Mount of Transfiguration

In the Jezreel Valley a round peak rises up 1,840 feet as Mount Tabor. This is the place where Deborah and her general gathered the Israelite troops to do battle against the Canaanites. From the top of the mountain you can see the hills of lower Galilee and Nazareth to the west and Mount Moreh to the south. But the little battle in the book of Judges is not what attracts so many visitors to this mountain.

There are two churches atop the mountain--one Greek Orthodox and one Franciscan Catholic. After a frightening ride up a very narrow switchback road we visited the Catholic church. It is called the Church of the Transfiguration because of the Byzantine tradition that Mount Tabor was the site of the transfiguration of Jesus, Peter, James, and John (Matt 17). The church is built over the ruins of Byzantine and Crusader churches and has 3 separate chapels. The central chapel is in honor of Jesus and the two smaller chapels honor Moses and Elijah. (The picture here is of the chapel of Moses.) This corresponds nicely to Peter's words in Matthew 17 about building three tabernacles--one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

All that said, there is still debate about whether Mount Tabor is really the Mount of Transfiguration. A more geographically logical site would be Mount Hermon and LDS opinion remains divided--Spencer W. Kimball preferred Mount Tabor whereas Bruce R. McConkie favored Mount Hermon. Since we didn't visit Hermon, I'm assuming Daniel Rona prefers Tabor as well. I think Jerel agreed with that, although I prefer to remain undecided. Regardless of where it happened, we had a touching devotional atop the mountain and were able to feel a little of the spirit of that truly glorious event.