Jordan River

Jordan River 5 November 2015.

We just got home from an incredible Jordan trip! Not only was it fun being in the Jordanian culture with all of the Muslims and the men with their red head dress thingies and black cords, seeing the treasury, high place and monastery at Petra and riding a camel, but also seeing the place near where Christ was baptized.

We visited it today.  The water was very muddy. It’s not a very wide river, so we could easily see over to the other bank. On the other side there were many groups dressed in white stepping into the water to be baptized. Two men where baptizing them. They were cheering after each baptism and they looked so happy and were singing halleluah. It was a very ethnically diverse group, and I had fun imagining the steps and the experiences they must have gone through to make getting baptized in the Jordan River a goal for them. Dr. Muhlestien shared when his daughter got baptized here, his son was giving a talk on the Holy Ghost, and all of the sudden a white dove flew behind him. Dr. Muhlestien got emotional talking about it. I have a cool video of them getting baptized and our group singing “Come Follow Me” in the background. After we finished all four verses we hear cheering from the other side and see people looking at us and smiling, saying, “We love you! We love you!” It was tender. J It was a good opportunity for me to sit and think on my own baptismal covenants that I have made, and my choice to follow Jesus Christ. It reminded me about how I can follow Him.

I am loving being here! I look at the scriptures so differently. Everything is contextualized, and I have been to about 80% of the pictures that are featured in the quad. I just want to remember everything in great detail so that I can go home and teach everything that I’ve learned! I already know how I am going to change or sift my teaching style at the MTC. I want to be a gospel doctrine teacher so I can help them learn! I would have never understood the Book of Mormon as well without understanding and visiting all of these Biblical sites. I don’t know how I would have learned this anywhere else. Dr Chadwick is SO knowledgeable, and Dr. Muhlestien is an Egyptologist and knows so much. I feel blessed to be doing this, when I know people back home would die for this experience. So many deeper levels. People I taught and members on my mission probably would never even dream of this! Ah, I am just so excited to share.

Another theme that came up during the Old Testament is “The Plot” and how Abraham was the example family. The Plot is the Abrahamic covenant, and having the promised land, and being blessed with seed.