Last thought about Jerusalem

I wrote this to a friend who is currently at BYU Jerusalem, right before he left:

“Jerusalem won't be amazing or incredible when you first get there, it's beautiful, but it won't mean anything to you yet. Jerusalem became such a time of personal revelation for me. I never felt closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ than I did there. My prayers and scripture study were so meaningful, because each day we were focused on learning and all the learning you do there focuses and testifies that Jesus is the Christ and that the scriptures are real. The church will just get truer to you every day. I developed a relationship with Christ there, and not just a relationship but a friendship, which is so precious to me. My balcony became a holy place for me, one of the holiest places for me in the Holy Land because that is where I studied my scriptures and watched the sun set each night while listening to the call to prayer and contemplating life and received many answers and communed with God. With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we don't stop much to "look up at the stars" and "Be Still". Jerusalem allowed me to "look at the stars" and "Be Still" each day, take full advantage of that. If you read your scriptures, write in your journal, and pray each day to learn what Heavenly Father would have you learn that day, you will walk away from this experience with no regrets and with a heart so full of gratitude and with a testimony of fire that will guide you for the rest of your life. You'll never study your scriptures the same again. Take full advantage of every opportunity you have to learn. This is a semester for you. You don't have a job, you don't have a cell phone or easy social networking access, you're cut off from the world quite a bit. No one knows who you are, you have to get to know people. With all of those circumstances combined, it really forced me to get to know who I am, who I really am and made me think about what I want in life. You will get to know yourself in ways you didn't think possible. You will come back a changed person whether you like it or not, but you decide how much you will let Jerusalem change you.”

Jerusalem changed me. It was an incredible summer that I will never forget and one that truly changed my life. I will never read my scriptures the same again. My heart really is so full of gratitude for this experience and has left me with a burning testimony. I want to take that and share it with those that I will teach on my mission in North Chicago. I will never have an experience like that again, but I know that I can find Christ each day in the scriptures. I can re-create that holy place, my balcony, where I read my scriptures and found answers, each day when I read the scriptures and pray. We do not need to see to believe or to know. I have seen these places though and it only adds to the belief and knowledge that I gained by study and prayer, something that we can do anywhere, not just in the Holy Land. I've thought about Jerusalem every day since I've been home, and I'm sure I'll think about it every day for the rest of my life. I found myself there, because I found Christ. The knowledge I have of Him and the atonement, and my relationship with Him and Heavenly Father are the treasures I walk away from this trip with and the greatest treasures I have.

Special thanks to the family and friends who helped me get to Jerusalem and who helped make this experience possible! Thank you SO much for your help! This experience has meant so much to me and one that I hope will bless not just my life but others too.