Star of David

18 November 2017

It’s been another busy week, here.

Thursday night a group of women from our branch went to the Humanitarian Center and tied quilts. We’ve been doing this twice-a-month since July and have completed 39 quilts. Of course, there’s no way to know where the quilts are sent once they're finished, but, we know they are sent to people in need somewhere in the world.

We had a really interesting Sunday School lesson this week. (Our missionary branch doesn’t follow the same lessons as the rest of the Church. The mission president chooses the topics.) This past Sunday the lesson was based on an April 1985 conference talk by President Howard W. Hunter called, “Christ, Our Passover.”

One of the missionaries serving here grew up in the Jewish faith and the teacher asked him to share some things with us about the meaning and practices of the Jewish faith around Passover. I expect that most latter-day saints are familiar with much of what he told us, but he gave us a handout that was particularly interesting – because Bob and I had never been introduced to the meaning of the Star of David before. Here’s a copy of what was on his handout:

(My note: This breakdown is a little confusing because it doesn’t literally represent Jacob’s 12 sons. Ephraim and Manassah were Joseph's sons [Jacob's grandsons]. However, Joseph received a double portion of inheritance and it was divided between his two sons. The Bible says that Reuben [Jacob and Leah's oldest son] originally received a double share of land because he was the oldest, but he lost this birthright due to immorality. Then, the double portion went to Joseph, who was the oldest son of Jacob and Rachel. So, Joseph is represented by Ephraim and Manassah in this graphic. Levi [Jacob and Rachel's youngest son] is not represented because he was not given a land inheritance due to his unique ecclesiastical role.)

He showed us a beautiful, velvet pouch that was embroidered in gold with the Star of David. The pouch contained his prayer shawl, his yarmulke, and this folded piece of paper describing the meaning of the Star of David. It made me think about what we carry with us that are constant reminders of our faith. Mostly, I think, they are not so much physical things (though, there are some) but they are the things we carry in our hearts — treasured, daily reminders of who we are and of our relationship to God.

I am truly grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for Christ’s atonement, and for the blessing of being able to repent and draw closer to the Savior through the help of the Holy Ghost.