I am often asked about my experience as a student at BYU’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. One of my favorite ways to describe my experience is through the scriptures. It is as if the scriptures came alive and opened up a whole new level of understanding, connection, and reality. They are literally no...
“Don’t ever forget—be sure this place penetrates your soul. You’ve failed if you don’t come home changed for good.” These were just a few of the golden nuggets I furiously tried to capture from Elder Holland’s address to our Winter 2011 group during his brief visit to the Jerusalem Center. Luckily, I am the Hermione...
When I was 21, I attended the Fall 2000 semester at Brigham Young University’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. I was a history major and loved exploring a land that held so many stories. We traveled and learned Hebrew and Arabic and studied the New and Old Testaments with wise professors and ate so...
April 13, 1995 Journal Entry I am sitting in front of Damascus Gate, simply watching. I can hear the beat of arabic music coming from the old city shops. A round woman with a sack of food balanced perfectly on her head slowly moves up the steps. Beggars sit scattered across the stairs, one with...
April 11, 1995 Bethlehem The sign above the door to the Bethlehem Nativity Church read, “No food. No weapons. No talking.” I bent to enter. We made our way through the traditional chapel and nave, where candles and incense burned, and priests were chanting. We viewed the traditional spot where many believe Christ was born,...
A young Jewish boy by the name of Zeev Kaplan called the Center early in 2009, and said that all he wanted for his Bar Mitzvah was to play the organ at the BYU Center. We were given the assignment to contact his family and organize this event. Prior to Zeev’s performance, it was necessary...
The BYU Jerusalem Center became a beacon for the entire Country by promoting Sunday Night Concerts involving world class musicians. People flocked to the center every Sunday evening for these concerts. Performers came from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as guest artists from all over the world. For the most part, the auditorium was...
There were three holiday concerts we prepared the students to perform during the three Decembers we served in Israel. We spent many hours rehearsing for each of these and the students were as enthused to sing, dance, and play their instruments as we were to direct and accompany them. Imagine our shock when our first...
The night before leaving for Jerusalem in fall 1992, my now-husband “officially” proposed. Anticipating our upcoming separation, he wanted to make sure everyone knew I was already taken at what he called the BYU Jerusalem Center “Love Boat.” I’m sure his concern was overblown, but being engaged did help me focus more on certain aspects...
On July 25, 1994, near the end of my summer term in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein signed a momentous declaration to begin peace negotiations between the two countries. A week later, as we students were outside enjoying a barbecue dinner at the Jerusalem Center, a Jordanian airplane, accompanied by...
