Exodus of the Children of Israel Cont. (Jerusalem in Review)

Ramese II. This pic goes along with the Egypt post.

Karnak Temple. (Pic with the Egypt post)

Tel Beersheba
This is where Abraham dug his well and affirmed it by covenant, left here to offer Isaac on Mt. Moriah, and where Jacob spoke with God. A four horned altar is also found here, one that was condemned later because it was Pagan. There is so much history at Tel Beersheba- we stood where Abraham once was!

View on top of Mt. Sinai, after sunrise.
Sunrise on Mt. Sinai.

Moses stood here on top of this mountain where he received so much revelation but also so much ridicule and temptation from Satan. Satan tried to get Moses to forget who he was. One of my class members asked my group the same question and I ask you “What is Satan doing to distract you from reaching your highest potential and becoming your best self and to forget who you are?”
As we were on top of Mt. Sinai I also recorded this in my journal
“When we started the hike, we could see the starts and the milky way so clearly, they were so bright, I’d never seen them as bright. But as the sun rose they faded away, over powered by the glory and magnitude of the sun. The sun provided us with so much warmth on top of this mountain and it gave light and life to everything around and unfolded a spectacular view of the Sinai wilderness, of rolling mountains for miles.
Christ is the overpowering glory that lights each of us. He is the light in my life and the source of happiness and strength that I draw from just like this earth from the sun. Everything testifies of Christ, every sun rise whether on Mt. Sinai or back home testifies of him.
Heavenly Father must have loved his children so much to make this earth so beautiful. If He is aware of this desert, He is surely aware of me, my concerns and desires and I know He loves me and He does each of us.

Wilderness of Zin
Sede Boker is a lookout of the wilderness of Zin. This is where Moses sent spies to scout out the land of Canaan during the exodus of the children of Israel. While all the other spies came back scared of the "giants" they saw, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones to come back faithful to the Lord and believing that he would help and protect them. I love their example of pure faith and believing that anything is possible with the Lord on their side.

The Red Sea with Aubrey and Jenna

Going to the Red Sea reminded me of Elder Jeffery R. Holland's talk "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence"

Speaking of revelation he shares the scripture:
I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. "Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. "[D&C 8:2–3; emphasis added]
Speaking of receiving revelation, Holland compares it to the children of Israel at the Red Sea.
Fear can play a paralyzing role in receiving revelation.
That is exactly the problem that beset the children of Israel at the edge of the Red Sea. It has everything to do with holding fast to earlier illumination. The record says, "And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid."
Some, just like those Paul had described earlier, said, "Let's go back. This isn't worth it. We must have been wrong. That probably wasn't the right spirit telling us to leave Egypt." What they actually said to Moses was, "Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? . . . It had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness" (Exodus 14:10–12).
And I have to say, "What about that which has already happened? What about the miracles that got you here? What about the frogs and the lice? What about the rod and the serpent, the river and the blood? What about the hail, the locusts, the fire, and the firstborn sons?"
How soon we forget. It would not have been better to stay and serve the Egyptians, and it is not better to remain outside the Church nor to reject a mission call nor to put off marriage and so on and so on forever. Of course our faith will be tested as we fight through these self-doubts and second thoughts. Some days we will be miraculously led out of Egypt--seemingly free, seemingly on our way--only to come to yet another confrontation, like all that water lying before us. At those times we must resist the temptation to panic and to give up. At those times fear will be the strongest of the adversary's weapons against us.
After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel his love and hear the word of the Lord, "go forward." Don't fear, don't vacillate, don't quibble, don't whine. Nobody had ever crossed the Red Sea this way, but so what? There's always a first time. With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet. In the words of Joseph Smith, "Brethren [and, I would add, sisters], shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!" (D&C 128:22).
The last lesson from the Lord's spirit of revelation in the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea is that, along with the illuminating revelation that points us toward a righteous purpose or duty, God will also provide the means and power to achieve that purpose. Trust in that eternal truth. If God has told you something is right, if something is indeed true for you, he will provide the way for you to accomplish it.
I loved being reminded of these lessons as we went to the Red Sea.


The Jordan River, where Christ was baptized.
Judean Wilderness
This is what the children of Israel crossed as they made their way into Jerusalem. As they crossed the river Jordan it was symbolic of baptism and as they progressed through the Exodus, the various places they came too were symbolic of the different degrees of glory, Jerusalem representing the Celestial kingdom.

I loved being able to follow the Exodus of the Children of Israel. We were able to cross in 2 days, what took them 40 years.
Here are a few more lessons from the Old Testament:
-Heavenly Father knew that Abraham had the faith and potential in him, he made Abraham do what he did though to prove to himself and to recognize the potential in himself.
-We can liken all scriptures unto ourselves, even the Old Testament.
- I never enjoyed the OT and now I love it! I found heroes in the scriptures that I never had before.
-Going to the Holy Land made the scripture so real to me
-I remember thinking specifically one day “wow, the church get’s truer every day” and it's so true!
-The geography of the holy land even testifies of Christ and everything in the OT is a type of Christ or symbolically testifies of Christ, even the Exodus of the Children of Israel and many miracles that happened along the way.


The dead sea has the highest salt concentration of any other body of water on Earth, at 33%. Utah’s Great Salt Lake has 22% and for comparison, the oceans have a salt content of 3%. The geography of the Holy Land is the same as the geography of Utah, dead sea, salt lake, river Jordan only opposite, the children of Israel made their exodus east, the pioneers made theirs west and there are great similarities in both of their exoduses. There is great symbolism is the Dead Sea being 1417 feet below sea level and one of the lowest places on earth because the Jordan River, where Christ was baptized flows from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea. Christ was born in Bethlehem of lowly circumstances, baptized in a river flowing to one of the lowest places on earth whose water came from the Sea of Galilee where he performed miracles and leads to a sea of salt and from there we have symbolism of salt which we know acts as a preservative and adds savor and is symbolic of Christ.

The Dead Sea was so fun, gross to swim in, but way fun!