Qumran

Our first day of touring started with a visit to Qumran. Qumran was an ancient community near the Dead Sea with people who shared the little they had in common. Some people believe this community was the Essenes or Sons of Light (Luke 16:8). Qumran is well known for being the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Some Bedouin boys were exploring the caves and found the scrolls by accident. After the scrolls were discovered, the ruins became significant and were excavated. Living quarters, writing halls, cisterns, and immersion fonts were found which indicates a religious life similar to Judaism.

A part of every book of the Old Testament (except Esther) was found in the Scrolls, including the entire book of Isaiah. The scrolls are 1,000 years older than any previously known Hebrew biblical text.

You can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_scrolls if you want more information about the scrolls.

At Qumran we saw some old ruins and also saw from a distance some of the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient texts were found. It was interesting to hear about some of the things written in the ancient records and the similarities to the LDS church. For example, the ancient religion was govered by a man who had 2 assistants, then a committee of 12, and then a group of 70 men as well. It reinforced to me that truth is truth no matter the time or place.

Pictures can be viewed by clicking the link at the right for Jerel & Amanda's flickr.