I came to Jerusalem seeking a closer connection and relationship with my Father and my Savior. After the short time I have spent here, I feel that I have discovered them in an odd way; allow me to explain: The Lord loves Jerusalem; it has a rich heritage closely tied to the marvelous (though at times rough) heritage of the Children of Israel. I felt this strongly the first night I was here: indeed God loves this place, the Arab as well as the Jews; but the Lord no longer dwells entirely with either. The rejection of the Jews from 2000 years ago of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth led to His crucifixion and death, for which He lay in the tomb for three days; but the Lord has risen! The Lord no longer administers church affairs in Jerusalem. As He ascended to heaven in a pillar of fire witnessed by His apostles and others the ecclesiastical authority once held by battered Israel departed from the Jews and rested upon Peter and his counselors. Under the direction of Jesus Christ Peter, James, and John conferred this authority on Joseph Smith the Prophet in our day and age: Nay, our Lord and His Holy Father dwell not in Jerusalem! They dwell HERE in THIS Church—in the Holy Temples dedicated to the great Elohim and the homes of faithful Latter-day Saints! The path back to the Lord leads not to Palestine, but to the eternal covenants made in the Church of Jesus Christ restored through Joseph Smith. The cleansing effect of the Atonement is not put into effect by visiting the Garden of Gethsemane or praying at the Garden Tomb—rather, it is felt by obedience to the commandments of the Lord’s prophet and repentance through the Name of Him who is mighty to save! May we all appreciate the blessings of Christ’s only living Church, the men who lead it, and the temples we worship in!
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