For almost two hundred years, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have revered the biblical story of Gethsemane, finding inspiration in Jesus’s example of endurance in discipleship and courage in times of trial. Many have found solace in his experience as they navigate the sometimes heartrending search for God’s will in their own lives.

For Latter-day Saints, Jesus’s suffering in Gethsemane is pivotal to his mission of saving and redeeming humankind. As such, the location where his suffering took place is also worth careful study and contemplation. In this book—A Place Called Gethsemane—scholars Matthew J. Grey and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel introduce readers to some of the latest historical and archaeological findings about Gethsemane and the surrounding areas that offer new, fascinating insights into Jesus’s sacred experience on that final night of his mortality.

The archaeological evidence and careful scriptural analysis found in this book will help readers view Gethsemane in light of its original environment, bringing to life this moment in Jesus’s ministry in informative and inspiring ways. Ultimately, by being able to more accurately envision the first-century site of Gethsemane and what that night might have been like for Jesus, Latter-day Saints can develop a greater appreciation for the event that was both one of his darkest moments and part of his ultimate triumph.

Authors: Matthew J. Grey and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel