Shabbot (Sabbath)

My first Shabbot in the Holy Land
In a land where three major religions are prominent, the Sabbath day is an interesting issue. For the Muslims it is Friday during the day, for the Jews it goes from sunset Friday until sunset Saturday, and for the Christians it is Sunday. Due to complications that are above my knowledge our Sabbath here is on Saturday. I am adjusting to referring to gospel doctrine class as Saturday school or my personal favorite, Fast Saturday. Despite the new lingo, the jet lag and brimming schedule have outweighed any reasonable cognate thought of what day it really is anyway and therefore I have adjusted easily.
The sacrament meeting are in a beautiful auditorium that overlooks the old city of Jerusalem in all of it’s Glory. It is indescribable to hear someone quote a scripture and look out and identify with where that event actually occurred or to ponder on the Savior’s atonement and know that it happened just five minutes away.

Following our meetings we walked to the Garden tomb. This is one of two locations that claim to be the place of the burial and, more importantly, the resurrection of Christ. There is some controversy between many scholars on this topic but as I spent time there I felt assured that the ACTUAL sight is of less importance than the spiritual significance of what happened. Whether or not that empty tomb was due to the resurrected Son of God or whether there is another story behind it, the fact is – Christ’s tomb was empty. What a miracle. An empty tomb, a resurrected being, a promise for all.

While at the tomb we had our first encounter of being asked about our beliefs. Just outside the tomb a young man approached us eager to know about religion. He was Jewish from birth but had come to feel inclined towards a belief in Jesus Christ. He has been studying for years and had come to the tomb to encounter other fellow Christians who could share with him what they believe. For the first time in my life – I was silent. As an agreement between the church and Israel, we are under a strict no proselyting restriction EVEN if someone approaches you. “We can’t talk about it” was the response. It was odd not to jump at the chance to share with someone who was so eagerly seeking and yet I wouldn’t dare tamper with the church’s privilege to be in this land.