They proclaim the Book of Mormon as equal to the Bible. Israeli scholars know it can't possibly be true. How must they feel about them even being there?

I'm sure that big money bought the Mormon presence in.

I've also wondered about that.

Maybe they have enough to worry about without also added that intrusion into their list.

Anyone know any Mormon who has visited there? I understand they are not allowed to proselytize.

What I, as a Jew and as someone who has been to Jerusalem, find of immediate interest is: FIVE ACRES IN EAST JERUSALEM???

Wow...

Using (admittedly rough) figures from 2015 (three years ago), a half-acre in East Jerusalem is worth US$15,000,000...which means five acres would be worth US$150,000,000...

...which means: a truly impressive LDS real estate investment for the future (especially since the worth of the land keeps increasing).

http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/palestine-s-other-land-war-1213915354

[EDITED TO ADD: Evidently, there is, or was, a lease on the land, negotiated in 1968 for 49 years....which is "now." I assume that LDS Corporate was able to re-negotiate the lease for a similar, future, term of years.]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2018 09:24PM by Tevai.

I would love to see the Jews chase them out some day. Poor persecuted Mormon souls! Poor BYU, struggling so hard to be accepted!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2018 09:36PM by brigidbarnes.

Hope the Jews argue the Mormons a lot and get them out of Israel! The book of Mormon has no evidence at all and is stupid! If Mormons want to see real evidence go to Israel and see ruins for yourself! Shalom and I love the Jews

After seeing all the ruins in Israel, how can any Mormon still believe that Joseph's silly book has any possibility for reality?

Christians are one of Israel's most important allies in the world.

They form alliances with Christian evangelical groups and other Christian organizations due to the benevolence those Christian groups provide - to a degree.

More Jewish people I know are very critical of Christians in their midst, and eschew their presence in Israel. But not all do. They raise money for charities and fundraisers to assist the poor and needy and to support the Israeli Defense Fund.

Note that Benjamin Netanyahu and Mitt Romney are very close friends from their college days back at MIT and Harvard. Theirs is a lifelong alliance that lasts to this day.

Didn’t he live in Philly too? A lot of people say he has a Philly accent when he speaks English. It goes sound like Philly, or NYC, or maybe Bostonian.

Was the airline El Al? Israel has the safest airline in the world.The tanks and soldiers are probably normal, everyday security measures. They’re careful on who they let on too, very good system. Wish all airlines were like it, ( I have a fear of flying , so it’s just comforting to me)

Hockeyrat Wrote:
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> Was the airline El Al? Israel has the safest
> airline in the world.

...or the 4th safest, anyway.

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3671719,00.html

Yes, it was El Al.

This was before all the extra security that airlines adopted after 9-11, so it felt really unnerving to me at the time.

I don't want to misunderstand--

"They raise money for charities and fundraisers to assist the poor and needy and to support the Israeli Defense Fund."

I suppose you mean that Christian groups do this. I can't imagine the Mormons raising money and donating.

At one time, visiting BYU Israel was dangerous, and it was closed down. They discontinued the popular Mormon tours of Israel. I don't think the LDS visitor's center was ever re-opened, or was it? Didn't the Mormons put up something on sacred ground? What is there, now?

You're right. I don't believe the Mormons are engaged actively in promoting charity drives for Israelis, or helping to fund the Israeli Defense forces.

There are evangelical Christian groups who do, as do also Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, and Messie groups already in existence in israel.

Not sure either about how active the LDS presence is there. But as their founding father has proclaimed, they also have a claim to Jerusalem. Am Y'Israel Chai! The most prized real estate anywhere in the world! (The key is learning to live peacably rather than killing for a claim to that soil. If ever that day will come ...)

((rolls eyes))

I was there in 1989. Ex DH was a BYU biochem prof and 3 couples from BYU were there for a conference of scientists. We went to church on Saturday. IIRC. We also toured around the whole area with Dan Rona as our guide. He drove us around in a van and knew what areas not to go into. It was a wonderful trip, one that I will never forget, and now as an exmo, I appreciate the ancient history of that place even more.

There were two scary events that stand out to me. One, when we left Frankfort Germany to fly into Tel Aviv, our plane was guarded by soldiers in tanks and the tanks rolled along the runway until we took off. The other was one day we got a taxi to go see the Old City and the driver wouldn't take us there. He said there was "trouble"there that day. We read in the paper the next day that there had been some sort of skirmish down there.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2018 10:24PM by gemini.

Do you think the Israelis have even noticed the LDS presence in Jerusalem?

Soft Machine Wrote:
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> Do you think the Israelis have even noticed the
> LDS presence in Jerusalem?

Not from my own observation!!

:D

:-D

My younger daughter spent last year in Jerusalem for her studies and, despite knowing of my interest in Mormonism, she never noticed any sign of them...

That's crazy!

Israel has to be aware that mormonism has its very roots in Jerusalem!

And if nothing else, the book of mormon solved the mystery that absolutely perplexed all of Israel for so many centuries: it was Nephi who killed Laban!!

Wasn't there a great deal of resistance to the building of the center st the time? It seems to me it was quite organized but then suddenly ended. Shortly after the then mayor of Jerusalem visited SLC to thank the church for its major contribution to the building of the holocaust museum in Washington.

What folks fail to realize is that ChurchCo was very, very crafty when they built this building. It is a temple that is temporarily cloaked as a 'learning center'. All of the elements are all present to quickly turn it into a functional temple. No conspiracy theories here - just plain deviancy on the part of Spence Kimball and Jeff Holland, among others.

My family visited the 'temple' in the summer 2007. It was basically empty at the time given that students were back in the states for summer break. However, one of the senior missionaries told us (speaking for himself) that Christ would visit the LDS temple first before going to the holy mount. We were stunned!

And I wouldn't say it is very temple like. It doesn't stick out architecturally. It looks and feels more like a visitor center, and has a great view of the Old City from the window (temples aren't great ones on views.)

The mkdern Mormon temples tend to.be built WAY out of downtown areas. The LDS is more likely to buy a site in the Negev!

In Mormon Thinkology, Jerusalem is where Jesus will make his first appearance in the resurrection. Followed by his visit to the 2nd temple in Missouri.

They're prepping for his return. Little sneaky ones.

Only the joke is on them. If Christ were to return I very much doubt he's going first to the Mormon temple in Jerusalem.

The Temple Mount is where the great religions Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all lay a claim.

But the third and last temple is still waiting to be built by the Jews living there. It ain't owned by the Mormons. They have no land claim or claim to that whatsoever.

They are in essence pseudo Jews, but really Gentiles who wannabe Jews in the Holy Land. Otherwise known as goyim.

Basically the Jewish fringe got upset by the location, and then the Jewish mainstream got uppity about the idea that LDS might convert away Jews... but the LDS backed down and you'll never see open missionaries outside the center.

The Arabs seem more concerned by the occupation of their ancestral lands in east Jerusalem by eastern European & American Jews who have arrived in the last century, and the Jerusalem university campus is more a sore point than the LDS. The Arabs probably aren't that bothered although it is in east Jerusalem.

As church buildings go, the architecture is pretty tasteful and is similar to an old Jordanian hotel up the road. I don't think anyone objects on architectural grounds.

Bruce R. McConkie, "The Millennial Messiah," pp. 279-80:

"Who are those 'that are far off' who shall come to Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord? Surely they are the Jews who have been scattered afar. By what power and under whose authorization shall the work be done? There is only one place under the whole heavens where the keys of temple building are found. There is only one people who know how to build temples and what to do in them when they are completed. That people is the Latter-day Saints. The temple in Jerusalem will not be built by Jews who have assembled there for political purposes as at present. It will not be built by a people who know nothing whatever about the sealing ordinances and their application to the living and the dead. It will not be built by those who know nothing about Christ and his laws and the mysteries reserved for the saints. But it will be built by Jews who have come unto Christ, who once again are in the true fold of their ancient Shepherd, and who have learned anew about temples because they know that Elijah did come, not to sit in a vacant chair at some Jewish feast of the Passover, but to the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836, to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The temple in Jerusalem will be built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 'They that are far off,' they that come from an American Zion, they who have a temple in Salt Lake City will come to Jerusalem to build there another holy house in the Jerusalem portion of 'the mountains of the Lord's house.' (D&C 133:13.)"

McC(l)onkie was certainly accurate in referring to los mormones as "They that are far off"...

I've been there twice (at the Jerusalem Center). It is used as a public auditorium and has a magnificent view of the Temple Mount. Everybody can go there to hear concerts, speeches, etc., none of which are labeled LDS. In fact, when I was there, Israeli and Palestinian teachers were on the faculty---and there seemed to be a very peaceful co-existence between all the students and faculty. I quite loved it.

The LDS church cannot proselytize anyone in Israel, or even discuss their views with those not already Mormon. The most interesting thing, I found, is how the LDS people are welcomed and loved by the Palestinians of East Jerusalem. I was shocked at the coldness of the Israelis generally, and the warmth of the Palestinians toward the Mormons.

Perhaps that is due to the fact that Joseph Smith considered himself the American Mohammed, and LOTS of LDS doctrine is exactly in line with Islam.