Four students who studied abroad in Jerusalem last Fall Semester 2018 shared what they learned from some of their favorite experiences in the Holy Land. A fifth student said he’s most looking forward to walking where the Savior walked when he attends the BYU Jerusalem Center this Spring Semester 2019.
A faculty member said the greatest advantage of the program is the amount of time it gives students to study the life of the Savior in greater depth.
Eric Marlowe, an associate professor of Religious Education, said he attended the BYU Jerusalem Center 28 years ago. In an email, he shared an analogy he likes to use to explain his experience there:
“I’ve always known my dad, but one day in my 20s we went hiking and fishing on a ranch where he worked one summer as a teenager. I saw the fence he put up that summer, we fished the bend in the river that he fished during his time there, and hiked a nearby mountain he had hiked several times. This experience did not necessarily change my appreciation or regard for my dad, but I did feel like I understood and could relate a little more to his life as a youth.”
Marlowe explained how his time abroad in Jerusalem didn’t necessarily change his testimony of the Savior any more than spending a similar amount of time studying Christ’s life at home would have done. “But I do feel the experience has enabled me to understand and relate more to His life and teachings as they correspond to the physical world in which He lived.”
Marlowe added, “The largest advantage I see to a semester in Israel is the amount of time and focus such an experience provides [for] an individual to study in depth the scriptures, teachings, related geography, and cultures, which is generally an amount of time you and I would not dedicate otherwise.”
Finding a testimony of the Savior
Corbin Maciel, a sophomore from Oregon majoring in biochemistry, said being in the Holy Land helped him gain a greater understanding of the Old and New Testaments by providing him with physical and historical context. “Whenever I see a picture of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane or a picture of Him [healing the man] at the pool of Siloam, I feel an immense sense of gratitude because I was there. But that’s not a key component of a testimony by any means.
“No one needs to go to the Holy Land to have a true testimony of Christ. The most sacred places on the earth are still very much the temples. I wouldn’t sacrifice going to the temple for the Holy Land at any moment in time.
“I’m not trying to minimize my experience. Everything has become much more real to me. I saw those things. The pool of Siloam is there, the Garden of Gethsemane is there, and that’s where the greatest miracle was performed… seeing those things has really affected the way that I read the New Testament… because I’ve seen those places.”
Matthew Jensen, a senior from Oregon majoring in human development at BYU in Provo, said there were some places they visited in the program where he didn’t feel the Spirit. “It helps to give context in your mind for the scriptures, but I never felt closer to God or felt the Spirit stronger at any of the sites we visited than I do when I go to the temple. That was kind of a testimony builder to me.
“God doesn’t reserve the most spiritual experiences for those who can go to Jerusalem. He makes them available to everyone… who is worthy to feel those things.”
Lily Hazlett, a sophomore from Utah majoring in hospitality and tourism management, agreed with Jensen. She said it’s interesting visiting all of the sites in the Holy Land where Christ used to be, but people shouldn’t freak out.
“Yeah it’s where He walked, but He’s not there right now,” she explained. Like Jensen and Maciel, Hazlett, she compared those feelings with how she feels in the temple, which she said is a place where she knows Christ does walk today.
Jake Henstrom, a junior from Minnesota majoring in peacebuilding, said attending the BYU Jerusalem Center is a great opportunity. “You don’t need to be there though to have a testimony of Christ. Because of what Christ did in Jerusalem He’s everywhere and you can feel Him anywhere. And that’s the beauty of it…it’s unlike anything else.”
Henstrom, like Maciel, Hazlett, and Jensen, attended the program last Fall Semester 2018. He said he loved being surrounded by some of the most devoted and committed people in the world. “I’m talking about Jews, Arabs, and Christians, as well as the students I was surrounded by. They were all super down to earth, spiritual giants and very accepting people.
“I liked how all the students had their own struggles and trials. I was surrounded by people who had known Jesus was real since the day they were born, and I had friends there who started the program completely atheist. They’d lost their belief in God, but for whatever reason, they’d been led to join this program and we all grew together.”
Their favorite places and what they learned
Maciel said his favorite place to visit in Jerusalem was the Garden of Gethsemane. “You’d think it would be a really somber and sad experience… but it didn’t have that effect on me. As I pondered on things, I felt a sense of joy like the Savior did it. He overcame sin and death and because of that we can all overcome it.”
When asked about the culture, Maciel said he could definitely recognize a division between the Palestinians and Israelis when he was in Jerusalem. “But they’ve figured out a way to coexist fairly well. The Palestinians stick with Palestinians and Israelis stick with the Israelis… so they’re pretty separate but the cultures are amazing.”
Maciel said people can learn a lot from the Jews’ example of devotion and worship. “Something that was awesome that I want to apply here… is the way the Jews celebrate the coming in of the Sabbath. For them the Sabbath starts Friday night when the sun goes down and lasts until the sun goes down again on Saturday night.
“Sometimes the typical response is, ‘I’ve got till midnight Saturday night, that’s when the Sabbath starts, but I can do whatever I want up until then…’ We might see Sunday as a day we’re restricted from doing certain things, whereas they see the Sabbath as the most important and glorious day of the week.”
On Friday night, Maciel said the Jewish people could be found in the synagogue celebrating. “They’re singing and doing these ritual dances. They’re all happy and excited the Sabbath is happening. And at the end of the Sabbath they’re sad that the best day of the week is over.
“I thought that was an incredible part of the culture… I want to honor the Sabbath by getting to bed early so I can be awake and really pay attention to what I’m doing as I partake of the sacrament and seek to gain greater knowledge of gospel truths.”
Maciel added one of his favorite things he learned from the Palestinians was their reverence for sacred sites and how firm they are in their standards. “Times are changing, dress is more lenient, but they want everyone to be covered and well dressed. I loved the sanctity they had for their sacred sites and I think that's something we could always be better about. Remembering the true sanctity of our sacred places like the temple or even the chapel of a church building.”
Henstrom said he loved going to the Garden of Gethsemane and visiting the Dome of the Rock, which is a shrine built on the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. “Any place that I could just be alone and think, ponder and meditate… To be able to feel the Spirit and get so many answers to prayers helped me repair and strengthen my relationship with God.”
Henstrom said the classes he took were awesome but attending the BYU Jerusalem Center might not be what everyone is expecting. “It’s not strictly a cultural experience. That’s not the focus of it. It’s very rigorous. The classes and schedule can be really difficult… but you have an opportunity to really look at your testimony and where you’re at and change it… to look at where you stand with God and change it. And that’s the most important thing you’ll do the rest of your life. That’s how it was for me.”
The antidote to racism
Hazlett said her time abroad has helped her gain a different perspective of people. “You get to see people in their homes for who they truly are and not the way society has portrayed them to be.”
“Traveling is the antidote for racism,” said Jensen. “When we were in Greece, I said to Lily, ‘The more traveling I do, the more I realize there are cultural differences, but everywhere people are people. People have lives. They care about things. They have hopes and joys and problems.”
Hazlett added, “Being with different cultures so much it’s eye-opening to see people as people. You start to overlook differences. We’re all children of God. You find a greater love and respect for other people regardless of where they come from and what they believe.”
When asked why she wanted to attend BYU Jerusalem, Hazlett said she grew up hearing about her mother’s experiences at the Center and always thought it sounded like fun. But Hazlett said she didn't seriously consider going until her brother and cousin wanted to apply. “And after living in different countries, I wanted to learn more about other cultures,” she said.
Jensen said he has wanted to go ever since being in Seminary. He said one of his teachers had traveled to Israel and shared his experiences with the class, but years later it was his mother who eventually convinced him to apply for the program. He said she felt prompted to encourage him to pursue his dream of traveling to the Holy Land.
Hazlett and Jensen, who got engaged March 15, first met in the program last semester. “You’re not supposed to date while you’re there,” Jensen admitted. He explained how he and Hazlett were very careful not to do anything culturally insensitive by flaunting their budding relationship. Hazlett and Jensen said everyone knew and supported them but they still wanted to be respectful and focus on their friendship. “We were trying not to be overly obvious about it… We didn’t want to detract from our own experiences or anyone else’s.”
The two laughed as they recounted the story of a wedding announcement they discovered while in Jerusalem of another couple who had met in the program. “It said, ‘They came to find themselves, but instead they found each other,’” recalled Jensen, making his fiancée groan and roll her eyes. They described the wedding announcement as cringe-y and awkward and said it became an inside joke amongst their friends.
Jensen and Hazlett listed several places they loved visiting, including the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum. Hazlett said the day they went to Capernaum there weren’t many people so it was very quiet and peaceful. “There were also a lot of cool historical places we visited that weren’t Biblical,” she said.
One of those places Jensen listed was Petra in Jordan. “We visited a lot of monasteries in Greece,” he said. “You learn about Biblical history but also religious history over the past 200 years.”
Walking in the Savior’s footsteps
Demetrius De Moors, a senior from Georgia majoring in business management, said he’s excited to attend BYU Jerusalem this Spring Semester because he hopes to one day work in the Middle East.
He said, “The thing I’m most looking forward to is learning more about the Savior’s life, the context of Christ’s story, and the opportunity to walk where the Savior walked… How many chances am I going to have to go live in the Holy Land for four months studying about the history, the geography… and the people who make that place what it is?”
When asked if there was a specific place he’d like to see, De Moors immediately said the Mount of Olives. He briefly explained how growing up in the southern United States he studied the Bible a lot. He said the Mount of Olives has special meaning to him since the scriptures teach Christ will appear there again at His second coming.
“I think it’d be really cool to stand there and know its historical significance, but there’s also going to be a lot of big events that happen in that very spot in the years to come,” said De Moors.
When describing the application process for BYU Jerusalem, which is online, De Moors said it was easy. He said he had to write a lot of essays that were church related but it only took him 25 minutes. “I was thinking it was going to be more rigorous than it is…I wrote about how I intend to work in the Holy Land in the future, my immense love for studying its history… and [my desire to learn] more about [the Savior] and the context of His life so I can walk in His footsteps.”
In a general conference talk from April 1974, President Thomas S. Monson said, “We need not visit the Holy Land to feel him close to us. We need not walk by the shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked.
“In a very real sense, all can walk where Jesus walked when, with his words on our lips, his spirit in our hearts, and his teachings in our lives, we journey through mortality.
“I would hope that we would walk as he walked—with confidence in the future, with an abiding faith in his Father, and a genuine love for others.”
Writer: Emi Wainwright