81. An Equinox Celebration of Jesus Christ

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Hooray, GIA here.

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I'm this week's host for the

Creative Spiritual Journey podcast

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where Judy and I talk about

those things that bring us joy.

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For me, I find joy by connecting

with nature, connecting with Jesus

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Christ and our heavenly parents.

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Seasonal living, and all the bits of magic

and wonder I come across while navigating

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this remarkable journey we call life.

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Believe it or not, we are only two

weeks away from the September Equinox.

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Notice I called this the September

Equinox, not the fall equinox.

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That's because only half of

the world is heading into fall.

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The other half is heading into spring.

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But wherever you are, the Equinox

is an auspicious time of year

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when the light of day is equal

in length with the dark of night.

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Most people call this a time of

balance, but to me everything

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feels slightly out of balance.

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In the Northern hemisphere,

we are heading into fall.

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It's cool at night and hot during the

day, and I never know what to wear.

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Not that I don't love the weather,

nothing makes me happier than cool.

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Crisp mornings that tell me I've

almost survived the heat of summer.

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But personally, I've started referring

to the equinoxes, both the spring

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and the fall as the tipping points.

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The light has been changing since the

last solstice, but it isn't until the

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Equinox that the balance completely

tips towards the opposite extreme

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of light or dark as the case may be.

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To me, this idea explains why I feel

a bit off balance this time of year.

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The light is tipping.

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What's in balance about that?

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But all this tipping and balance

stuff aside, the seasons are

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changing, which means it's time for

my fall celebration of Jesus Christ.

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And I have chosen the September Equinox as

the perfect place to pin that celebration.

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If you are new to this podcast, you

might be wondering why a Christian

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would be celebrating the Equinox.

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Here is my answer.

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In an effort to live closer to nature,

to live more seasonally, and through this

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endeavor to grow closer to Jesus Christ,

I decided I wanted to have my own personal

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celebration of Christ in every season.

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I played around with centering my

celebrations on different holidays already

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in place, but in the end, I settled on the

spring and fall equinoxes and the summer

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and winter solstice as great times to

celebrate Jesus Christ in every season.

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I mean, they were there and felt

unused, at least in my life.

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So they became the perfect dates.

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For me, I love the idea of celebrating

Jesus Christ by following the light

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around the seasons of the year.

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This goes right along with Alma

30 verse nine, which says, all

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things denote there is a God, yay.

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Even the earth and all things

that are upon the face of it.

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Yay.

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And its motions.

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Yay.

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And also, all the planets which move

in their regular form do witness

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that there is a supreme creator.

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So welcome to the episode where I talk

about my fall celebration of Jesus Christ.

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On the day I am posting this episode, the

Equinox is still two weeks away Because

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I post biweekly, I could have either

posted it today or in two weeks, which

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would have been the day of the Equinox.

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I chose to post it early just

in case you are interested in

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having your own celebration and

would like some time to plan.

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Now as a way to design how and where I

celebrate this year, I have chosen to

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follow the seasons of the life of Christ

as I move through the seasons of the year.

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With the spring equinox,

I focused on his youth.

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For the summer solstice, I focused

on the start of his ministry.

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And for the fall equinox, I want to

focus on the last week of his life.

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Can you see how the rhythmic patterns

of the seasons and the natural flow

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of life follow a similar configuration

from beginning, middle, and to the end?

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I think it's beautiful to see

how these patterns replicate.

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Now, as a quick aside, I have to

point out that in South Africa,

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they are heading into spring,

glorious, bright, lovely spring,

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Obviously because they are in the

Southern hemisphere, all of their

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holidays are backwards from mine.

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Christmas is in the summer

instead of the winter.

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Easter comes in the fall

instead of the spring.

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So while my seasonal timeline of Christ's

life doesn't work out in the Southern

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Hemisphere, at least not while using

a World calendar, I had the thought

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of, wow, this would be an excellent

opportunity for my South African

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friends to celebrate the life of Jesus

Christ in the spring for a change.

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Because the World Calendar always has

them celebrating Easter in the fall.

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so I hope this invitation

is inspiring for everyone.

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No matter where in the world you reside,

just modify it so that it works for you.

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For me, here in the Northern

Hemisphere, I am heading into

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fall, a natural time for endings.

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So for my Fall Equinox celebration

of Jesus Christ, I want to focus

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on the last week of his life.

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Since we know quite a few things

about this last week, I have

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lots of things to choose from.

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And of course, because this

is my celebration, I am going

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to pick my favorite things.

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On the spring Equinox, I chose to attend

my local temple, an hour and a half drive

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from my house, and I camped out so I

could easily attend two days of sessions.

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I imagined this would be like the

young Jesus and his family camping

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outside the walls of Jerusalem

when they went to the temple.

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Now we know that Jesus also went to the

temple during the last week of his life.

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And while I am planning a temple

visit sometime during the Equinox

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week, I have been thinking that on

the day of the Equinox I would like

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to go to a different kind of temple.

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In fact, I have decided I will

hike to the top of a mountain.

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Throughout the scriptures,

prophets have sought mountaintops

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as a place to commune with God.

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Think Moses Nephi and Enoch.

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There is something about mountains

and temples that just go together.

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Here is a thought about temples

and mountains that I just recently

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learned from Jack Logan and her

podcast titled The Ancient Tradition.

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Let me attempt to explain.

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If you are familiar with the Israelite

temple, you will know that it had an

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outside wall, then an inner building,

and inside that the Holy of Holies,

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there were three different layers.

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Jack Logan explains that based

on this formula, that Garden

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of Eden was a type of temple.

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Isn't that cool?

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This comes directly from the scriptures.

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Let me read Genesis two eight.

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It says, and the Lord God planted

a garden eastward in Eden.

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If you read this carefully, you will

see that in the eastern portion of

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Eden, the Lord planted a garden.

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This area called Eden would be

like the area just inside the

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walls of the temple, and the garden

would be like the inner building.

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And then in verse nine, it talks

about the tree of life being in

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the midst or middle of the garden.

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That would be the central

point or the Holy of Holies.

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So there you have it all.

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The elements of a temple that would

make the Garden of Eden the first

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temple ever built on this earth.

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Now, here is the part I love, and

this is where the mountain comes in.

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Listen carefully.

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Genesis two 10 says, and a river

went out of Eden to water the garden,

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and from fence, it was parted.

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It became foreheads.

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Did you hear the mountain part?

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I know it's a little tricky, but if a

river were going to run in four different

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directions, it's likely the Garden of

Eden was at the top of a mountain, or

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at least a hill of some kind, right?

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So that the water could run forth.

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Do you love that?

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I love to imagine the Garden of

Eden, the first temple on earth

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as being at the top of a mountain.

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To me, an alpine mountaintop is one of

the most beautiful places in the world.

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If you would like more information

about this idea, I will include

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a link to the Ancient Traditions

Podcast in the show notes.

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Now there is another reason

to celebrate in the mountains.

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Listen to what Nephi says in one

Nephi 18, three, and it came to pass

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that I Nephi went unto the Mount

oft and did pray oft unto the Lord.

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Wherefore, the Lord showed

unto me great things.

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I love that.

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I love knowing that Nephi chose to pray

to God in the mountains and that it was

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there, that God showed him great things.

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Now, obviously, I am nothing like

Nephi, but in my own way, I want to

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pray at the top of my mountain and

hope to be open to revelation there.

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Let me share with you this verse that

explains some of my feelings about

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hiking to the top of a mountain.

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This is titled Why She Climbed.

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The Woman Climbed Mountains

not to conquer, but to

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confer with ancient wisdom.

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She climbed to rust with the wind, push

her body beyond the ache in her heart,

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face the rain with grace and forgiveness.

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She climbed to receive instruction

from the silence of the trees.

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Revelation from the cries of a hawk.

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She climbed to rest among the folds

of the earth to sit in temples

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older than time to place the

soles of her feet in holy places.

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Here she prayed without words

saying, without shame, rejoiced

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beneath the eyes of her God.

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She climbed not to escape, but to

return home to the clouds, home

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to where stars could surround her.

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She climbed to remember.

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She climbed to become, she climbed to

hear the mountains whisper her name.

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So that is my plan for my fall

Equinox celebration of Jesus Christ.

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I am going to climb to the

top of a mountain with the

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hope of communing with my God.

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Now, there is another element

from the final week of Christ's

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life that I want to include.

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One of my favorite parts is Christ

Triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

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You know what I'm talking about?

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It's the part where all the people were

so excited to see him that they laid

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down palm branches and shouted, Hosanna.

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I've really come to love

the word hosanna or hosana.

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If I attempt the Hebrew pronunciation,

The original meaning of this word

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was a plea for salvation, a desperate

cry for help during a time of

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war, famine, or national danger.

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And when you break down the word, the hose

part means save or deliver, and the NA

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part is an ENT treaty or a polite request

In English, we translate it as please.

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I love to focus on that ending part.

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Na na.

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It's almost like I can

feel the word in my heart.

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Na, please.

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That sacred request is beautiful.

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In fact, I have started using

the word ANA as a mantra in my

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meditation, and I really like it.

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the three syllables are easy

to say in my mind as I breathe.

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So think about trying it and maybe

Judy will create us a JOA meditation.

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Now calling out Hosanna to

the Lord is something that is

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still done in Jewish culture.

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most notably during one of their

festivals known as the Feast of the

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Tabernacles, which coincidentally is

celebrated in late September or early

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October, depending on the Jewish calendar.

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Which I find conveniently

close to the September equinox.

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But back to Christ's triumphal entry

here is something I find interesting.

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When the people were crying hosana, they

were using it more like a praise word,

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like shouting hail to the king, Thus in

our modern Christian context, the word

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hosanna is more a shout of praise or

acclimation than a cry for help, which

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is another beautiful way to use the word.

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In the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter Day Saints, we have a sacred

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ceremony called the Hosanna Shout.

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Honestly, I don't know if in this context

we are using the word Hosanna more as a

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plea for help or as a shout of praise.

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The reality is, I don't know if the

distinction matters all that much, but

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if I had to hazard a guess, I would say

we use the word more as a shout of praise

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than as a plea for salvation to shout.

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The word just seems to

me more like praise.

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When I say it slowly to myself

as I meditate, that's when

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it feels more like a plea.

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Now, there is one place where I feel

like the word is naturally used both

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as a plea and praise, and that is

when the word is used in a song.

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There are lots of Jewish and

Catholic and other Christian songs

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that chant or sing the word hona or

hosanna, however you want to say it.

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Let me share with you a clip I stole

from the Mormon channel studio now

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called the Saints Channel Studio.

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This line is sung by Aubrey Liz and

is from the hymn with Wondering Awe.

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I will include a link to the whole song

in the show notes, but listen to this.

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Isn't that beautiful?

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I know it's short, so

let me play it again.

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O how I wish I could sing when

I get to the top of my mountain.

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And I know I could, but, uh, Not being

that musically inclined as part of my

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celebration of Jesus Christ, I have

decided that when I reach the top

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of my mountain, I am going to shout

Hosanna and I am going to do it with

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all the joy and fervor I can muster.

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I mean, why not?

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This is my celebration after all.

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And while I am shouting, I

am going to imagine that I am

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praising God with all creation.

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because we know of course,

that everything, every flower,

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every river, every mountain is

in a constant state of praise.

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Listen to this verse from

Doctrine and Covenants 1 28.

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Let the earth break forth in singing.

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Let the mountains shout for joy

and all ye valleys cry aloud

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and all ye sees and dry lands.

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Tell the wonder of your eternal

king and je rivers and ye brooks

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and reels flow down with gladness.

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Let the woods and all the trees

of the field praise the Lord.

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And these solid rocks weep for joy.

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Let the sun, moon and the morning

stars sing together and let all

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the sons of God shout for joy.

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So there you have it all.

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The makings of a wonderful Equinox,

celebration of Jesus Christ.

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Judy and I know your time is precious

and that you have many choices.

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We love that you have chosen to

walk with us for a few minutes as

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we navigate this journey of life.

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If you like this podcast, will you take

the time right now to share it with a

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friend, share it somewhere on social

media, or leave us a five star rating.

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And if you listen on Apple Podcast,

will you leave us a five star review

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Your efforts truly make a difference

in helping this podcast reach

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people interested in our content.

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It also helps Judy and me know that

you like our show and will give

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us the motivation to keep going.

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Thank you in advance for your help.

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Let me close with a quote from Jeffrey R.

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Holland.

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He said.

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We rejoice with the angels who

shouted, Hosanna as Jesus entered

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Jerusalem, and we too can shout

Hosanna in our hearts as we follow him.

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Namaste.