Israel Trip

Memories from Amy

     Though we had had an incredible trip around the United States the summer of 1973—3 weeks long and covering 22 states— we were stunned when our parents announced that we would be spending Christmas of 1973 in the Holy Land!  LDS Scholar, Truman Madsen’s wife had been suffering with back problems so Dad, at the last minute, had been asked to take his tour. Dad wouldn’t need advance preparation time as he had led tours and been to Israel many times. Mom and Dad felt that they couldn’t leave their children at the holiday time so Dad said they “sold the family jewels” (of course, there were none) and I’m sure, sacrificed much financially to bring all six of us.  

     I had just turned 20 years old, Susan 18, Stephen 17, Linda 15, Doug 13 and Spencer 11.  Mom and Dad would have been 48 and 45 years old at the time.  We were nearly overcome with delight.  Dad had a speaking assignment on BYU campus one evening so he and Mom came down to BYU to tell Susan and me.   We were speechless with wonder!  Later,  Susan and I got permission to take our BYU finals early so we could go. Mom had already begun Christmas shopping, which she stopped immediately. (I remember we received one Christmas gift each that year (which was completely unnecessary as we were so thrilled with the trip) and then were able to purchase an olive wood nativity set from an Arab man, from whom Mom and Dad had purchased souvenirs for years.  We have loved those nativity sets for many decades of Christmases and the wonderful memories they bring back of a once-in-a-lifetime trip!

     We flew directly to Tel Aviv, a modern secular city on the Mediterranean Sea where we boarded buses to drive the 56 miles to Jerusalem and checked into the hotel.  We were Group F.  We all remember the crushing jet-lag we experienced which left us almost unable to function.  After we had slept, Linda and I remember Susan throwing back the draperies and singing out the window “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!!”  The hotels in Israel are very lovely and the Jewish sections of cities were so clean and beautifully maintained.  This was not the case in other the areas.  Breakfasts in the hotels were especially delicious: cucumbers, grated carrots, lovely hard rolls, butter, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs.   Mom, always the health enthusiast, loved the breakfasts in the Israeli hotels because of how healthy they were, compared to the typical American continental breakfast of cinnamon rolls and juice. 

     We spent Christmas Eve in the Shepherds Fields just outside of Bethlehem.  Bethlehem and Jerusalem are just 5 miles apart and the shepherds’ fields instead of being above the city are lower than the cities, so one looks up to Jerusalem and Bethlehem from the Shepherd’s Fields. Three darling Armenian sisters were on our tour and one of them was asked to recite from memory, the Christmas story in Luke 2, which she did beautifully.  Mom was asked to sing “I walked Today Where Jesus Walked”.  We were surprised by the throngs of people—likely tens of thousands—who crushed into Bethlehem for the night, crowds probably very similar to the original night when Joseph and Mary sought shelter there.  Instead of a quiet cave which we had pictured, there was a massive church called the Church of the Nativity covering the spot where many believe Christ was born.  

     We toured the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  We visited Lazarus’ tomb and remembered his being raised by the Savior, to the wonder of his sisters and other observers. 

One morning, we arose early and climbed the Mount of Olives where we could overlook all of the city of Jerusalem.  We visited Gethsemene, which sits at the base of the Mount of Olives.  All was quiet and we were allowed to reflect on the significance of the Atonement and events that occurred there.  We saw the Garden Tomb on a day when it was quiet and peaceful with almost no one else there, as well.  We were told that Harold B Lee had said that that was indeed the place where the Saviors’ body was laid to rest.  

     We saw Golgotha—the Place of the Skull—from the Garden Tomb—surprisingly close in proximity.  We watched the Jews with their yarmulkes, forelocks and prayer shawls, rocking in prayer at the Wailing Wall. An outdoor synagogue.  It was surprising to see all the little rolls of paper prayers stuffed in most of the cracks of the Wailing Wall.  Jews believe those special prayers will be answered by God.  One of the days, we traveled north to the Sea of Galilee, there to learn that that relatively small inland sea could go from peaceful calm waters to fifteen foot waves in a storm.  That explained the terror of the apostles before Jesus calmed the waters.  We sat on the edge of the Sea and President Howard W. Hunter who was in Group A, spoke to us.

     We flew to Athens, Greece where we visited Mars Hill—the place where Paul testified of the Savior to the philosophers of the day.  We visited the Parthenon on the Acropolis, ate savory roasted chestnuts on the street and delicious dolmades—stuffed grape leaves— in a restaurant. Speaking of the food of Israel, Mom was very concerned when Dad ate falafels he bought on the street in the Arab quarter.  (Thirty years later, our daughter Jessica, a student at the BYU Israel center, spent three horrible days with food poisoning after eating street falafels!)

     One day, we took a bus down to Jerico, near the Dead Sea.  On the way, we were introduced to heavenly-tasting pomelos—a fruit which tastes like a combination of oranges and grapefruit.  These must have been tree-ripened because in Israel, they were incredibly delicious.  I think our bus had an entire case to share among group F.  We couldn’t get enough.  The pomelos we’ve had since returning to the USA can’t compare.  Dry, pithy grapefruit-tasting here, ambrosial there! 

     As memorable as any of the Israel history learned was that of Masada—an ancient palace built by Herod the Great on the top of a mesa overlooking the Dead Sea.  The most visited spot in Israel.  We learn from Josephus, the Jewish historian, that back 75 years after Herod’s death, a group of 1000 rebel Jews  escaped  their Roman oppressors and set up their lives on the top of the mesa.  The Roman soldiers, not to be out maneuvered by this relatively small group of Jews, built a ramp up the side and when the Jews saw that the Roman soldiers were almost upon them, chose to die rather than be captured as slaves to the Romans.  Ten men killed everyone else, then one man killed the last nine and then himself.  When the Romans marched to the top, they were met with the carnage of the death of the 1000.  We took the newly constructed gondola to the top.  Very inspirational.

     Sister Kasteler, a lovely elderly widow, had been our neighbor on Yalecrest Avenue.  She lived just a few doors away from our family home.  She came on the Israel tour with us and passed away on the trip.  It must have been such a shock to her family, many of whom lived in our ward.  Our parents had to work with the government officials to make arrangements to get her body flown home.

Returning to our hotel one day—the workers seemed to have been waiting for us and were the first to tell us that the Mormon Prophet had died.  They had heard it on the news.  We couldn’t believe it as relatively young Harold B. Lee had only had only been our prophet for 18 months.  But indeed it was true!  He was gone and what a shock it was to everyone. 

     As an aside, just as the plane landed back in Utah, I made the decision to transfer to the University of Utah from BYU, a decision which had been troubling me for a long time.  I started school that very morning, a non-matriculated student--until I had the chance over the next few days to apply.  Dad knew the Dean of Students, who gave permission.  That became a life—changing decision for both Susan and me as I met Don Poulton there, we lined Susan up with his friend, Jeff Jones, and we both ended up marrying those men.