October 12, 2007

Brandon Seegmiller
12 Oct 2007
What a restful day I enjoyed today.
Bro. Ludlow, as he was explaining the Proverbs and wisdom of King Solomon, helped us also understand the wisdom behind trying and testing everything that we believe. This scientific method of proving all things is the base of our individual conversion as Latter-day Saints, which is why the educated in the church are strengthened in their beliefs rather than diminished as those of other sects and denominations would be.
Bro. Huntington put the Book of Judges into a historical and archaeological context for us. First of all, the Canaanites, at this point an idolatrous nation, may have been a righteous people at one time to inherit this land of promise, but, having rejected prophets and clear warnings, they were ripe for destruction. After Israel’s incomplete success in destroying the Canaanites and obtaining the land of promise, they had no idea how to farm and make use of it. Bro. Huntington hypothesizes that the Israelites in desperation turned to the native Canaanites to assist them and give them agricultural advice. Teaching them all they knew about plants, climate, seasons, terraces, cisterns and towers, they would also have taught concerning Baal and Ashtaroth, the gods over rain and fertility. The Israelites assimilated it all and digressed into a malignant cycle Bro. Hoerth refers to as the 4 S’s: Sin, Servitude, Supplication, Salvation. This is remarkably similar to almost every historical society, particularly the Lehite culture on the other side of the world 500 years later.
I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark with a group. This was particularly fun considering our journeys in Egypt just two weeks ago. As much as we loved visiting Egypt and appreciated the people, I’m not sure how highly we regard the quality of life in that land, which is why everyone chuckled when someone welcomed Dr. Jones to Cairo, the “city of the living, Paradise on Earth.”
The other movie I saw, called “Exodus,” based historically just after WWII, tells the story of a group of Jews who are trying to fulfill the Zionist dream of securing a home in Israel. Illustrating the experiences individuals of the time may have had, I feel like the movie helped me see what was involved in establishing the Jewish homeland in the global setting of that time.
I also scaled the Tower of David with Greg Marsh and Rebecca Redd. At the top, the view was the best I’ve had of the city so far. They also have a marker at the top that labels significant sites east of the Tower. Alongside the Dome of the Rock, al-Aqsa Mosque, and The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is labeled “Mormon University” with an arrow pointing to our school. I am so pleased with how well we have been integrated into this cityscape. After taking some pictures, I turned to the south, noticing a particular plot of barren land in the clean and unsoiled Armenian quarter. This was the spot on Mt. Zion at the southwest corner of the wall pointed out by Bro. Ludlow weeks earlier as an ideal location for a temple. I would definitely tend to agree. Only time will tell where the Lord will have His temples built in Jerusalem.