Edna Harker Thomas
Born: 11 April 1881
Called as Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency: 1929
Released: 1933
Died: 29 April 1942
Called as Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency: 1929
Released: 1933
Died: 29 April 1942
Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Young Woman's Journal, November 1909, A Letter from Japan
Young Woman's Journal, December 1919, A Visit to Palestine
Young Woman's Journal, January 1920, A Visit to Palestine
Young Woman's Journal, November 1909, A Letter from Japan
Young Woman's Journal, December 1919, A Visit to Palestine
Young Woman's Journal, January 1920, A Visit to Palestine
Jenson, Andrew. "Thomas, Edna Harker." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 301-302.
THOMAS, Edna Harker, a member of the general board of the Primary Association from 1904 to 1933 and 2nd counselor in the presidency of the organization from 1929 to 1933, was born April 11, 1881, at Taylorsville, Utah, a daughter of Benjamin E. Harker and Harriet Bennion. She was baptized in May, 1889, by Llewellyn Mantle and has been an active member of the Church from childhood. She attended the Brigham Young University, at Provo, Utah, the University of California at Berkeley and the American University at Washington, D. C, besides attending summer school in New York City and Harvard, Mass. She taught in the public schools in Salt Lake City and spent five and a half years in Japan, where her husband labored as a missionary, presiding over the Japanese Mission some of the time. She was a member of the old Salt Lake Stake Y. L. M. I. A. board and was released from the general board of the Primary Association to accompany her husband, a U. S. Senator, to Washington, D. C. She is still in Washington, where she is a member of the Senate Ladies Association, of the Congressional Club and of the Ladies Democratic Club. She has traveled extensively, is a member of the "Around the World Club" and, while traveling with her husband, is always ready to encourage members of the Church and to uphold the faith. On June 25, 1907 she was married to Elbert D. Thomas in the Salt Lake Temple and is the mother of three daughters, namely Chiyo, Esther and Edna Lou.
THOMAS, Edna Harker, a member of the general board of the Primary Association from 1904 to 1933 and 2nd counselor in the presidency of the organization from 1929 to 1933, was born April 11, 1881, at Taylorsville, Utah, a daughter of Benjamin E. Harker and Harriet Bennion. She was baptized in May, 1889, by Llewellyn Mantle and has been an active member of the Church from childhood. She attended the Brigham Young University, at Provo, Utah, the University of California at Berkeley and the American University at Washington, D. C, besides attending summer school in New York City and Harvard, Mass. She taught in the public schools in Salt Lake City and spent five and a half years in Japan, where her husband labored as a missionary, presiding over the Japanese Mission some of the time. She was a member of the old Salt Lake Stake Y. L. M. I. A. board and was released from the general board of the Primary Association to accompany her husband, a U. S. Senator, to Washington, D. C. She is still in Washington, where she is a member of the Senate Ladies Association, of the Congressional Club and of the Ladies Democratic Club. She has traveled extensively, is a member of the "Around the World Club" and, while traveling with her husband, is always ready to encourage members of the Church and to uphold the faith. On June 25, 1907 she was married to Elbert D. Thomas in the Salt Lake Temple and is the mother of three daughters, namely Chiyo, Esther and Edna Lou.
Thomas, Edna Harker. "A Letter from Japan." Young Woman's Journal. November 1909. pg. 543-546.
A Letter from Japan. Edna Harker Thomas. My Dear Miss Babcock: I thought you might be interested in hearing of our little trip into the country last week, so I’m sending you a copy of my Journal, telling about it. Also a picture we had taken out there. Tomie and I were sent to Kofu the other day by President Taylor to visit the branch there, and as that is about the most important thing that has happened to the Thomases for sometime and as the trip was immensely interesting, I’ll try to pass a bit of our joy on to you by means of this letter. Our trip out was particularly enjoyable because we had plenty of room and the car was comparatively free from tobacco smoke. You know everybody, both male and female, smokes, in this land and the railway cars are generally so filled with smoke that they have to keep a headlight in the end of each car to tell which way the train is going. Our only companions were a young man who was either eating or snoring all the time, and an old bald- headed lady who liked to open the windows just as we came to a tunnel. These people bought their little 15 sen lunches and a pot of tea, with a cup thrown in, for 4 sen every station or two. Their lunches were put up in neat little wooden boxes and contained the usual Japanese bird nest effects. They didn’t enjoy their lunches any more than we did ours, which consisted of potted turkey sandwiches with butter—real butter too. Tomie says it was the best meal we’ve had excepting our Christmas dinner. We passed through forty-two tunnels before we got to Kofu. Just think of it! Forty-two tunnels in eighty miles and it took us six hours to get there. The mountains are the nearest approach to the Rockies that we’ve seen since coming here. Of course the vegetation is much heavier, and villages are built all through them. The people have cultivated the hillsides almost to the tops. The way people use every inch of land and the way they put big rocks on their houses made me think of the Alp villages. We came into the valley of Kofu very suddenly, and it is certainly a very pretty place. It was nearer like the Salt Lake Valley than anything I’ve seen since September 18, 1907. A large valley entirely surrounded by snow-tipped mountains with dear old Fujisan as usual above them all. Saturday night we ate candy, took our bath, and went to bed. The bath and bed were the novelties to us. The bath was quite different to the one we had been used to. It was in a little back shed, you had to walk outside in the moonlight to get to it. The tub was a wooden barrel filled with the hottest water imaginable that just took your breath away to get in, and made you look like a boiled lobster when you got .out. Then the bed; that was our first experience with a regular Japanese bed made on the floor. But it was just fine, as soft as anyone would want. They told us our bed consisted of six ordinary beds, so you see our experience is yet coming. There were four large futons (quilts) under us and a regular sleeping kimono and another soft futon on top. We did not feel hardly equal to the woolen and stuffed pillows, so the girl who came to the hotel to fix our bed rolled up another futon for our pillow. I did not sleep very well Saturday night because I was so worried about the little talk I had to give the next day, but the other nights I slept just fine. Sunday was; of course, a day of rest, oh yes, a complete rest—five meetings. Monday morning we visited a Zenkoji temple, Brother Fairborn knew the priest and he treated us fine. He showed us through the temple and opened all the little private doors for us, except the door to the sacred ark, which is only opened every 33 years. If the priest should open that he would suffer the torments of hades all the rest of his life. In that ark there is a three inch statue of the man who first brought Buddhism to Japan about 13,000 years ago. I’ll try to write down some of the things the priest told us. Of course, we took off our shoes at the bottom of the steps. The peculiar style of architecture and the “passage through the heart” or as the missionaries out there called it “Road through hell” are what make the temple famous. There are only five other temples like it in Japan, and the Emperor worshiped there for about ten minutes three hundred years ago, so of course the temple is doomed to undying fame. In the first long apartment there was nothing but plain mats placed like a trough for the people to drop their money in. Here the lowest class of people worship. On the ceiling of this apartment there is an immense dragon painted; the priest said it was painted with a long brush and ordinary Japanese ink. This art is now an almost lost one. The people believe that when there is a scarcity of rain if they pray to the dragon he will send rain in answer to their prayers. The first and second class worshipers were separated by a railing, to signify the rank. There was nothing special in the division excepting the drums that were beaten by the priests when worshiping, and the priest’s desk. Before this were the round scrolls of paper which he reads in the services. They are the Buddhist scriptures which he chants, every once in awhile and hits the drum—for emphasis, I guess. Then we went behind another railing, and up some stone steps which typify the steps to heaven from which place we were taken into their most sacred part of the temple behind a curtain embroidered in gold which cost fifty cents a square inch and was twelve by twelve feet. This was an intensely interesting place. The priest held a lighted perfume candle, for it was pitch dark and led us up some higher and steeper steps to a little room that was closed by heavy doors. He opened this for us and we stood at the door while he explained the meaning of the images to us. This room was entirely lined with gold lacquer, and contained the statues of their most revered men. The founder of the Kofu Kem and another the founder of that sect of Buddhism. His statue was in a gold lined box which he made himself. It is over a 1,000 years old. In this room was the statue of the man who typified joy. All his life he was terribly persecuted and finally burned to death, and his statue was made of wood and polished with his own ashes. It was as black as ebony. A few more steps upward we came to the most sacred place of all. A little shrine containing three statues, typifying Joy, Faith, and Resolution. These statues were made of bronze and were in a gold lined shrine. The priest explained all this to us before he slowly and reverently raised the beautiful little curtain. He only let us look at it about two minutes, and then he carefully closed it again, praying at the same time. This shrine and the little trays before it, where the food was placed for those gods, were elaborately decorated with gold. In this same apartment were four more statues, two men and two women, husbands and wives. This set differs from the others in that the priests if they are worthy are permitted to marry. In this room which typified the highest glory, the man was not without the woman. The gold curtain’s design was of a pair of birds, male and female. And the ceiling of the apartment was painted with beautiful women. Then we went to the opening of the room which contained the sacred ark. The ark was about the size of a small auto without wheels, and looked like the pictures of the sacred ark in the Bible, everything was gold. Half way up the walls the gold had been painted over. The priest said this was to show how our hearts were to be pure on the inside no matter how the outside looked. We had been taken from the lowest to the highest glory, but the most interesting was yet to come. After we had walked down a long hall, containing images of all ages and typifying different men and virtues, we were led to a closed barred door. The priest told us that this place was built in the shape of the character for “heart” that it was dark and that the people of Japan made long pilgrimages to go through it to cleanse their hearts of darkness. There are only two of these famous places in Japan. As a special favor, we asked to be taken through and he led us. The place was as black as night. First we went down a flight of steps and then the priest told us to put our hand on the wall and to follow him. Imagine walking through a pitch dark, “spookey” place behind a priest who was chanting a prayer that you couldn’t understand. It pretty nearly gave me the jim-jams. We were soon out again, for the sound of the priest and the darkness occupied most of my thoughts. After this we were taken to a resting place and served with Japanese wafers and hot water. After a little chat we went home, giving the priest twenty-five cents which was considered a high tip for spending about four hours in explaining the temple and the teachings of his sect. There wasn’t anything he told us, which, if we followed, wouldn’t lead us to live better lives, and I now have a great respect for Buddhism. |
Thomas, Edna Harker. "A Visit to Palestine." Young Woman's Journal. December 1919. pg. 648-652.
A Visit to Palestine. By Edna Harker Thomas. I believe I am the first woman missionary of the Latter-day Saints Church, who has circled the globe while on a mission; but truly I must needs go again for indeed the oi l world that I circumnavigated is gone. Tempus fugit! In the last six years, the old world has even out-stripped time. Now to my Journal and let's see what I said when things were as they will never be again. Palestine to the Latter-day Saints has always been attractive. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to follow in the footsteps of Orson Hyde and who have said our prayers on the Mount of Olives have hoped to see the fulfillment of the prophecies and the beginning of the restored Jerusalem. But we did not dream what was in store for Jerusalem during the five or six years after our visit. The following is copied from a daily Journal written at the time I visited Palestine with my husband and baby Chivo while returning home from our mission. January 1, 1913. We left Port Said at 6 p. m. for Jaffa. Jan. 2. And thereby hangs a tale. We should have arrived in Jaffa at 6 a. m. but at that time we were being dreadfully tossed on the billowy deep and because Jaffa has no harbor and there are so many dangerous rocks in front of the port, we could not land. Our boat just tossed and ducked around until the dishes were broken, our trunks were slipping in inch deep water from one side of the cabin to the other as the boat lurched. Barrells of oil were rolling on the deck and the sea was washing the windows of the smoking room on the upper deck. We were all seasick. It was dreadful and the most dreadful part of it was that if the sea did not calm down by 12 p. m., the boat would not wait any longer but would go on to the northern part of Palestine and land us at Bevrout near Damascus. This we did not want to do. Jan. 3. Fortunately though, the rain came and calmed the waves and we were taken in large row boats to Jaffa past those terrible rocks that would dash any boat to pieces in a minute. For our row boat we had nine rowers and a steerer and while passing the rocks they had to pull with all their strength to keep in the right track. Many, many steamers are kept from landing their passengers at Jaffa and oftentimes tourists have to return to Port Said. Our guide had been waiting for us a day and we started our tour of Palestine immediately. The weather was delightful and warm and we rode from place to place in a very comfortable phaeton-like carriage with two fine horses. The ancient Joppa is picturesquelly situated on rising ground overlooking the sea. The place is full of Bible associations. It was here that Hiram. King of Tyre, sent Solomon cedar wood from Lebanon for building the temple at Jerusalem; here that Jonah embarked when he proposed to flee “unto larshish” (I wonder if Jonah’s storm was as bad as the one we were caught in on the same sea;) and here that Peter, after raising Tabitha to life (we saw her tomb and the beautiful garden near it) tarried many days with one Simon, a tanner, on whose house-tops he had his famous vision. We saw the house and well and walked on the roof where he had the vision. Our guide explained the nature of Simon’s vision by saying that he was hungry and then dreamed about eating. At 1 p. m., we took the train tor Jerusalem. The train was very slow and accommodations were fair. The route is by luxurious gardens and orange and lemon groves, and every mile of country is associated with events in the early life of the Jewish nation. The first station Lydda, is the home of St. George the dragon killer, and the scene of many exciting events during the Crusades, then Ramleh, the reputed home of Joseph of Arimathea. We crossed the famous Plain of Sharon, whose fields are radiant with wild flowers- myriads of narcissus, blue iris, roses of Sharon and lilies of the valley. In this valley of Sharon the gallant Crusaders fought; over there is Timnath, where Samson set fire to the Philistines’ corn; there is the valley of Ajalon where Joshua commanded the moon to stand still; and the little village over the next slope of hills is Kirjathjearim, where the ark remained for twenty years. Soon the train winds out into *ne dark gorges of the mountains (nothing but rocks and occasionally olive trees and terraced grape vines), crosses the boundaries of Judea, and eventually reaches the station whence carriages convey the traveler to his hotel in Jerusalem. The carriages are the same kind as in Jaffa and the drivers with their red Turkish caps drive terribly last. The horses have bells around their necks like our sleigh bells. We went to the best hotel in Jerusalem, which is very comfortable but nothing to compare with the foreign hotels in other parts of the East. Fires and baths are extra and there is not any running water. Jan. 4. In spite of its decay, the Holy City has an interest and a surpassing charm which no other city on earth possesses. Although it has been destroyed many times, the traveler is reminded almost at every turn of the footsteps of the Savior. The streets may be somewhat changed, but we know as we pass along the Way of Sorrows, that somewhere near here the mournful procession swept along these streets of Jerusalem. We know also that the natural features of the surrounding country remain substantially unchanged, that the mountains round about Jerusalem, which were of old her bulwarks, are still here; that here are Olivet (much larger than I expected) and the Brook Kidron, (much smaller than I expected) and that city still crowns Zion and Moriah. At any rate, we know that the Savior has looked upon these identical scenes. The capitals of antiquity were all marked by different civilizations. The dream of Rome was conquest; of Athens, beauty; of Babylon, pride; of Thebes, eternity. The chief glory of Jerusalem was not martial valor, nor artistic merit, but religion. This, its dominant spirit, has invested it with sacred interest and holy memories, and no one who visits it in this spirit will ever be disappointed. It was with this spirit that I came to Jerusalem and went into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the first morning after we came and I never for a moment was disappointed. Every few feet of ground had something interesting to talk about and our whole morning passed very quickly and then we were not ready to leave. It was wonderful from the moment we entered the door kept by the Mohammedan doorkeepers (because the Christian churches cannot agree on who is to take care of the door); to the Stone of Unction, a large flat stone marking the place where Christ’s body was prepared for burial; to the Greek church, in the center of which is an altar which the Greeks think is the center of the world; then to the most important of all, the chapel where Christ’s actual tomb is supposed to be with its little anti chamber where the angel stood and in which I felt as though I were standing on holy ground and prayed silently all the time I was there; to the chapel of St. Helena, the mother of Constantine who did a wonderful amount of good in Palestine toward the building and establishing of Christianity; to the Coptic chapel, which is poverty-stricken in comparison with the others; to the tomb of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, near which one of the priests of the Church sleeps in an old hewn out tomb; to the rock of Calvary, where I could hardly keep from weeping for it all seemed so real, especially when they showed us the actual rock and also the place where Mary the Mother stood by her Son and watched His suffering. Her image there is covered with beautiful gifts of all kinds of precious stones and I felt that if I were wealthy enough I would like to show my love for Mary the Mother too, for I never felt such strong love for her before; and to many other places all equally interesting and all helping to make us love our Savior more and dislike the petty strivings among different sects of today. Tomie said that he could not feel inspired as I did because he was thinking of the strivings and quarrels among the Greek Catholic, the Roman Catholic, the Armenian, the Coptic and Syrian priests, who have their own part of the church to take care of and who fight and quarrel so much that Mohammedan soldiers are stationed within the church to keep peace among the ministers who call themselves God’s servants. This jealousy and hatred among the priests is the one thing that mars the spirit of the Church. But forgetting that and thinking only that here Christ’s body was laid in the tomb is enough to fill our hearts with unspeakable reverence for Him and what He did for us. We were so overcome that we hardly felt like speaking and even then it seemed as though whispers were the best. It was the most intensely interesting morning that I have ever spent in sight seeing and it did not seem like that to me. I felt more like a pilgrim than a tourist. In the afternoon we had a delightful carriage ride to the Mount of Olives, the primitive simplicity and picturesque aspect of which have been almost destroyed by the huge edifices, walls, and terraces which the Russians have erected upon its walls and summit. There are three paths up the mountain each famous in the history of the life of Christ. The easiest and least steep is the one which bears to the right from the Garden of Gethsemane. The left road may be that which David took when he fled from Jerusalem at the time of the rebellion of Absalom. The road to the right was probably the one trodden by Christ and His disciples evening after evening during the last week of His life upon earth, for this is the ordinary footpath to Bethany over the summit of Olivet; and. if this be so, it was somewhere along this path that the incident of the barren fig-tree occurred; and near the top of the hill by the side of this path, that Jesus foretold to some of His disciples the destruction of Jerusalem and His own second coming. It may also have been along this road that Christ passed on the occasion of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The mountain is more of a range than one single mountain and very much larger than I expected it would be. It extends over acres and acres of ground and the slope up is so gradual and on its summit are so many buildings that to call it the mount of Olives is misleading. The Church of Pater Noster is built upon the site where Christ is supposed to have taught the Lord’s prayer to His disciples. The Lord’s prayer in 32 different languages is inscribed on slabs in covered corridors. Tomie read to me the prayer which is written in Latin, Greek, Italian, French, German, and Japanese. Within the church itself sixteen nuns live who never see any other living souls but themselves after they enter there. Among other so-called sacred spots on Olivet is the Church of the Ascension which stands over the traditional site of the Ascension; the very impression made by the foot of Christ, when He pressed the earth for the last time, being shown to the pilgrim. A little boy took an olive branch, wiped it over the footprint mark and tried to sell it to us as being made holy. We felt that that was carrying such things a little beyond the sacredness of the place. The summit of the Mount of Olives (2720 ft.) is the highest point of the hills standing round about Jerusalem. The view over the Wilderness of Judea to the Dead Sea (4,012 ft. below) was perfect on that day. The mountains sixty miles away were plainly visible. (To be continued) |
Mount of Olives
Jerusalem from the Tower of Antonia
Gethsemane
|
Thomas, Edna Harker. "A Visit to Palestine." Young Woman's Journal. January 1920. pg. 19-24.
A Visit to Palestine. By Edna Harker Thomas. II. Tomie and I tried to get alone to have prayers on the Mount of Olives, but our guide stuck like glue. There is plenty of ground yet for our people to establish themselves here. The Greek Catholic church seemed to have the strongest hold throughout Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Jericho. As we returned we visited the Tombs of the Kings, admirable specimens of the huge labor and expense which were spent on rock excavations in the days of old. The first we see are twenty-four broad rock steps, with rock-cut water channels on either side, leading into two large rock-cut cisterns where the water was obtained to wash the dead bodies. Next we entered a spacious rock-cut court and at the farther end we reached the rock-cut portico, admitting to the actual tombs, where there are receptacles for over seventy bodies. These tombs are entered through a low passage which was formerly closed by a rolling stone, still to be seen in the grove. This rolling stone interested us very much for it seemed a more probable way of Christ’s tomb being closed than by the large flat stone that I have always had in my mind. I felt nervous and uncomfortable in the tombs and was glad to get out in the sun light again. Chiyo was happy as could be only she wanted to hold the candle all the time. Jan. 5. We fasted and by 7:30 a. m. were at the Holy Sepulchre and witnessed the services of the Coptic church; few people were there but they called out so loudly that they could be heard all over the big building. Then we visited the Greek Catholic church where we heard a good male choir; all the people stood during an hour’s service; we passed the Patriarch and he gave us some holy bread. At 10 a. m. we walked to a Russian church and heard some beautiful singing of male voices only. I liked the looks of the Russian peasants in Jerusalem. They looked honest and good. Jan. 6. In the morning we visited the Dome of the Rock, or the Mosque of Omar, accompanied by an armed guard from the American Consul. Two years ago two English people were shot by a Mohammedan fanatic so that now a guard always goes with visitors to protect them. This building is situated on the summit of Mount Moriah, the traditional spot where Oman had his threshing floor; where Abraham offered up Isaac; where Mohammed took his flight to heaven; and where the Glory of Israel, the Jewish Temple stood. The building is ornamented with rich and costly mosaic work; while the dome is painted and gilded. The coloring in the windows is beautiful and striking in the extreme, the subdued light which penetrates through them being caused bv a coating of porcelain which covers them on the exterior to protect them from the weather. Within the center of the building is a huge rock, enclosed by a handsome wrought iron screen, below which is a cave with one stone upon which you can make a hollow sound by stamping on it. This is supposed to be the opening into a sewer made for carrying away the blood from the sacrifices from the rock above. This mosque with its surrounding court of marble reminded us very much of the Altar of Heaven in Pekin. Then we went to the Mosque ElAksa (the distant mosque) which is used now by the Mohammedans for services. The rich carpet, the pulpit, the woodwork frame and its mother-of-pearl and the enameled canopy above are of unrivalled beauty and excellence. Here we saw the place where a man killed himself by squeezing through two pillars which he believed was the entrance to heaven. A big iron bar prevents other pilgrims from following his example. From these two mosques we passed over a spacious and handsome paved court and descended a dark stone stairway to the so-called Solomon’s Stables below, large subterranean vaults. From a window in the staircase we saw a Jewish grave yard with a burial taking place. The grave yards have nothing but common stone markers, not a tree nor a flower can be seen anywhere. This was the Greek Catholic Christmas Day. We saw the Patriarch of Jerusalem and his fellow priests leave Jerusalem in carriages for Bethlehem to take part in the services in the Church of the Nativity. The Patriarch, a fine looking old gentleman, is always guarded by four very large men, three Christians and one Mohammedan. We were disappointed because we did not see the procession of priests entering the church in Bethlehem. We were misinformed about the time. We rode over from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in about an hour, passing on the way “The Well of the Magi,” where tradition says the wise men saw the star again after losing it, and Rachel’s Tomb, a small modem looking building with a dome. There is no doubt whatever that this site, revered by Christians and Moslems, as well as by the Jews, is the scene of the touching story of Rachel’s death. The view of Bethlehem, as the ancient city is approached is extremely picturesque. It was in the surrounding fields that Ruth gleaned after the reapers; through them that the sorrow stricken Naomi returned. It was on one of these hills that David kept his father’s sheep; in these glens and valleys that he rang out those glorious psalms, which have echoed through the world. The Shepherds while watching their flocks by night received the tidings of great joy in the field near by and here took place the supreme event which has made the name of Bethlehem a household word, and which causes the thoughts of millions to be turned towards it as year by year Christmas time comes around. I do not know whether we were fortunate or not in visiting Bethlehem on the Greek Christmas Day. The streets were terribly crowded and the Church of the Nativity was so packed that we could not enter into the true spirit of the Holy Place at all. In the Chapel (which is rea-ly a cave) a silver star in the pavement marks the spot where the Savior was born. Above this are fifteen silver lamps perpetually burning. A little farther down and on a lower level is the place where the manger is supposed to have stood. This was spoiled for me by having a huge doll standing up in it, smiling at us. It seemed almost sacrilegious. Constantine’s church of 330 A. D. was built upon the scene of the Nativity. The church is still a fine building. We saw a window covered with cobwebs and dirt which none of the priests of the churches would permit any of the priests of any other churches to clean. Their feelings are so intense that they will not even join together in cleaning that window and it stays there a monument to their hatred. My visit to the birthplace of Jesus left nothing like the same impressions on me that I received while in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was on account of the crowd and the noise and confusion. Chiyo had seen so much pilgrim kissing that when we got back to the hotel in Jerusalem she began going around the room kissing all the shiny things that she could see. Jan. 7. We left Jerusalem by carriage for Jericho—three horses, driver, and guide. The route made a complete circuit of the city. Passing the Garden of Gethsemane and turning off near the Tomb of Absalom, it lies across the slope of the Mount of Olives to Bethany, and then across the wilderness of Judea (nothing but treeless, waterless mountains) by the Apostle’s Spring to the gorge of Cherith and Jericho. The Plain of Jericho is absolutely the lowest inhabited spot in the world. At noon we stopped at the inn of the Good Samaritan. This inn is erected on the spot where the Good Samaritan helped the man who had been robbed. After seeing the lonely road T can easily believe any kind of a robber story. Soon we passed the Brook Cherith and a cave where it is supposed Elijah lived when he was fed by the ravens. Near by this place is the Monastery of St. George, (Greek Catholic) right in among steep mountains with only a foot path leading to it. There are many hermits living near this church, in holes and caves in the mountains. Soon we came to the Second Jericho—that of Herod and the Romans and nothing but rocks now. Next we came to the present day Jericho, a miserable dirty village inhabited by still more miserable and dirty descendants of Egyptian colonists (some naturally black and some black through dirt and filth.) The hotels are the only clean looking places in the town. Jericho was much warmer than Jerusalem, in fact we passed orange and banana trees in our drive to an abundant spring of pure fresh water. This is Elisha’s fountain which the prophet rendered sweet. Of Jericho, the city of palm trees, the scene of Joshua’s victories, but little remains. Still, it was across this plain that the spies journeyed; round here went up those great walls on which Rahab had her house; over there in the mountains we seem as if we could make out the very place where the spies hid themselves; it was here that Joshua’s army went round the city and these hills echoed back the shrill blasts of the trumpets which the priests blew. Not the least imposing feature in the views of Jericho, which embrace the Dead Sea, the Mountains of Moab and the course of the Jordan, is the high precipitous mountain called Quarantana (forty days) the traditional scene of our Lord’s temptation and fasting in the wilderness. Jan. 8. This was an equally interesting day. We took our lunch and drove to the Dead Sea. It seemed as though we were going out to Garfield Beach when we used to go out in carriages. Only instead of the dancing pavilion we saw a lonely bowery with a mother dog and her little puppies living there. Their only food and water is what tourists take to them. We divided Chiyo’s toast and water with them. She wanted to pet them but they were afraid and ran away. The Dead Sea seemed so much like our own Dead Sea that it was not at all strange to us but we liked it all the more. We gathered tiny shells that had come from the Sea of Galilee (sixty miles away) through the river Jordan and had been thrown upon the shores of the Dead Sea. Though sad and lonely and desolate the Dead Sea and its surroundings have a distinct beauty and charm of their own. In another hour’s ride we came to the river Jordan, for all the world like our own muddy Jordan at home. We ate our lunch at the supposed place of the baptism of Christ. If we had been a week later we could have seen thousands of pilgrims who come there for baptismal purposes. We spent the rest of the day reading the Bible (by candle light in our room) walking and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. It was delightful and I can never remember being happier. Jan. 9. We were off for Jerusalem by 7 a. m. The ride down takes only four hours but the up hill climb in returning takes six hours. On our way we called at the traditional house of Mary and Martha and the Tomb of Lazarus (a cave), also where Martha met Jesus in Bethany. That afternoon we visited more sights in Jerusalem by carriage. We went to the Jews’ Wailing Place (the men and women stand against the old wall for good luck.) Here was where we met regular hoards of beggars. Then we went to see the Ecce Homo Arch. Pilate’s Judgment Hall, Church of St. Ann, (the nicest church as a quiet resting place), the Pool of Bethesda, the Tombs of Mary and Ann (Mary’s Mother.) I felt greatly impressed when I entered Mary’s tomb and my love for her grew stronger. Jan. 12. We visited “Gordon’s Calvary” and the “garden Tomb” believed by some to be the true calvary and also the tomb where Christ was laid. The hill is remarkable because of its skull face that can be plainly seen. Caves make the eye sockets. There doesn’t seem to be enough people who believe in these two spots to even erect an altar or a church there. From there we visited the Garden of Gethsemane which was an intensely interesting visit. In the garden are seven ancient olive trees, said to be in existence at the time of Christ, although this is extremely improbable. Near to the garden is the “Grotto of the Agony” and some rocks which are supposed to show where the disciples slept and also a cross which shows the spot where Judas betrayed Christ. In the afternoon we attended the services of the American Colonists. There are about one hundred fifty people in the Colony and they carry on a big industry in photos and all kinds of curios. We left Jerusalem after a truly delightful, instructive, and peaceful Palestine trip. We had little trouble in getting on our boat at Jaffa as the sea was calm; very different to what it was when we landed. Altogether the Palestine trip was enjoyed more than any other in all our six months while traveling home. |
Temple Area
Bethlehem
Nazareth
Tiberias
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