9/07/07

James Heaton
Journal Entry – Today was the first day of class and I am definitely glad to get underway with our new schedule. Our first class was Old Testament with Brother Victor Ludlow. I think that this is the first religion class that I have ever been nervous about, mainly because the Old Testament isn’t as familiar to me as all of the other standard works. Brother Ludlow briefly mentioned a few of the historical Old Testament sites that we would be visiting, and it made me wonder what it will feel like to actually be places where miracles were performed, battles were fought, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ was taught to children of God. As Brother Ludlow began to end class for the day, he counseled us to remember what we are like right now. He left us with a promise that if we would make good choices, the next four months would drastically alter the direction and course our lives will take.
Our next class was our Ancient Near Eastern Studies class with Brother Huntington. There we received more detail about our class outings and the requirements for his class. It seems so surreal that we actually get to go and visit all these places that we have read about in the scriptures for so long.
The highlight of the day came in the evening as we ventured into Old Jerusalem to the Western Wall (a.k.a. Wailing Wall). We were told that we were going to observe the start of the Jewish Shabbat which traditionally begins every Friday night at Sunset. So, at the stroke of 5:20pm, our class met Brother Ludlow at the base exit of the Jerusalem Center. He led us into Jerusalem, explaining a little more about some of the common customs practiced by Israel and history about some of the sites. Having never been in the Old City that late, it was interesting to see the crowds of Islamic people closing down their shops and heading home for the evening. Many of the people here recognize us as “the Mormons”. Here in Jerusalem is the probably the only place on earth where we appreciate being known as “the Mormons” instead of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, after a brief walk through the center of Old Jerusalem, we arrived. Having never even heard of the Western Wall, I didn’t really know what to expect to find once we got there. And I definitely wasn’t expecting what I found. Of all the experiences I have had with different religions, I have never experienced anything so completely foreign. Yet at the same time I caught little glimpses of practices that seemed so strikingly similar to my own religion that it made me feel at ease during my time there. The Western Wall is not the Wall of the Temple. It is the wall of the courtyard that is east of the site where the Jewish temple was in the days of Jesus Christ. It is a place where the Jewish people mourn for the loss of their temple. They also write on little pieces of paper that they insert in crevices of the wall. These papers are prayers offered to God, pleading with Him to grant them specific blessings. The wall is divided into two sections. One section is where the Jewish men are permitted to come and offer prayers, read scriptures, and sing hymns. The other section is for the Jewish women. It was fascinating for me to see men of all ages brought together by a common belief to worship at a holy site. I guess it isn’t surprising that this experience made me reminisce about priesthood gatherings. To see fathers bring their small sons and teach them the traditions of their religion that is so important to their everyday lives was inspiring to say the least. Another aspect that also really hit me was how different some of the Jews worshipped. There were both Secular Jews and Orthodox Jews present at the holy site. But even those in the same sects worshipped differently which reminded me of the conversion process and how each being’s personal relationship with God is so important and special. I guess coming out of that experience, I felt a deep admiration and respect for the Jewish people that I haven’t ever felt before. I feel like I walked away with the experience of seeing the personal beliefs of hundreds of God fearing, faithful people.