Day 9 - Galilee

Today was another wonderful day in the Holy Land. We stayed overnight in Galilee at Nof-Ginosar. It is right on the sea of Galilee so we could see the sea while we were eating breakfast.

Our first stop this morning was Tel-Dan. Currently, Tel-Dan is a nature reserve. It is this beautiful area at the headwaters of the Jordan river. In ancient times it was the area where the tribe of Dan dwelt. It is a Tel because cities were built on top of old destroyed cities creating a hill that archeologists can now dig through to learn about the various layers of civilization. We went on a little nature walk through Tel-Dan. We stopped to look at a fig tree. We also stopped at a mill. The mill was only 500 years old (not very old in Israel). We talked about the process of milling wheat and a mill stone. Christ referenced a millstone about people who cause trauma to children. We talked about the power of Christ's atonement to break down the millstone (both for the traumatized and the one who causes the trauma). There were broken millstones along the path, which helped us to visualize the path. We also visited the ruins of Tel-Dan.

Tel-Dan is a national park in Israel

The Jordan River

A nature walk in Tel-Dan

An old mill

A broken millstone

More of the nature walk

We with our guide, Steven Rona 

Blake and Debbie with Steven Rona 

An olive tree

An olive tree

Ruins at Tel-Dan

Ruins at Tel-Dan 

Ruins at Tel-Dan

We got back on the bus and drove past Caesarea Philippi. This is where Peter reaffirmed his belief in Jesus Christ. As we drove past we read together from Matthew 16:

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Driving by Caesarea Philippi

We drove through Golan Heights. This area was part of Syria until 1967 when Israel took it during the 6-day war. As we drove through this area there were many signs of conflict. Fenced areas were warning of danger because of mines. There were tanks - both remnants of old tanks and functional ones. This area looks down over Galilee.

An old tank by the side of the road

Our next stop was Capernaum. All the signs at Capernaum say: "Capharnaum the town of Jesus", which is a little ironic since Jesus said, "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." 85% of Christ's recorded miracles were performed in Capernaum. Today Capernaum is in ruins. Just inside Capernaum, there is a statue of Peter. He is holding a key. It is a really beautiful statue. We sat near the statue and discussed the many miracles Christ performed here. We talked about how for many of the miracles there is a personal and a public aspect. For example, we talked about the story where some friends bring their lame friend and lower him through the ceiling and Christ tells the man that his sins are forgiven and heals him. Christ forgiving him of his sins is a personal miracle, no one else can really see that. Christ healing him is public, it is visible. We talked about the centurion and the faith he had. We also discussed that Christ could not go to the centurion's home because it would have made Christ unclean according to Jewish law. The centurion knew this and insisted that Christ not enter his home, to which Christ says that his faith is greater than all of Israel because he understands that Christ can heal from anywhere.

Capernaum 

A statue of Peter

We moved into the synagogue in Capernaum. When Capernaum was excavated there was only one synagogue and based on the style of the synagogue it is likely the synagogue would have been there in the first century and Christ would have visited and taught there. We opened our scriptures and learned together. Steven Rona taught us about prayer shawls and Jewish worship in a synagogue. The prayer shawl also called a Tallit has 613 symbols (knots, fringes, corners) to match the number of commandments found in the Torah. Additionally, the tallit is meant to provide strength.

The synogugue at Capernuam 

Steven explained the significance of a prayer shawl

Studying the scriptures together

We read more of the miracles Christ performed. We spoke about the woman who was healed when she touched his robe. We also recounted the story of the little girl he raised from the dead. There are a few interesting similarities between these two stories. First, the woman had the issue of blood for 12 years and Jarius's daughter was 12 years old. Additionally, the woman likely touched Jesus' tallit to be healed, and Christ refers to Jarius's daughter as Talitha, which is roughly translated to Little Lamb. Steven told us about how he interprets anytime we read in the bible that the people were told not to tell others about what occurred and that something sacred was taught that would not have been written down. His thought is that when the girl was raised from the dead Christ taught about eternal families and the joy Talitha and her parents would feel when they were united after death on the other side. Because of the sacred way it was taught it was not included in the writings of the bible. We ended our time here listening together to the song families can be together forever. It is a very sacred experience to talk about the doctrines of Christ in these places near where he would have lived and taught.

It was time for lunch. We headed to St. Peter's restaurant. I wanted to try St. Peter's fish. It is a whole fish caught in the Sea of Galilee. It was delicious. Some people's fish had a shekel in their mouth because of the story of Christ telling Peter to go catch a fish and promising him that it would contain the required temple offering for both of them (one-half shekel each).

St. Peter's restaurant

View from St. Peter's restaurant. It looks out over the sea of Galilee

My lunch

The sea of Galilee

After lunch, we stopped by an exhibit near Ginosar, which contained a ship from around the time of Christ. Some fisherman working in the sea of Galilee came across the ship. It has been preserved. No one knows who owns the ship, but it was ancient and could have been from around the time of Christ.

The "Jesus" ship

The sea of Galilee

A cat living near the sea of Galilee. There are cats everywhere in Israel. A lot of them are calico. 

In the afternoon we headed to the Mount of Beatitudes. This is the area where Christ would have taught the sermon on the mount. A church was built here. We walked through the church, which was very beautiful. It had stained glass in the dome with each beatitude written in Latin. We found a quiet corner of the gardens to sit together to read Matthew 5. As we read we compared the sermon given in the new testament to the sermon Christ gave in the Book of Mormon. As we noted the differences, Mr. Rona crafted a Beatitude from the additional words found in the Book of Mormon: "Blessed are they who come unto me for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost." We also pondered the new covenant and the changes to the law Christ made as he fulfilled the law and gave a higher law. We read in Jeremiah 31 where Christ promises to give the Higher Law which was initially promised after He "took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" and discussed how this wording is similar to temple marriage. The spirit was very strong as we sat and pondered together.

The church on the Mount of Beatitudes 

The alter inside the church

Tile work on the floor. This section shows fortitude.

The dome inside of the church. The Beatitudes are written on the stained glass around the dome. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy

Flowers on the Mount of Beatitudes

Reading scriptures together. Alison and I decided to bring this small set of physical scriptures to use in the Holy Land. This set of scriptures is special to me because it was given to me on my birthday by a recent convert near the end of my mission. When I came home I began using electronic scriptures. These scriptures haven't been used often until this trip. 

Matthew 5

A flower on the Mount of Beatitudes

Our last event of the day was a boat ride on the sea of Galilee. We didn't really know what to expect, but when we arrived we started to walk onto this rather large vessel. It didn't look like it was going to be much fun. To get on the vessel you had to step over a gap between the dock and the ship. Blake and I hung back to help make sure everyone made it across okay. After everyone was across we walked through the ship to find a small wooden boat on the other side. We all loaded into the boat and off we went. It was a peaceful night on the sea of Galilee. The sun was setting and the moon was clearly visible. We pulled out our scriptures and read. We read about Christ crossing from the Jewish side to the pagan side and the disciple's fear as the tempest picked up and their awe as Christ calmed the waves. We sang Master the Tempest is Raging. We also read about Christ casting out legion into the swine. We read about Peter walking on water and his faltering faith as he calls out to the Lord to save him. In a way he is really calling Jesus' name - Joshua means Lord saves in Hebrew. This is one of my favorite scripture stories because Christ tells Peter he has "little faith," however, even his little amount of faith allows him to briefly walk on water.

A boat on the sea of Galilee 

The sea of Galilee 

Tiberias from the sea of Galilee

Before Christ walked on water, he wanted to be alone to mourn the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. However, he is swarmed by the multitudes and has compassion and heals their sick. Even in his grief, he thought of others. This is similar to the account in 3 Nephi where Christ feels compassion and heals the multitudes in the new world as well. After he heals them he feeds them with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes. The disciples say there isn't enough food, but Christ performs the miracle. In the end, there were 12 baskets left over, enough for all of the disciples to prove that Christ has power over their doubts. It was a peaceful way to end a day full of spirit. We are so excited to continue to learn and have these special experiences throughout the Holy Land.