Jerusalem in review : Egypt

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for not keeping my blog updated. The last few weeks we were there were crazy with finals and getting in as much of the city as we could. I wanted to wrap up my trip before I leave for my mission though, so I'm going to give a review of it all. These pictures and comments are what I shared with the Yuma stake once I got home. I started the presentation with the Old Testament and the Exodus of the children of Israel and ended in the New Testament with Galilee and the last week of Christ's life. I'll do the same here.

Day shot of the BYU Jerusalem Center, our home for 16 weeks and the most amazing summer!


night shot of BYU Jerusalem. by Trisha Zemp


The view from my balcony, the Old City. The Egyptians built the pyramids on the Giza Plateau because of the easy access to the Nile and used it to aid in the transporting of sandstone. The pictures I saw in books of the pyramids were beautiful but when we visited Egypt and I stood at the base of the great pyramid, I was in complete awe. I had never experienced complete amazement and wonder of this kind. I remember how I felt and tried to comprehend in my mind how the pyramids were built 4,500 years ago and still stand today, but I couldn’t. What bewildered me even more was that these buildings were already 800 years old when Abraham stood at their feet! As we crawled up the tunnel shaft into the sarcophagus room of the great pyramid of Kufu, I felt like I had been taken back in time. The dampness of the walls and staleness of the air made me feel as if I were an Egyptian worker, carrying treasures into the pharaoh’s tomb. It was a surreal feeling. I felt the reality of the Egyptians. Because I was physically at the pyramids, I could actually attest that they were in fact a great civilization. In class we learned that the Egyptians were obsessed with eternal life. Every where we visited and the more we learned about the Egyptians, the more apparent their obsession was. The pyramids surely testified of this. This experience at the pyramids along with visiting the Cairo Museum gave me my first experience of linking scripture, history, and geography.
The Cairo Museum impacted me in ways that I had not expected. All of the artifacts overwhelmingly pointed to the purpose of the Egyptians: preparation for the next life. I walked through the mummy room and saw the remains of these people who were once great rulers. I came to a stop at the mummy of Ramses II. Sister Thomas was there with me and said, “We’re all going to end up like that someday.” I stood there for a while and thought about what she had said. Ramses II could not take any of the temples he built, his physical strength, the golden chariots he drove or any of his power as pharaoh to the next life. In the end, he could only take his knowledge and deeds with him. Exodus 9:7 states, “And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.” The Lord created multiple opportunities for Pharaoh to humble himself but he never did. Ramses II took a hard heart with him into the next life. The image of this once all powerful being’s mummy stayed with me and stirred questions and thoughts within myself as I left the Cairo Museum. I questioned the hardness of my own heart and the actions I was taking to prevent its hardness. I realized that it is necessary to fill myself with the essential knowledge necessary to enter into the kingdom of God, knowledge the Egyptians wanted so desperately but only had portions of. I realized at that moment the importance of the temple. I realized why my parents have raised me in such a way that everything in our home has pointed me to the temple my whole life. Because of this realization, I developed a thirst for knowledge that had never before been aroused within me. This experience made me realize how vital my study of history and of the scriptures is. I realized that my understanding of the scriptures is crucial to my salvation and to better understand the scriptures I must understand history too. Since this experience, my desire to study not only the scriptures has increased, but also my desire to learn in general. I realized then that my learning will not stop after college or when I have children, but that I will be a student my whole life and for eternity. I do not think that Ramses II ever wanted to teach such principles of knowledge or be a witness of the power of God but that is exactly what he did for me as we visited other sites.
The Karnak Temple Complex was the other site that left me in wonder and awe. The detail and symbolism in every scratch on every pillar or brick was already overwhelming, not to mention the great similarities their temples have to ours and to see that they had so much truth in the ordinances and ceremonies they performed. As I was trying to take all of that in, on the way out of the Karnak Temple Complex, Brother Skinner brought to the attention of a small group of us that because this structure was built by Ramses II, Moses must have walked the very halls that we stood in. He reminded us that Moses was surely impressed with what Ramses II had built and must have had a great deal of respect for him because of his great power and authority. As pharaoh, Ramses II not only controlled the people as their commander in battle and in government roles, but he also acted as their religious leader and “god” on earth. With these things in mind, Brother Skinner quoted Moses 1:10: “Now for this cause, I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” Both parts of this statement impacted me. First Moses says, “Now for this cause, I know that man is nothing.” Moses was raised among the pharaohs of Egypt, the most powerful men on earth at that time, and he boldly states “man is nothing”. He then adds “which thing I never had supposed.” He never “supposed” of men’s weakness because all he ever saw was their greatness. As I stood in the Karnak Temple Complex, where Moses stood, and repeated his words in my mind, I was overcome with the realization that God really is all powerful and that truly “man is nothing” in comparison with Him. Moses saw both the power of pharaoh and of God. I could think of no one who has ever had any more authority to say that than Moses did. If Moses could recognize his nothingness without the Lord, surely I could. I had this experience at a time when I was making decisions that were important to me. This humbled me and made me realize my reliance on the Lord, that I too am nothing without Him. This strengthened my relationship with my Father in Heaven and I believe was a crucial experience that gave me the strength to rely on Him and follow His will for me at that time with the decisions I was facing.

This was taken from our hotel, right along the Nile.