{"id":115396,"date":"2026-03-22T17:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T23:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=115396"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:17:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:17:51","slug":"gethsemane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2026\/03\/gethsemane.html","title":{"rendered":"Gethsemane"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Bloch's<\/a>
Carl Heinrich Bloch, \u201cGethsemane\u201d (1873). \u00a0Wikimedia Commons public domain image.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Latter-day Saints, of course, don\u2019t believe that angels have wings, notwithstanding Carl Heinrich Bloch\u2019s painting shown above. \u00a0Nevertheless, chapter 22 of the gospel of Luke tells us that, in fact, an angel was present with the Savior in Gethsemane:<\/p>\n

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone\u2019s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.\u00a0 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Just now, contemplating the Bloch painting, the thought suddenly hit me with powerful emotional force: What an unspeakable privilege and responsibility it would have been to be the divine messenger who was sent to accompany and comfort the Son of God in the Garden of Gethsemane, in that pivotal moment of his mission and of human history altogether. \u00a0Who might it have been? \u00a0(I\u2019m aware of the speculation that it might have been Adam. \u00a0And maybe so.)<\/p>\n

\"Gethsemane<\/a>
A portion of the Garden of Gethsemane as it appears today, with its ancient olive trees
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we approach Holy Week and Easter \u2014 or, as Claudia Bushman<\/a> justifiably prefers to call it, Resurrection Day \u2014 I hope to share with you some poetry and music and movies of the season. \u00a0I launch my effort with Melanie Hoffman\u2019s simple but transcendently lovely Gethsemane | The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square & a Children\u2019s Choir<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jesus climbed the hill to the garden still.
\nHis steps were heavy and slow.
\nLove and a prayer took Him there
\nTo the place only He could go.
\nGethsemane. Jesus loves me,
\nSo He went willingly to Gethsemane.<\/p>\n

He felt all that was sad, wicked, or bad,
\nAll the pain we would ever know.
\nWhile His friends were asleep, He fought to keep
\nHis promise made long ago.
\nGethsemane. Jesus loves me,
\nSo He went willingly to Gethsemane.<\/p>\n

The hardest thing that ever was done,
\nThe greatest pain that ever was known,
\nThe biggest battle that ever was won\u2014
\nThis was done by Jesus!
\nThe fight was won by Jesus!<\/p>\n

Gethsemane. Jesus loves me,
\nSo He gave His gift to me in Gethsemane.<\/p>\n

Gethsemane. Jesus loves me,
\nSo He gives His gift to me from Gethsemane.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Roman Catholic Church of All Nations, in Jerusalem\u2019s Garden of Gethsemane
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few of you might even be interested in this nearly 24-minute video out of Johannesburg, South Africa: \u00a0\u201cVocal Coach Reacts to stunning piece \u201cGethsemane\u201d \u2013 Mormon Tabernacle Choir + Children\u2019s Choir\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

By the way, having just listened yet again to a Latter-day Saint children\u2019s choir, accompanied by the premiere Latter-day Saint adult choir and a wholly Latter-day Saint orchestra, performing Gethsemane<\/em>, a piece of music created by a Latter-day Saint, in the Latter-day Saint Conference Center in Salt Lake City, it occurs to me once again how genuinely bizarre it is for anyone to deny that Latter-day Saints are Christians.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/a>
Scripture study, in a photographic image from LDS.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because next Sunday\u2019s sacrament meeting will be a special one-hour Palm Sunday service or Easter program for us, and because the Sunday after that will be both Easter and General Conference, and because the Sunday after that will be our stake conference, today was our fast and testimony Sunday. \u00a0(Members of the Church will understand what that entails.)<\/p>\n

I was particularly struck by a comment in one of the testimonies that were given. \u00a0A member of our ward mentioned his grandfather, who, he said, was a very kind man but one of few words. \u00a0(As it happens, I met and spoke with his grandfather, who sometimes visited from Alberta, on several occasions, and I remember him fondly and well.)<\/p>\n

One day, the ward member in question recalled \u2014 and I seem to remember that he said this happened while they were climbing a flight of stairs \u2014 his grandfather paused, turned to him, and said something along the lines of \u201cI try to read a little bit in the Book of Mormon every day. \u00a0I\u2019ve discovered that, when I do that, my day goes better. \u00a0And I like that.\u201d \u00a0It was a simple comment, seemingly out of the blue, and his grandfather didn\u2019t elaborate further.<\/p>\n

I think there\u2019s truth in what his grandfather told him, and the comment lingers with me, as well. \u00a0(It obviously impressed at least one other person, too, because it was mentioned in our elders quorum meeting afterward.)<\/p>\n

Little reminders can help us a great deal, and daily scripture reading \u2014 even if it doesn\u2019t always rise to the level of serious scripture study<\/em> \u2014 is one of the reminders that we have available to us.<\/p>\n

I like the fact that our neighbor\u2019s grandfather seized an occasion for a simple Gospel or spiritual lesson for his grandson, and that the grandson, now a father of three children himself, remembers that lesson still today. \u00a0Such things needn\u2019t be long, or prolix, or even (in a sense) profound. \u00a0Teaching moments abound, and we never know which of them, if properly used, might have multi-generational impact.<\/p>\n

\"The Garden Tomb\" (Phillip Benshmuel, 2008)<\/a>
The Garden Tomb in East Jerusalem is the second of the two most popular proposed locations for the burial and resurrection of Jesus. A public domain photograph by Phillip Benshmuel (2008), from Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Holy Week and the Easter holiday itself approach, it\u2019s not a bad time to invite others to attend church with you (or to invite them to listen to General Conference, which will be held over Easter weekend, and especially, perhaps, to invite them to listen to the Sunday morning session or even to watch it with you). \u00a0This article in the Deseret News<\/em> is timely:\u00a0\u201cOpinion: Don\u2019t overthink it. Invite people to church, whatever your faith may be Christ didn\u2019t wait for perfect conditions to invite others \u2014 and neither should we\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
The \u201ckey art\u201d poster for our Becoming Brigham<\/em> mini-documentary series.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s also not a bad time, for that matter \u2014 and the Sabbath day is definitely not a bad day! \u2014 to watch the Becoming Brigham<\/em> series and to share it with others. \u00a0All of the currently available installments are available at becomingbrigham.com<\/a>. \u00a0A new episode will appear tomorrow (Monday).<\/p>\n

Posted from Midway, Utah<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Latter-day Saints, of course, don\u2019t believe that angels have wings, notwithstanding Carl Heinrich Bloch\u2019s painting shown above. \u00a0Nevertheless, chapter 22 of the gospel of Luke tells us that, in fact, an angel was present with the Savior in Gethsemane: And he was withdrawn from them about a stone\u2019s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":28655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39757,23914,39760,6750,15609],"class_list":["post-115396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-carl-heinrich-bloch","tag-gethsemane","tag-melanie-hoffman","tag-song","tag-tabernacle-choir"],"yoast_head":"\nGethsemane<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Latter-day Saints, of course, don't believe that angels have wings, 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