Tabernacle Tour

The Mennonite Information Center
2209 Millstream Road • Lancaster, PA 17602-1494
Phone: (717) 299-0954 • Toll Free: (800) 858-8320 • Fax: (717) 290-1585
Email: info@mennoniteinfoctr.com

Best. OBJECT. Lesson. Ever!

This is a HIGH recommendation this year, as we study the Old Testament (the sweet tour guide kept calling it the "First Testament." She bore testimony of how everything pointed towards Christ, His coming, and His return.)

Built to scale tabernacle. Amazing. Reverent. Informative. No pictures allowed. Worth the trip. Incense, veil, arc of covenant and all.

We went together as all 3 seminaries in our ward, and met on happy accident another seminary class from the Columbia stake (we recognized the teacher, but the BYU-Idaho sweatshirt would have tipped us off!).

I felt bad for the students who missed this trip. Go with your families!

Fred said, "It was a beautiful trip, spectacular." This is a student of few words. When he first saw the picture depicting the tabernacle and the cloud by day/fire by night image, he came and found me, "WHAT is that?" Aferwards he said it all made a lot of sense.

So this was like seeing the movie before reading the book...we start Exodus on Monday.

The Mennonite 17 minute film in the basement is also recommended. Good explanation of their beliefs.

Sister Harvey said it didn't feel like a money-making scheme, it felt good spending the entrance fee to further their mission. They believe in it, and this trip made it so I didn't have to make a replica in the Church gym...to make it real for the students!

I was amazed at how reverent, quiet, good the students were.

My Treasure

My experiences and struggles can turn into seminary lessons.

I told the students today about my trial on Saturday. How frustrated I was, burdened, upset. I drove down to Slaughter Beach and started putting stones in my pockets.

98 stones.

And how I received an answer to my prayer. How the Holy Ghost reminded me that prayer helps strengthen me. How I am supposed to cast my burdens on the Lord, and not let them weigh down my pockets.

I didn't tell them this, but how beautiful the rocks look when wet. Tears or salt water from the ocean.

I did tell them they are my treasure. How I thought of them as I picked up the rocks, thinking of their uniqueness, beauty, their testimonies, questions, enthusiasm.

And how I didn't want to be a stumbling block to them. I didn't want to fail and fall apart and lose faith because I know they are watching me.

And I know people are watching them. Challenged them to be a stepping stone for others, a way into the Church. A pathway to Christ, through their actions and example and testimony.




Fingernail polish makes the rocks permanently shiny. Permanet marker sealed with a second layer of polish preserves the message: Stepping Stone and Stumbling Block, sometimes shortened to "step" and "stumble" on the other side of the rock.