speak out!

Today we visited the Holocaust museum here in Jerusalem. I had done some reading to prepare and when I arrived I couldn't help thinking about how something so horrible could have ever happened. I have wondered about that for years and I finally received my answer within minutes of arriving at the museum. There was a quote on the wall from Martin Niemoller, a German Pastor, that said: "First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me." This brought to mind another quote by Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." What am I doing? This visit made me realize that I need to do so much more. It reminded me of yet another quote. It has been one of my favorites for years. President Hinckley said: "There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us." I know that is true. No matter how much good we do there will always be something more. While there may not be such a massive Holocaust going on today I know that there are still crimes against humanity that we should stand against. Whether it is genocide in a far off land or idle gossip in our own home we need to take a stand.

A few other things that really impacted me:

• When the Jews were forced to move to the ghettos they were allocated 184 calories of food per day. I ate a tuna fish sandwich without gagging for the first time in my life today.
• 1.5 million children died during the Holocaust. Their names and ages were being read as we walked through the children's memorial. The first child whose name was read while I was there was only 6 years old. There was a 6 month old baby named Rosa. I couldn't control my tears as I walked through their beautiful memorial.
• The whole museum was very crowded and at times it was difficult to stay with my group or to see what the guide was pointing out. At first I was wishing that there weren't so many people there but then I began to consider what it must have felt like living and moving around in a concentration camp or ghetto.
• One of the quotes on the wall had names of concentration camps with the words "and praised be the Lord" mixed in between. What a powerful example.

This experience will stay with me always.