from the Temple Mount. This is the same mountain where Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice, and where the temple of Solomon once stood. It is currently under Muslim rule and home to the Dome of the Rock--and is a beautiful place to visit. I really enjoyed the details of the buildings there and watching the people who came to worship.

The last picture of the young girl is my favorite. I love the look on her face. I also got a kick out of the little boy climbing over the wall. Boys will be boys where ever they live, apparently. :-) And notice the girls with the backpacks. One of them says Nike. I got a chuckle out of that.

The Holy Land--a Pictoral View of Where Christ Walked in His Final Days

Just on the other side of this hill, (The Mount of Olives) is Bethany. In Bethany the Savior found friendship, comfort and loving support during the final week of His ministry in the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

Each morning during His final days, He would descend the Mount of Olives, (where this next picture was taken) pass through or near the Garden of Gethsemane, cross the Kidron Valley, also known as the Valley of the Dead, and ascend to the Temple Mount where He would teach the people.


On His final night, His journey would not only take Him through Gethsemane, but He would stop there as well. Here in a grove of olive trees, Christ would take upon Himself the sins, suffering, sickness and imperfections of all mankind.

On Friday morning, following an illegal trial where He was sentenced to death, Christ was taken to Golgotha, where He would offer His life as a sacrifice for each of us.

“Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.” (Mark 14:14-15)

And they [brought] him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. (Mark 15: 22.25)



Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. (John 19:41)



They took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. (John 19:40)
And laid His body in the garden tomb.

"Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they (the women) came unto the sepulchre. . . . And they found the stone rolled away. . . .

And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus . . . .

And it came to pass . . . [that] two men stood by them in shining garments . . .and they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

He is not here, but is risen. . . "

(Luke 24:1-6)

And so it was on that first Easter morning that Jesus Christ was resurrected. He suffered that we might overcome, He died that we might live.

It is interesting to note that each day of the last week of His life bore testimony of His divine mission.

Symbolically, mountain tops and temples are representative of Heaven. Christ descending the Mount of Olives each day was symbolic of His descending to earth. Here on earth His journey would take Him through the suffering of Gethsemane to His death on the cross.

And yet, on the third day, He would cross the gulf of death (Valley of the Dead) and ascend back to His Heavenly Father (symbolized by his ascension to the temple mount).

Because He suffered for all our pains---physical, emotional, and spiritual--all our wounds and heartaches can be healed.

Because He lives again, so can we.

And because He has shown us the way to return to our Father in Heaven, so may we return to His presence, if we follow the path He trod.

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives !
For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only begotten of the Father—
That by him and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

(Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24)

HAPPY EASTER!