.to know Him.

there’s a lot of big things i’ve learned here the past few months.

but this one might be one of the biggest.

and it’s been thoughts and feelings so near and dear to my heart,

i’m not quite sure how to articulate it.

but i felt impressed to share it,

so i’ll try.

here goes something.

have you ever had something you've heard your entire life,

but it took awhile until it actually clicked and you finally understood it?

today was one of those days.

the Atonement is so multi-faceted, 

it's something i'll always be trying to understand for probably the rest of my life...

but today i realized that Christ wouldn't be who He is without us, 

and we wouldn't be who we are without Him.

we're made up of moments and experiences. 

to be without one of those moments, or one of those experiences,

would mean for us to be a different person.

but we are who we are because of the moments and experiences we have. 

and Jesus Christ knows exactly who each of us is,

and who we each have the potential to become,

all because of His atoning sacrifice -

to personally suffer, empathize, and aid us

through each of our moments and experiences that make up who we are.

that being said, Christ has come to know each of us...

but how do we come to know Christ?

being here in the holy land has definitely offered a lot of perspective

and factual knowledge in that regard.

i've read the scriptures, multiple talks, books, and articles on the Savior and His life.

i've learned about His character and how he responded in various situations, 

how His ultimate goal was to bring glory to the Father...

i've seen bethlehem where He was born, 

walked on the steps he took to the temple, 

seen multiple places where he may or may not have ascended into Heaven... 

all fun facts, right?

but i've learned that even though all these things were helpful in gaining a more rooted, 

clear knowledge and testimony of the Savior,

it wasn’t so much the content of the experiences

but rather why we have the experiences we do.

i believe we're given the individual experiences, opportunities, 

situations, trials, and circumstances for many reasons,

but ultimately because it helps us come to know Jesus Christ.

because, in essence,

they are the very things that make up who He is as well.

because the experiences and moments in my life and your life,

make up experiences and moments in Christ's life.

there's all these overarching principles in the universe of love, fear, addiction, death, joy... 

and two people can learn one of these principles very different ways.

but Christ understands each of those perspectives perfectly 

because He's got every experience and every moment of everyone on His shoulders, 

to help aid, comfort, and guide us what we individually go through.

His understanding would be incomplete without you or i.

for instance, maybe from one of our individual life experiences,

we taught the Savior something about love as He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane.

not only did that contribute to His understanding of the principle,

but also it would be very different, less personal, and less meaningful

to have a Savior try and empathize through someone's else's perspective on love,

regardless of how similar the experience might have been.

the Atonement is meaningful because Jesus Christ 

exactly knows and perfectly understands

you and i.

and every person we meet and come to understand

as we exercise the pure love of Christ,

is another piece to the puzzle.

as we take our own experiences and come to know others,

we come to know Christ

because His understanding is in each of us.

thinking about this made me realize 

the worth that each of us has as well - 

that Christ needs us just as much as we need Him.

i don't think Christ would have gone through what He had 

if He didn't perfectly understand that worth.

and by knowing how much He loves us,

should reflect in how much we should also value each other.

long thoughts short:

we're all made up of moments and experiences.

we share those moments and experiences with Christ.

He perfectly knows us individually,

and we come to know Him.

as we strive to develop charity,

we take hold of His perfect understanding,

and come to know and love others

which furthers our knowledge of the Savior.

He needs us, and we need Him.

He died for us because He understood our worth,

and everything in our lives revolves around coming to understand
His worth in ours.

.brings out the best.

do you have a class called “field trips?”

i sure do.

every monday.

here was this weeks adventures.

augusta victoria tower.

prophet samuel’s tomb.

looking over bethlehem.

zedekiah’s cave - complete with shadow making and singing ‘in the jungle’ with awesome cave acoustics.

7 11? no, no. 7-to-11 – here’s the spot for our daily ice cream and coke runs.

eating falafel in the middle east. yup, that just happened.

a jerusalem rainstorm is one of mother natures finest gifts.

st. james cathedral – next to the salt lake temple, probably the most beautiful religious building i have ever had the pleasure of beholding.

singing hymns and being picturesque at the garden tomb.

and last but not least,
friday at sunset.
also known as the beginning of sabbath here.

we went to the western wall as group,

and were able to go stick a prayer in the wall,

sing and dance with the floods of people there,

and bask in the glory of beautiful ritual and devotion.

everywhere i go, it really impresses upon me how dedicated

the people are to their faith.

whether it’s a christian, jewish, or muslim site

there is a feeling of reverence and commitment

to the ground they walk on

and the God they worship.

regardless of any religious similarities or differences,

one thing for certain,

is that it makes me want to be better.

more devoted,

more dedicated,

and more committed,

to my own beliefs and faith.

to do and be the best that i can

all because i love the Lord.

i’m grateful this place brings out the best.

.adventure chapter one.

wow.

that pretty much sums up the past few days.

i wish i could’ve captured the moment of

coming around the corner on the bus

and seeing the dome of the rock for the first time.

or coming into the jerusalem center

(aka the palace on the hill)

and my jaw dropping for how nice everything is - 

the floors, the pianos, the food, the staff…

THIS VIEW.

wowowowow.

going into the old city for the first time was somethin else too.

you kind of learn to love the smell of DI mixed with spices.

i love hearing hebrew and arabic everywhere.

i love the palestinian/israeli accents speaking english.

everywhere you look there’s something of historical or religious significance,

so it’s hard to be bored here.

and it’s a comforting thought that i don’t need to see/do everything all at once,

because i get to be here for three and half blissful months.

i’ll try to keep bragging to a minimum.

i love that i get to be on this adventure with my carl.

i love my flying buddies jessica and jake.

my humble abode, the palace.

it's real easy to study with a view like this... kind of.

i love my roommate grace. the first night we were here, the muslim call to prayer was blasting through the city at 4 am (like it does every morning), and grace starts talking in her sleep saying, "wow, i'm learning so much!" :) i knew our friendship was fate the minute she started singing one of my favorite songs that probably only 13 people on the planet know. and talk about one of the coolest cats i've ever met, seriously - she has lived all around the world, speaks spanish and german, sings and plays the guitar like nobody's business, is a car mechanic, professional photographer, avid star wars fan, not to mention has best taste in music... i'm sure there'll be more to add to the list everyday. 

i love that gabby and jenni are my other roommates and that we like to wear sun hats. and that we can laugh at night and appreciate things like boy band look-a-likes from the 90s.

i love just about everything in the markets and know i'm going to be a very poor person by the end of this trip.

i love i get to hang out with these kids every. single. day.

i love the musical parties every night.

i love that i get to walk on these slippery city steps.

i love how all the locals are photogenic.

especially the cute, little ones that smile and throw flowers at me.

i love jewish quarter traveling buddies.

 i love finally standing in front of something i've stared at pictures of for six months.

thumbs up for middle eastern produce, coke, and one shekel (30 cent) popsicles.

i love darling friends that are stoked about zechariah's tomb.

i love the sunsets here that never fail to impress.