Going up

I remember reading this article by Daniel Peterson and making some notes about the Hebrew word "aliyah"  in my scriptures for 1 Nephi chapter 5.

Article:

Daniel PetersonDaniel is a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at BYU.

“After this there was a feast of the Jews,” reports John 5:1, “and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”

That notion of “going up” to Jerusalem is much more interesting than it might at first appear. Indeed, it’s a very rich idea, and an ancient one.

Of course, it’s partly a matter of literal, physical climbing. The city of Jerusalem rests at approximately 2,500 feet above sea level on a relatively high mountain ridge; Nazareth sprawls between 1,000 and 1,500 feet lower, to the north. So Jesus would really have been climbing up to Jerusalem.

And so would virtually every other visitor to the city. The Mediterranean coast is 37 miles west of Jerusalem, and the even deeper Jordan River Valley and Dead Sea sit 22 miles to the east — forming a part of the overall Great Rift Valley that extends for 3,700 miles from Lebanon in the north down to Mozambique, in southeastern Africa.

Thus, when, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, “a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves” (Luke 10:30), he was really going down. At 1,200 feet below sea level, Jericho is fully 3,700 feet lower than Jerusalem, although it’s only about 17 miles away. And anybody who’s ever driven the road from Jericho to Jerusalem — in very low gear for buses and trucks — knows how steep the upward grade is.

The Book of Mormon, incidentally, gets things exactly right when — clever boy, that Joseph Smith! — Lehi and the members of his family continually go down from Jerusalem into the wilderness and then return up to Jerusalem when they're sent back (as at 1 Nephi 2:5; 3:9-29; 5:1; 7:2-5, 15, 22).

But it’s not merely geography: Jerusalem was the site of the temple of God, “the Mountain of the Lord’s House.”

In medieval and modern Arabic, Jerusalem is known as “al-Quds,” “the Holy One,” which refers not to streets, hotels, intersections, office buildings, gas stations and cafes, but to the temple. It’s a shortened form of the still earlier Arabic name “Bayt al-Maqdis” or “Bayt al-Muqqadas” (“the Holy House”), which, in turn, reflects the ancient Hebrew term “Bayt ha-Miqdash.”

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” asks the Psalmist, “or who shall stand in his holy place?” He then proceeds to cite some of the characteristics of those permitted to enter the temple (see Psalm 24:3-5; compare Psalm 15).

In fact, 15 of the biblical Psalms (120-134) bear the label “song of ascent” or, as the King James Version puts it, “song of degrees.” (They’ve also been called “songs of steps” and “pilgrim songs.”) Many scholars believe that these psalms were sung by worshippers walking up the road to Jerusalem for the three great pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Tabernacles and Pentecost, or by priests as they climbed 15 steps for their service in the temple — symbolically ascending to God. Some have suggested that they were composed for Solomon’s dedication of the temple.

Lingering traces of the notion of “ascending” to Jerusalem persist. Still today, for example, nearly 2,000 years after the Romans destroyed the temple, even secular Jews who immigrate to Israel are said to be "making ‘aliyah,’” where “aliyah” means “ascent.” (Think of the Israeli national airline, “El Al,” which means “to the skies” or “skyward.”)

And, for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there are more than merely lingering traces. In modern temples, for instance, the initial ordinance of entry into God’s kingdom, baptism, is performed on a lower floor, “in a place underneath where the living are wont to assemble” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:13). Thereafter, worshippers typically climb ever higher in the temples as they receive the ordinances of the Lord’s house, symbolically approaching the presence of God.

Finally, too, the notion of temple-related ascent forms part of the prophesied future:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 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” (see Isaiah 2:2-3; compare Micah 4:1-2).

(End of Article)

(up to Jerusalem)

With the new year, I have started reading 1 Nephi again as he tells of his family's journeying.   I have marked the word "down" and "up" in Nephi's narrative.  When the travel was "down" it was going "down" to the wilderness.   When it was "up" it was to Jerusalem where the temple stood.  A wonderful scripture is from Psalms 24.   "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart...This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob." 

Today as I read 1 Nephi chapter 5, I re-read the notes I had made some time ago from Daniel Peterson's article mentioning "the ascent" or "ascender (aliyah)".  I looked up the root which is עָלָה  alah.  I was interested when I saw that from this root we find the word עֲלָה, which is a "burnt offering".   This is probably due to the burnt offering going "up" in smoke. 

So here, in 1 Nephi chapter 5, we find in verse one that they had journeyed "down" into the wilderness after having "ascended up" alah to Jerusalem,  they then offered sacrifice and "burnt offerings" עֲלָה alah unto the Lord.   

Next, I happened to notice the possible english word play on "descend".  And after they had given offerings and thanks unto the God of Israel, Lehi took the records which retrieval was the purpose of their journey, and Lehi searched them.

Lehi found that he was a "descendant" of Jospeh.  These records were of great worth to them and it was "wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us, as we journey in the wilderness towards the land of promise." (1 Nephi 5:22)

Nephi says that it is sufficient to say that [they] are "descendants" of Joseph.

I find it interesting that these chapters talk of going up, ascending, going down and descendants.  

I love how Nephi concludes chapter six with the purpose of his testimony: "For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to "come" unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.  

עָלָה  alah can also mean "come".  To come unto Christ we too must ascend to him.  To truly come unto him and partake of all that he has we must ascend to his holy house.  Although, I do not need to walk up to the Oquirrh Mountain temple as I attend each week, I notice the beautiful ascent that I make as I drive "up" and come nearer to Him  .  Is our small offering of going "up" a "burnt sacrifice" unto the Lord?  I believe it is.

(public domain)

YW 2016

Parkway 8th Ward Young Women 2016 History 

The Parkway 8th ward young women started off the year learning about the 2016 Theme -

“Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all mankind.  Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end; behold, thus saith the Father, ye shall have eternal life.”

In January, the young women and parents attended a stake meeting to introduce the theme with talks by youth from the Stake.  

A Stake Youth Conference was held the last week of January.  The youth and leaders went ice skating at the Oquirrh Olympic Oval.  We had donuts and hot chocolate.  That evening there was a dance held at the South Valley Institute.  

We held New Beginnings in February.  We had a night with the girls, parents and new incoming beehives.  This night was entitled, Daughter of a King.  The theme was introduced and the personal progress program was explained.  We introduced the new beehives who would be joining us during the year.  They included Emma Hooper, Ruby McLeish, Katelyn Reidhead, London Isbell, Mia Angeletti, and Mia Roberts.

Each month the young women had a focus on a personal progress value.  Our mutual activities followed this monthly value.

We had a Graduation night for the seniors who would be graduating from High School and moving on to Relief Society.  These young women included: Angelica Madsen, Alyssa Bullock, and Samantha Goates.

Girls Camp was held on the ward level this year in Liberty Utah, near Eden Utah and Pineview reservoir.   The girls were able to forge stronger bonds

We had a great time learning to shoot a bow and arrow.  We went boating on Pineview Reservoir and had a wonderful testimony meeting with the Bishopric.   

There was a remarkable experience that happened 

 I still am in awe that Heavenly Father would put people exactly at the time and place when we needed them.    As we finished boating that afternoon, the rope that tied the boat to the trailer broke, however we did not have to struggle for long for there was someone standing right next to us in the water who knew how to tie the exact kind of knot needed to keep it on.

Brother Soutas was able to find someone on the phone very late a night who could talk him through disassembling the hydraulics when the propeller wouldn't

go up.  Two other young men helped him tie it up when he stopped at the gas station.   Brother Soutas knew it would be almost impossible to get the boat fixed by the morning in order to take the scouts boating as promised, but he was grateful for the little tender mercies he had along the way.

When Brother Soutas returned back to the girls camp  he told Bro Adams how grateful he was for all the help he had been given that afternoon.  Then he said, "All I need is for someone to show up and fix the boat"   It was 11:30 pm in the middle of the mountains in the remote town of Liberty, Utah.

How in the world would that ever happen?  We went outside to get the suburban ready for him to sleep, when a Paramedic truck pulled 

up and parked in front of us.   I was worried someone was hurt, but they assured us no one was.   The truck stayed there, the driver never got out.  I looked again and read on the side  of the truck, It did Not say "Paramedic" as I had originally assumed, but "Para-Mechanic"!!!!  My husband said  - No Way!!   

But it was true.  He walked over and asked him if he could fix boats.  He said he did and they made arrangements to meet at 7 am

The man said he wouldn't likely have the right switch to fix it, but he could still make it work for the day.  It turned out he had the right switch.

He fixed the boat -completely.   And Brother Soutas drove the boat to the boy scout camp on time as promised.   He says the boat works better than it ever has.

It would seem completely impossible for a boat to be fixed between the late hours of 11:30 pm and 7:00 am.  NO Boat mechanics work those

hours.  No hardware shops are open those hours.  No boat mechanics were available to fix a boat at all on a Saturday.  But Heavenly Father put the exact people at the exact time that we would need and see them to help us.      Heavenly Father and His son can help us fix a broken boat and he can help us fix broken souls.  I love my Heavenly Father and My Savior.   

The young women presidency serving is as follows:  Jennifer Soutas (President) , Lynette Kankamp (1st counselor) , Cheryl Madsen (2nd Counselor)  and Diane Bullock as Secretary.  The Laurel advisor was Nikki Hooper, The Mia Maid advisors were Tara Orr and Lisa Henderson.  The Beehive advisor was Alisa Bodily.  The camp leader was Liz Orton and the sports specialist was Shelleen Warner.

Other activities were as follows:

 The Young women went boating at Jordanelle in August.  This was a very fun activity.  We made blankets for the SL refugee Center.  We held a Service scavenger hunt around the neighborhood to do miscellaneous chores.  We went to the Beehive Senior Center in West Jordan and 

performed Christmas music and took them cookies. 

We held a back to school BBQ at Jordan ridge park, combined with the young men.

The Fall Festival activity in October was a great missionary activity to get less active youth to come.  This service to the neighborhood is well attended and draws a few less active and non-member families. 

 Young Women in Excellence was held in November by the Stake.   Each of the young women were able to display items they had completed for their personal progress.

Young women who earned their Young Women Medallion this year included, Lauren Kankamp, Danielle Orr, Samantha Goates, and Sister Cynthia Goates

Our year was awesome as we were able to Press Forward towards Christ.

In December a new Young Women’s presidency was called.

Jennifer Soutas was released as President, along with Lynette Kankamp as  first counselor and Cheryl Madsen as 2nd Counselor.  Diane Bullock as secretary. 

Tara Orr, Lisa Henderson, Nikki Hooper were also released.

The New Presidency called was Teri Forsyth, President.  Janie Hyde - 1st Counselor.  Rhonda Angeletti -2nd Counselor.  Maurielle Mouritsen secretary.   The Laurel advisor called was Diane Bullock.  The Mia Maid advisor was Alisa Bodily and the Beehive advisor was Cara Johnson.

Anointing & Sanctification/Shin

 I remember a talk our Stake Patriarch gave in a Stake Conference a few years ago.   He said that to be justified is "to be cleaned up" and "to be sanctified is to be filled up".  This thought was followed by the scripture phrase, "by the blood ye are sanctified", coming to my mind.
I pondered on that and thought of the color of the mixture I had made of the ancient holy anointing oil from a recipe found in Exodus.  It was made with pure olive oil, cinnamon, cassia, and myrrh. (I left out the sweet calamus so as not to be "cut off" as it says in Exod 30:33) :)
When olive oil is applied it is distributed throughout the body and most likely  carried through the blood!   The blood must be significant. (much like essential oils which, when are applied to the skin, their healing components are absorbed into the bloodstream by the pores and hair follicles. Once inside the bloodstream, they disperse to the specific organs and systems on which they work.)  https://www.21drops.com/pages/how-essential-oils-work 

  In an apocrypha document,  Adam is said to ask for the healing oil from the tree of life in the Garen of Eden, as he is approaching death, but it is denied by the angel guarding the tree.  We are told in the Book of Revelations, that the oil from the tree of life will heal the nations.

The Tree of Life contains the healing oil of salvation.

Teaching attributed to St Peter explained how Christ had been anointed:
‘The Son of God, the beginning of all things, became Man. He was the first whom God anointed with oil taken from the wood of the tree of life’. The text continues: ‘In this present life, Aaron the first high priest was anointed with a blended oil, made after the pattern of the spiritual oil... If this temporal grace, blended by men, was so effective, how potent is the ointment extracted by God from a branch of the tree of life. (From Margaret Barker and Clementine recognitions)  

The oil of the fruit is the healing of the atonement.  Healing us from death and sin.  This is especially symbolic of olives,  in as much as we used olive oil in our anointing for healing.

The Holy Priesthood of God is the Order by which means we receive anointings and healing blessings.  Doctrine and Covenants Section 121 tells that "the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven."
Dew of heaven is a direct reference to the holy anointing oil because, according to Margaret Barker, "it shone and was like dew". 
In modern scripture the Lord used the word "dew' to show the prosperity of an often dry Judean climate when he spoke of Mount Carmel, known as the "Garden of God".   This thought comes from a September 1980 Ensign article by D. Kelly Ogden.

"'As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon [the Saints' (D&C 128:19). We understand the full impact of God’s reference only when we realize that Mt. Carmel averages 250 dew-nights a year!"

In Exodus Chapter 30, we read that the holy ointment was used to anoint all vessels and furnishings in the tabernacle of Moses.  Verse 29 says that "thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.  

קָדַשׁ qâdash; a primitive root; to be to make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally):—appoint, bid, consecrate (fill the hand) , dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy(-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify(-ied one, self), wholly.

Margaret Barker wrote: "The fragrant tree of life appears in the Enoch traditions, standing near the heavenly throne, with a fragrance beyond all fragrance.  After the great Judgement, it would be restored to the temple, and its fruit would be given to the righteous and holy ones. This is what St Paul meant when he spoke of the fragrance of Christ being a fragrance from life for life.   In 2 Enoch, the fragrant tree is gold and crimson, like fire, a memory of the menorah, the tree of fire, the ancient symbol of Wisdom." 

The symbolism of anointing tells us the sacred and important nature of this ritual: (parts of this list were obtained from Bible History.com)
Anointing a king was equivalent to crowning him (1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4, etc.). 


"Anointing the eyes with eyesalve" expresses imparting of spiritual perceptions (Revelation 3:18).

Prophets were also anointed (1 Kings 19:16; 1 Chr. 16:22; Ps. 105:15). 
All furnishings and parts of the ancient tabernacle and most likely Temple were anointed (Ex 30)

In Isa 21:5 it reads  "anoint the shield".  Oil was rubbed on the leather of the shield so as to make it supple and fit for use in war.

Anointing was also an act of hospitality (Luke 7:38, 46). It was the custom of the Jews in like manner to anoint themselves with oil, as a means of refreshing or invigorating their bodies (Deut. 28:40; Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 104:15, etc.). This custom is continued among the Arabians to the present day. 

 Oil was used also for medicinal purposes. It was applied to the sick, and also to wounds (Ps. 109:18; Isa. 1:6; Mark 6:13; James 5:14). 
The bodies of the dead were anointed (Mark 14:8; Luke 23:56)  To cease anointing was a mark of mourning  (2 Samuel 14:2; Daniel 10:3; Matthew 6:17).
 Isaiah's beautiful messianic speech about the "oil of joy for mourning" has become a new favorite scripture.  It was also termed the "oil of gladness" (Ps. 45:7; Heb. 1:9).

 Jesus of Nazareth is this anointed One, the Messiah (John 1:41; Acts 9:22; 17:2, 3; 18:5, 28).



 The sacred use of oil was for consecrating things or persons to God. So Jacob anointed for a pillar the stone which had been his pillow at Bethel (Genesis 28:18).
 The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and as applied to things gave them a ceremonial sacredness, fitting them for holy ministrations. As applied to prophets (1 Chronicles 16:22; 1 Kings 19:16), priests (Leviticus 4:3), and kings (Isaiah 45:1), it marked their consecration to the office, and was a symbol of the spiritual qualification divinely imparted for its due discharge (Exodus 30:29-30). 1 Samuel 10:1,6: King Saul. 1 Samuel 16:13-14; David thrice anointed: first to the right; then over Judah; then actually over the whole nation.

 Isaiah 61:1;   Isaiah anointed  and the oil of joy and gladness

Christ (In Greek the Anointed One) in Hebrew he is Messiah (the anointed one). 

He was anointed Prophet (prophecy), Priest (hood), and King.  He was anointed with the Holy Spirit from the womb, then at His baptism- in the sense of being anointed with the Holy Ghost. (John 1:32-33-41). 

 What He is His people are - Messiahs or "anointed ones" --by union with Him (Zechariah 4:14), having the unction (anointing) of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21; 1 John 2:20). Though priests in general were at first anointed, afterward anointing was restricted to the high priest, called "the priest that is anointed:" the perfume used was of stacte, onycha, and galbanum, with pure frankincense.
Frankincense in Hebrew is לְבוֹנָה lᵉbôwnâh from the root lbn meaning to be white and
to make pure. 
There is great imagery in the type of individual who was anointed.  Thanks to Rebecca Stay for this wonderful insight.  They were the prophet, the priest, the king and the messenger/angel of the king (all same word from מלכ), and the bride/groom.  A most interesting individual to add to the group would be a leper.  

Leviticus 14 tells of the Cleansing of a Leper. (Thanks to Bible Hub for this layout)

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "This shall be the law of the leper for the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest. And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and indeed, if the leprosy is healed in the leper, then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field. He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and shall stay outside his tent seven days. But on the seventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows; all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean."

a. Then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds: In this cleansing ceremony, one bird was killed in an earthen vessel over running water, and its blood was applied to a living bird, to some cedar wood, to some scarlet fabric, and to some hyssop. Then, using these things, the blood was sprinkled on the one who was cleansed from leprosy. Then, the living bird was let go.

i. This seems to be a picture of Jesus’ death and its spiritual application; a “heavenly” being (as a bird is “of the heavens”) dies in an earthen vessel, while remaining clean (because of the running water). The death of the bird is associated with blood and water; the blood is connected with life (applied to the living bird), and then applied to the one cleansed.

ii. Cedar wood: Cedar is extremely resistant to disease and rot.  The Temple was a "house of cedar".

iii. The connection with hyssop is also important. Jesus was offered drink from a hyssop branch on the cross (Matthew 27:48), and when David said purge me with hyssop in Psalm 51:7, he was admitted that he was as bad as a leper.  אֵזוֹב  ay-zone or hyssop was the branch

used to spread the blood of the lamb on the lintel or doorpost on the night of the Passover exodus from Egypt.

b. He shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows: After the sacrificial ceremony with the birds, the cleansed leper had to wash their clothes and shave off all of their hair. They started all over again, as if they were a brand new baby.

i. Again, this seems to be an illustration of being “born again” - a completely new start.

On the eighth day:

"And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil. Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And the priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. Then he shall kill the lamb in the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering. The rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD. Then the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean."

a. On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish: In completing the sacrifices for the cleansed leper, offerings were made on the eighth day and sacrificial blood was applied to the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe, to sanctify and consecrate the cleansed leper. This was the same way that the priest was consecrated.

b. And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed: On the eighth day, oil was also applied to the cleansed leper. It was both sprinkled on his body in general and then applied to the ear, thumb, and toe just as the blood was. Each of these places on the body was meant to be anointed with oil.

i. Therefore, a cleansed leper had a special calling and a special anointing. One could not go through such a ritual as this and not be changed.

ii. Since leprosy is a picture of sin, we see how this ritual has spiritual application to ever sinner set free by Jesus.

iii. Since leprosy had no natural cure, it was certain that this ritual was rarely performed - and when it was performed at the command of Jesus (Luke 5:12-14), it must have been a great testimony to the priests at the temple.

Jesus the Christ.  Christ is Χριστός Christós, in Greek meaning, The Anointed One.  He is the Messiah, in Hebrew Messiah מָשִׁיחַ mâshîyach, the anointed one.
Jesus Christ was a prophet, priest, King.  He is the Bridegroom.  He also carries the symbols of a leper.  For in his hands are wounds that did not heal.  Yet, because of HIM we can be cleansed, cleaned up and fully healed and restored.

I love my Savior! 

O Ye Fair Ones!

I, Jennifer, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, [and] ....the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians




We have been told to liken the scriptures unto us.  I know I am not Nephi, but today I felt closer to him than I could ever imagine before.

I have studied after the learning of the Jews because it has fascinated me and I have been drawn to it most of my adult life.
  I love studying Hebrew and the meaning of the words.

This morning as I was reading from the Book of Mormon I re-discovered a bookmark which I had placed in the pages which contained my name - "Jennifer" and a definition of my name

This had been a handout for a young women lesson a few months ago about, probably about the importance of names, although I don't really remember.
But, today I read it and suddenly I saw a similarity to Nephi.  It was amazing to see it!

When I saw the meaning of my name, -white, fair,
I was given the realization to my mind that this was the same root meaning as Nephi!!
How cool is that?

I had read an article some time ago about Nephi being an Egyptian name and had marked this in my scriptures in First Nephi chapter one verse one.

Egyptian Nehfee (nfr)  = good, goodly, fine, fair - O ye fair ones! Mormon 6:17.

This morning I now see that the meaning of my name-  white and fair, and the ending of my name
"nnifer" or without vowels in true semitic style, is in fact "nfr"  

 White and fair,  I believe to be a description of goodness and "light" of countenance.  I liken this meaning to my favorite scripture.

......and I say it that ye may know the truth that ye may chase darkness from among you.

The Nephites were fair were white because they had more light when they were righteous.
The Lamanites were darkened when they left the light.
Each group found themselves in light and darkness depending on their righteousness, the amount of light they let into their lives.

לָבַן lâban  to be white  to make white, become white, purify to show whiteness, grow white  to become white, be purified 

This Hebrew word for white shows you can become white, grow white and it has to do with purity.

I have a list of people I can't wait to meet someday and now Nephi is definitely one of them :)

I also remembered that my parents had given me a necklace with  my name on it in Egyptian
from their travels to Egypt.   I just got it out, and now this necklace means more to me than the
"slight excitement" I showed when they gave it to me over ten years ago.

My husband will die if I now start learning Egyptian. Ha!

I now include a quote from a paper entitled, 
Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi's Name
By Matthew L. Bowen.
A proposed etymology of the Book of Mormon name Nephi is that it derives from the ancient Egyptian word nfr,1 which as an adjective means "good," "fine," or "goodly" and as a noun denotes "kindness" or "goodness."2 By Lehi's time, this word was probably pronounced "nefe" (NEH-fee).3 Two Book of Mormon passages contain strong evidence for such an etymology.
In the opening verse of the Book of Mormon, Nephi introduces himself as follows:
I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, . . . was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions . . . [and] having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. (1 Nephi 1:1)
Nephi's use of words that translate into English as "goodly" and "goodness" makes this passage even more beautiful and meaningful if we also understand the name Nephi to denote "good," "goodly," or "goodness." The wordplay perhaps suggests why the name Nephi so befits its bearer: he is nfr, or "goodly," because he was born of "goodly parents" and is one endowed with a "knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God."
That Lehi would give his son an Egyptian name is not unlikely, since Lehi's language "consist[ed] of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians" (1 Nephi 1:2). One reason Nephi was quick to point out his father's knowledge of Egyptian may have been to explain the origin of his non-Hebrew name.
More evidence surfaces in Helaman 5:6-7, where Helaman explains to his two sons, Nephi and Lehi, why he gave them their names:
Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem . . . [so that] ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know . . . that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them.
Where was it written that their namesakes were "good"? In 1 Nephi 1:1, Lehi is called a "goodly" parent, and Nephi's name corresponds to the Egyptian word meaning "good." Helaman 5:6-7 implies that Helaman was aware of the meaning of the name Nephi and that he hoped this honored name would also befit his own sons by virtue of their good works.
The wordplay in 1 Nephi 1:1 and Helaman 5:6-7 is not unlike that of the name etymologies in the Hebrew Bible, particularly in Genesis. Genesis 3:20 states that "Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living" (emphasis added). Here the Hebrew name hawwah ("lifegiver") is juxtaposed with the substantive participle Hay ("living"), both of which derive from the triliteral root Hyh or Hwh ("to live"). Many such examples could be cited from the Bible.

As research on the text of the Book of Mormon continues, evidence mounts concerning its antiquity and textual complexity. The interplay of the name Nephi with words that are translated "goodly," "good," and "goodness" provides further evidence that the Book of Mormon is, in fact, translation literature. !

Notes:

1. See John Gee, "A Note on the Name Nephi," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1/1 (1992): 189-91; and "Four Suggestions on the Origin of the Name Nephi," in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1999), 1-5.
2. Raymond O. Faulkner, A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (Oxford: Griffith Institute, 1999), 131-32.
3. The final r in nfr was dropped long before the time of Lehi, and evidence from the Coptic form and Aramaic transliteration of the word suggests that it ended in the vowel i. See the discussion in the articles by John Gee listed in note 1.

As a mother and now a grandmother, I yearn, I wish for my posterity to remember and to keep their covenants.  I understand Nephi's engraving upon plates to his "fair ones" that they would remember the LORD God and his covenants.   I deeply understand Mormons lament for his fallen people.

O ye fair ones, do not depart from the ways of the Lord!

O ye fair ones, remember that Jesus stands with open arms to receive you!

O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones.  I love you and Christ loves you.  Always Remember.

post update 2/18/21

I now believe the word used for white would be נבט (literally NEPHITE!) which means to illumine, to burst forth, to shine.  It is a sprout   It has similarities to  the Egyptian white lotus, a symbol of the sun, creation and rebirth.  The lotus grows in the murky mud of the nile but sprouts into a beautiful white water Lilly rising from the mud.  At night the flower closes and again sinks under the water waiting to rise again and open at dawn.    I believe the Egptian NFR glyph to be a combination of several things--heart, lungs, Kidneys.  And also an upside down flower.  The Nephite נבט Nabat or sprout! 

The veil

The holy of holies and the veil which shielded it is extremely important symbolism. 

Within the Holy Place of the Israelite  tabernacle,  was the inner room called the Holy of Holiesi; a most sacred room, a place no ordinary person could enter. It was God’s special dwelling place in the midst of His people. 

A thick curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. This curtain, known as the “veil,” was made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn.  These colors tied to the elements of creation. From sources such as Philo and Josephus the white linen represented earth, the blue wool was air; the red wool was fire; and the purple wool was water 

There were figures of cherubim (angels) embroidered onto it. Cherubim, spirits who serve God, were in the presence of God to demonstrate His almighty power and majesty. They were the guardians of the throne of God. These cherubim were also worked into  the innermost layer linen covering of the tent and as the menorah was thought to represent the tree of life, the cherubim were guarding the way to it. 

The word “veil” in Hebrew means a screen, divider or separator that hides.   The Hebrew word - פֹּרֶכֶת pôreketh, is a feminine noun meaning a separating curtain. i.e. (the sacred) screen:—the vail.

Margaret Barker has said, "The curtain separated time and eternity. In Hebrew, ‘hidden’, ‘eternal’ and Virgin are all forms of the same word. ‘lm. Virgin implies eternal and hidden. 

What was this curtain hiding? Essentially, it was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the very presence of God. In fact, anyone except the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies would die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement.

The picture of the veil was that of a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God could not be trifled with. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can tolerate no sin (Habakkuk 1:13). The veil was a barrier to make sure that man could not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Even as the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to make some meticulous preparations: He had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for sins.

“But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)

So the presence of God remained shielded from man behind a thick curtain during the history of Israel. However, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross changed that. When He died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. Only God could have carried out such an incredible feat because the veil was too high for human hands to have reached it, and too thick to have torn it. (The Jerusalem temple, a replica of the wilderness tabernacle, had a curtain that was about 60 feet in height, 30 feet in width and four inches thick.) Furthermore, it was torn from top down, meaning this act must have come from above.

Matt 27:50-51 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 

As the veil was torn, the Holy of Holies was exposed. God’s presence was now accessible to all. Shocking as this may have been to the priests ministering in the temple that day, it is indeed good news to us as believers, because we know that Jesus’ death has atoned for our sins and made us right before God. The torn veil illustrated Jesus’ body broken for us, opening the way for us to come to God. As Jesus cried out “It is finished!” on the cross, He was indeed proclaiming that God’s redemptive plan was now complete. The age of animal offerings was over. The ultimate offering had been sacrificed.

We can now boldly enter into God’s presence, “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

The Holy of Holies is a representation of heaven itself, God’s dwelling place, which we have access now through Christ. In Revelations, John’s vision of heaven — the New Jerusalem — also was a perfect square, just as the Holy of Holies was (Revelation 21:16).

“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. …

At the time of Christ crucifixion and death the temple veil was rent in twain opening the way to gain access to the Holy of Holies wherein lay the ark of the covenant also called the mercy seat and in Hebrew called kapporet כַּפֹּרֶת kappôreth.  This was a covering over the sacred ark and comes from the root kaphar כפר, which means to cover and wiping away of sins and transgressions. It is the Hebrew word for Atonement. 

 

The temple veil or poroketh comes from the root  פרך parak and gives additional sacred meaning.  This Hebrew root means to break apart, and more importantly it is used to mean a fragment, to crumble and crush something; to break into little pieces.  It is freshly crushed grain.   As mentioned above, the temple veil is the body of Christ; and here we find that the same curtain can be crushed grain and also a fragment of bread.  When the veil of the temple was rent in twain at Christ death, he had just the night before instituted the Sacrament.  Jesus Christ told his disciples that the broken bread he passed to each of them represented his body.  His body was torn and broken, just as the temple veil.  

Christ is the Veil! 

In Jewish midrash Mary as a young girl wove the temple veil which would hang

in Harod's temple and would be rent at the crucifixion of her son. 

Ancient text speak of  a female goddess of wisdom.   She was a weaver who wove the foundations of the earth.

 (give references): 

Both the ancient Greeks and the Navajo have legends of spiders and weaving. In the Navajo mythos, Spider Woman is a beneficent helper who taught them to weave. She also taught them the spiritual meaning of the loom, the warp, and all the tools. On the other hand, in Greece,  Athena who was jealous of her skill, punished Arachne by changing her into a spider when she appeared to have superior talent.

Often the weaving goddesses are also teachers of wisdom and midwifery. Ixchel is the 16th century name of the Mayan goddess of weaving and childbirth and, it seems likely, the moon. She was worshipped on the Isla des Mujeres (the Isle of Women) and is often seen with a hare.

The people who have become the modern day Berbers, renowned for their weaving, were present in North Africa before the Phoeniceans founded Carthage. They worshipped Tanit as the goddess of childbirth, weaving and the moon. Tanit was later equated with Astarte, the northwestern Semitic goddess of fertility, sexuality, and war.

In Japan, Amaterasu is the Shinto goddess of weaving and the sun. In the Balkans, it is Saule who spins and weaves sunbeams.  However, most often the association of weaving goddesses is with the moon.

Among the ancient Egyptians the men did the weaving, but it was Isis who taught the women to spin. Neith (Nut), Egypt's ancient Goddes was also a weaver. Her name means “one who is,” and, according to E. A. Wallis Budge, weaving is synonymous with “being” in the Egyptian language. (The Gods of the Egyptians, E.A. Wallis Budge)
In Greece it was Athena Ergana who was the goddess of weaving and of the strategy of warfare. In one legend, Athena defeats Ares by weaving a trap and then stretching it across the charging warrior’s path. Those who spun for Athena were the Moirae (the Fates). The Moirae spun, measured, and cut the thread of human lives. They were often personified as three ugly and sometimes lame old women.

In Norse and Viking mythology, the Norns spun and wove the lives of humans. In The Fafnismol, Sigurd asks Fafnir: “Who are the Norns who… the babe from the mother bring?”(3) The Norns almost seemed a class of priestesses, tending the world tree In The First Lay of Helgi Hundisbane they are described as three women who:

Mightily wove they
the web of fate,
While Bralund's towns
were trembling all;
And there the golden
threads they wove,
And in the moon's hall
fast they made them.(4) 

Eve spinning

Sometimes, weaving goddesses are associated with the stars. In Germanic lore, it is said that what we call Orion’s Belt was really Frigga’s distaff. Holda knew the secret of turning flax into linen, but Frigga (her name means “the Beloved” and we remember her in the word “Friday,” which was Frigga’s day) wove the destiny the Norns had spun and was of help during birth.

The idea of three mysterious women spinners is repeated in so-called “faerie tales” from Germany to Puerto Rico. Although sometimes the girl is a princess and sometimes she is a poor orphan, she is always set to spin flax (sometimes into gold) by a cruel woman. Three grotesque old women rescue her by doing her spinning for her in exchange for an invitation to her wedding. At the wedding, they blame their ugliness on the hard work of spinning flax. This influences her father (whether he be merchant or king) to decree that, to save her beauty, she may no longer spin.

These ancient weaver women were figures of mothers and especially the mother of God.  Mary wove the veil of Christ himself, his flesh and blood, within her holy womb.  The mother's veil is rent at birth.  Death is cutting the woven tapestry off of the loom.    Christ's flesh  symbolized the temple veil and his torn flesh symbolized the torn sacramental bread which becomes a covenant symbol of taking his name upon us in renewal of our covenant of baptism; a new birth.   

Veils, birth, flesh and blood all intertwine.