Lesson Number 39 - "How Beautiful upon the Mountains"

The lesson title invokes a unique geographical consideration. In this case, geography lends its testimony of the Lord. In ancient times, the word of the Lord came from the "tops of the mountains," Jerusalem, where the tribe of Judah and the prophets of Israel lived. These mountains create a backbone of the country of Israel. In fact, the land of Israel has mountains from its northern to its southern borders. It is a mountain range that is "everlasting."

In Latter times, the word of the Lord comes from the "tops of the mountains," Salt Lake City, where the prophets and leadership of the Lord's kingdom and the tribe of Joseph are presently situated. The Ute Indians used the word Utah to denote the tops of the mountains. It is also the only other range of mountains that extends from the northern to the southern borders of the land. It is the "land of everlasting hills."

Judah and Utah even sound linguistically similar. There is an Arab village close to Hebron that is called Yatta. An old synagogue of the first century was found there with characteristics of Levitical use. Some even suggest it to be the wilderness area of Judah where John the Baptist (a Levite) might have lived.

The blessings of the "everlasting hills" have affected, are affecting and will continue affecting all the world.

"The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." (Genesis 49:26)

"And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence." (Doctrine & Covenants 133:31)

"Everlasting is also used to signify the eternal, lasting, and enduring nature of some particular thing. For instance: the "everlasting covenant" (D. & C. 1:15), "the everlasting gospel" (D. & C. 36:5), "songs of everlasting joy" (D. & C. 45:71), "an everlasting inheritance" (D. & C 57:5), "the everlasting hills." (D. & C. 133:31.) (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce R. McConkie, Pg.243)

Isaiah, who knew the mountains of Judah also knew the Lord and combined the majesty of both in teaching us about the Savior.

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (Isaiah 52:7)

Looking at the sacred event that redeemed us from the sins of life, bruises of experience, captivity of conscience, blindness of bigotry, hurts of hearts broken, poverty of stinginess and the imprisonment of self pity, we are drawn to the Mount of Olives. Two thousand years ago, He sank below all things, experiencing deeper depths than we would ever reach so that we would never have to. Bleeding from every pore of His body, he was stained for us. How beautiful upon the Mount of Olives are the feet of Him that brings good tidings. Good tidings are the "good news," the Gospel of Joy. Isaiah wrote the words of the Savior's testimony, seven hundred years before the Savior would speak them.

"The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;" (Isaiah 61:1)

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised," (Luke 4:18)

Although the principle of "one atoning for our sins" in Judaism has diminished over the years, yet one day every year is set aside as the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

"The tenth of the Hebrew month of Tishrei is Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and prayer for all Israel, a day which has been significant to Jews throughout the ages. The Day of Atonement is the last of the Ten Days of Penitence which begin with Rosh Ha-Shanah, and is the climax of the repentance and soul-searching incumbent on every Jew during this period."

"The essence of the day and the reasons for its special prayers and ceremony are expressed in the Torah: "For on this day will atonements be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the Lord." The Torah commands that on the tenth of Tishrei every Jew must "afflict his soul," which is understood to mean that eating, drinking, wearing shoes made of leather, washing, anointing the body and marital relations are forbidden. All these laws take effect at sunset on the ninth of Tishrei and last until nightfall of the tenth. As important as the mitzvah of fasting on Yom Kippur is the mitzvah of eating on the day before the fast. So important is Yom Kippur that it is the only fast day which may be observed on the Sabbath and is never postponed until the next day. Moreover, the Torah describes the holiness of Yom Kippur by calling it the "Sabbath of Sabbaths."

"In the times of the Temple in Jerusalem, the ritual performed by the high priest was the central feature of the Day of Atonement. The high priest, representative of the people, carried out the special service known as avodah. He took two identical goats and cast lots to see which would be sacrificed and which would be sent to (the wilderness) Azazel. After sacrificing one of them, he sprinkled its blood on the altar and then confessed the sins of the people while placing his hands on the head of the live goat. Then the goat was sent into the wilderness (to die on its own) . . . this ceremony represented the purification of the entire people, for the goat sent to Azazel was a symbolic way of showing that the people were cleansed of their sins. After the destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E..) when this ritual could no longer be carried out, the day of Yom Kippur itself was assumed to atone for Israel's sins. However, the sages emphasized that Yom Kippur alone is not enough; each man must repent for his wrongdoings in order for the Day of Atonement to have its purifying effect. Accordingly, the theme of the prayers of Yom Kippur revolves around the confessing of sins and the resolve to mend one's ways both between man and man, and man and God."

"Perhaps the most beloved ritual of the Day of Atonement, Kol Nidrei is . . . chanted before sunset as the . . . worshipers are wrapped in tallitot and some even robed in white gowns (kitels)."

"The next morning people rise early to go to the synagogue where they spend most of the day in prayer and confession."

"The Torah and haftarah readings of the day also contain the themes of the Day of Atonement. The morning service contains the Torah reading . . . (and) the Book of Jonah which tells the story of how the whole town of Nineveh repented after they were warned by the prophet and were forgiven for their sins."

"The prayers of Yom Kippur are concluded with the service known as Ne'ilat She'arim . . . the closing of the Temple gates which was done at sunset, on the Day of Atonement . . . associated with the symbolic closing of the heavenly gates. The divine judgment . . . is now finally sealed and all those who have truly repented have been forgiven and accepted by God. Throughout this service the Ark of the Law remains open, and the worshipers remain standing. The service begins at twilight and is concluded at nightfall when . . . declarations of faith are recited aloud and a single blast of the shofar is blown to announce the end of the Day of Atonement. The congregants respond "Next year in Jerusalem," and return home to break their fast, confident that their sins have been forgiven." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Since 1967, when Jerusalem became open for Jews, the congregant's response is "Next year in Jerusalem - rebuilt." This is an expression of rebuilding the Temple in the mountains of Judah.

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:3)

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 3:1)

"I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God; wherefore, gird up your loins and I will suddenly come to my temple. Even so. Amen." (Doctrine and Covenants 36:8)

How beautiful upon the mountains of Judah and Joseph are the feet of him who brought salvation to all of us! How beautiful are the garments of them that are worthy to bow at his feet.

Jews use garments to remind them of ancient Temple rituals. The garment is called a Tallit and it has four sets of Zizit, strings with knots that are reminders of the binding covenants.

"According to the Bible, God commanded the Jews to wear fringes on the corners of their garments as a reminder of the Lord's commandments: "And it shall be unto you for a fringe that ye may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord" (Numbers 15:39). This fringe is called a zizit."

"The tallit is usually white and made either of wool, cotton, or silk . . . Although the ordinary tallit is worn only in the synagogue, strictly observant Jews wear the tallit katan (small tallit) under their upper garments the whole day." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

In many Jewish weddings, a special white garment is worn called the Kitel.

"In Ashkenazi tradition it is not just the bride who wears white on her wedding day. The groom, too, stands under the canopy wearing his white kitel, or robe, over his wedding finery. The day of their marriage is a solemn one for the bride and groom. They pray that their past sins will be forgiven and they can start their life together afresh. The white of their clothing symbolizes the purity and the forgiveness of sin for which they are hoping. For this reason a similar garment is used to clothe the dead for burial. The kitel therefore also serves to remind the wearer of how brief life is, and of the necessity for atonement."

"The kitel is traditionally worn on those important occasions when the Jew is concerned with such thoughts. It is worn during prayer services on Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur; at the seder on Passover eve; by the hazzan on the eighth day of Sukkot when the prayer for rain is recited and the first day of Passover during the prayer for dew." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

On the subject of repentance, one of the most important theological doctrines of both the Bible and the Talmud is that if a sinner repents his bad deeds, God will forgive him.

"Repentance consists of several stages --- firstly the sinner must reflect on his actions and realize that he has indeed done the wrong thing. He must then make up his mind never to do it again, and confess his sin. This confession is not made to any other human being but is made by the sinner directly to God. On this basis the two confessions Ashamnu and Al-Het were introduced into the prayers for the Day of Atonement which is a special occasion for repentance and forgiveness. However, even when a sinner has done all these things, his repentance is still not final until he has been exposed to the same temptation and withstood it. Of course he should not deliberately put himself on that spot again."

"Repentance in Hebrew is known as teshuvah, which literally means "return," and signifies a return to God. A person who repents his sins is known as a ba'al teshuvah. Many rabbis of the Talmud believed that the real ba'al teshuvah is greater even than a person who has never sinned and they furthermore said that when a person repents out of love of God (and not just out of fear of divine punishment), all the sins he had committed are considered to be mitzvot. This is perhaps the most comforting doctrine that Judaism has given to the world." (Encyclopedia Jucaica Jr.)

Here is one more thought on the subject of sacrifice.

"The Hebrew term for sacrifice, korban, is from a root meaning "to draw near," and originally denoted that which was brought near, or offered, to God. It is also possible that the term signified "that which brings man near to God" and, indeed, a late aggadic source interprets sacrifices in this sense." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

Where would be a better place than going to the Mountain of the Lord's house and drawing near to Him? How beautiful!