History, Shofars, Speakers of B'nai Shalom

Summary of History, Speakers, and Newsletters

B'nai Shalom was started in 1967 In Harry Glick's house with Daniel Rona, Al Ostroff, and Jerry Horowitz, as stated by Jerry Kidd, who attended the second meeting. He doesn't beleive that Max Yospe was at first. (Jerry Horowitz is the father of Jerome Horowitz who is currently on the board.)

Other early officers include Sylvia Linford, Sherm Young, Theda Butt, Ron Zeidner, Elissa and Al Molling, Lester Liebschutz, Irving Cohen, Jeremy Friedbaum, Max Yospe, Gail Boyd, Nancy Goodstein Hilton. All have or have had interesting backgrounds. We are grateful for the torch they carried.

See also the historical officers list. At the historical list of speakers, there are links to more info about the speaker and the event, and often a scanned program. All features are not yet all integrated.

NOTE: This page is in process of being reformed into Responsive Web design and merged with another page. In the process, some historical references may be repaired.

Please note that this page is not up to date as to speakers. See https://www.mormonsandjews.org/history/Gatherings_History.html

Spring 2017 in Seattle: Sister Lynda Cherry

Lynda Cherry gave a captivating account of the Jewish Festivals and their significance to the restored Gospel; the LDS church. She focused on the Spring Festivals The audience did not want her to stop.

Spring 2017 in Utah: Dr. Matt Bowen of BYU Hawaii

Dr. Bowen spoke on "What Thank Ye the Jews" scripture, many scriptures relating to Lord's attitude to Jews in long term. Very interesting. Robert Hatch accompanied Julie and volunteered a beautiful song he wrote for Jewish audience. Brother Downing had worked as cantor for a synagogue, sang one for us.. See also the YouTube Mormons and Jews channel https://goo.gl/TDCAm0.

At the last minute location changed to the 19th Ward Building. Future Utah gatherings are held in the Pioneer Stake Center.

We elected Chelsea Woodruff to succeed Marlena Baker as President, with Julie Gardner as 1st VP and Daniel Baker as 2nd VP. Marlena is Secretary; Russell Spencer and Mitch Moling are added as board members.

Fall 2016 in Seattle: Dave LeFevre

Brother Dave LeFevre with most interesting insight in a part of Jeremiah; messages Jeremiah has for today's time, and why a Latter-day Saint should understand Jeremiah. Great food. See also the YouTube Mormons and Jews channel https://goo.gl/TDCAm0

Kim Cooney introduced Feast of the Trumpets with his shofar, followed by "HATIKVA" "The Hope", the official national anthem of Israel. LDS hymn sung in Hebrew. The gathering was held in the Bellevue South Stake Center on a Saturday evening.

Fall 2016 in Salt Lake City: Bliss Mehr

Julie Garner brought beautiful music from the viola on an Eastern European theme to go with the theme of the presentation.
Kahlile Bliss Mehr , expert on Church and geneology in Eastern Europe, spoke on "The House of Israel as a Unifying Principle" . Info on early (discontinued) proselyting, and development of historical resources in Eastern Europe.

During this last xix months, dear member Elissa Molling passed away after a long term with cancer. She has "always been there" and raised two former B'nai Shalom presidents. 111

More about her, her late husband Al, and about other foundational members here: https://www.mormonsandjews.org/history/testimonies-stories.html. Also: History of officers.

Spring 2016 in Seattle: Mary Kozy, Jewish Genealogy

The professional Bateman family performed beautiful Hebrew music. Mary Kathryn Kozy provided tips and sources for exploring Jewish Genealogy and DNA. This held the long and intense interest of the audience until the end of the evening.

This stimulated remarkable testimonies. A sister who was not a member of the church was inspired and bore her testimony.

2016 Fall Shofar In this issue:

Ellisa 1994 Trip to Russia
Gwen Bardsley 1994: “I Appreciate Joseph Smith”
Jubilee Year
WA State Jewish Heritage
A Guiding Light to Jew and Gentile: B’nai Shalom
What Thank They the Jews: Judah and Anti-Semitism
Genealogy—Cluster Research—F.A.N. by Mary Kozy

We are now in the eve of the 50th Anniversary of B'nai Shalom, and we plan to make it the year of the Mormons and Jews - an idea instigated by Mark Peredes in his column on the Jewish Journal several years ago.

Spring 2016 in Utah: Author Brad Kramer

Author Brad Kramer "Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon"; Levels of interpretive technique developed by Talmudic rabbis. He acheived very intense and lively audience interest and interaction.

Fall 2015 in Seattle: Leslie Rees, Lost Tribes of Israel

Leslie Pearson Reese Ye Have Been Hid - Finding the Lost Tribes of Israel

A very informative and corrective presentation. Go to the page for some recordings.

2015 Fall Shofar

Alexander Neubaur
What is Shemittah Year
Louise Silver’s Story
Covenantal Father I will Uphold Thee
Joseph Smith and the Feast of Trumpets
Doug Tourney-an Inspiration in his last days

Fall 2015 in Utah: Brent Top

BYU Professor and Author Brent Top "They are not all Israel, Which are of Israel" (Romans 9:6

BYU's program at the Jerusalem Center, and how we can and should have "holy envy".

Spring 2015 in SLC: Patricia Argyle

Our SLC speaker, Patricia Argyle, gave a spiritual testimony of her grandmother’s murder in Auschwitz.

Pat received a sudden revelation there of forgiveness, a bestowal of peace that healed her and her family of the grief and loss they had born.

2015 Spring Shofar

News from our Seattle Committee
Gospel and the Sabath
Into the Wilderness
DNA and Genealogy
Research in Ukraine
Blood Moon

NOTE: This page is in process of being reformed into Responsive Web design and merged with another page. In the process, some historical references may be repaired.

Lynda Cherry

Spring 2015 in the Pacific Northwest (Mercer Island)

Our Seattle speaker, Lynda Cherry, gave an insightful lecture “Joseph and Judah: Enemies No More”,

Go to that page for text and recording of her talk. We were entertained by the beautiful performance of the Cleaver family.

Fall 2014 In SLC: O. Hakan Palm of Sweden

Bonny Harps told of her father’s conversion - the late Harry Howard (nee Harry Horowitz)

We all had moments of great amuzement and laughter.

Her story is now here on this page.

O. Hakan Palm, of Sweden, told the story of his father, an SS officer, meeting and loving a Jewish woman during the Holacaust, married and joined our Church, becoming his parents. His new book, “Surviving Hitler: The Unlikely True Story of an SS Soldier and a Jewish Woman” is a testament to the saving power of the Lord.

With much joy and enjoyment, the audience sang LDS hymns in Hebrew as translated by member Tal Lachmann.

Fall 2014 2014 Fall NewShofarf

High Holy Days
Jewish Family Names
Jewish History Lesson-The Jews of Spain
Finding Ancestors in Lithuania
Mission statement

Spring 2014 - Dr. Abraham Gileadi

Spring 2014

Dr. Gileadi, a noted Isaiah scholar and author, drew a large audience in our spring gathering.

List of his books: https://www.paperbackswap.com/Avraham-Gileadi/author/

Go to his website: https://www.josephandjudah.com/ for a PDF of his excellant talk “Turning the Hearts of the Jews to the Prophets and the Prophets to the Jews” and to subscribe to his insightful newsletters.

Go here for our pictures and account of the gathering .
Go here for the Deseret News article "Jewish Mormons celebrate two cultures, eye one faith".

Spring 2014 2014SpringShofar.pdf

Harry Glick passing
Seattle (Northwest) launching
Europe: Shtetl Life
Jewish Identity changing in USA
Golden Plates-Feast of Trumpets
Abrahamic Covenant
Four Keys for understanding Isaiah

Fall 1013 - Phil Ortega

Spring and Fall 2013

Spring: Marlena Tanya Muchnick/Baker spoke about how we are family, love one another, the Spirit teaches us in the Temple. Election was then held, and the baton was passed from Daniel Rona to Marlena. Officers:

Fall: Phil Ortega. A Time of Reconciliation and Joy

Fall 2013 2013Fall-NewShofar.pdf

Essential contributions of Jews
Eternal Truths restored
Rememberance of 1975
Orson Hyde letter
A yearning from across the veil
YAHWEH

Spring 2006: Dann Hone, language origins, history

No Shofar

Fall 2005: Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, survivor of Nazi terror during World War II; One of the three who defied Hitler

No Shofar

Fall 2003: Daniel C Peterson: What has Athens to do with Jerusalem.; Shane Wamsley, Gwen Bardsley, Christina, Robert Neu at business meeting. Plans: Music by Daniel/Spencer/Jacob Bardsley; Pianist Mirian Bardsley.

Fall 2000: Donald W. Parry; "The Great Isaiah Scroll: Notes and Comments about the greatest of the Dead Sea Scrolls"

Fall 2000 2000SpringShofar.pdf

Jewish Gen conference in Salt Lake
Biography on Brother Parry
About Isaiah: quoted often (page 3)
About Dead Sea Scrolls (start page 3)
Jewish Traditions respecting the family - from Truman Madsen (start page 5)
Dead Sea Scrolls - LDS from Encyclopedia of Mormonism (start page 7)
The Last "Oy Vey" (start page 10)

Spring 2000: Hartman Rector Jr; Speaking on excavation of City of Lehi; https://www.mormonsandjews.org/events/gathering_April2000-Rector.html

Spring 2000 2000SpringShofar.pdf

Slutzk, Belarus during and after WWII (page 4)
Sabbath (page 5)
Lost from Torah (page 7)
Jewish Jokes (Last Oy Vey; page 9)

Fall 1999 speakers: Conversion Stories

Fall 1999 1999Fallshofar.pdf

Shtetl Life (page 7)
What is Yiddish (page 7)
History of Fiddler on the Roof (page 8)
Jewish Jokes (Last Oy Vey; page 10)

Spring 1999 speakers: Not stated in Shofar

Spring 1999 1999Springshofar.pdf

The blessings of the B'nai Shalom page 2
Some thoughts on Pentecost page 9
The 13 Articles of Jewish faith (put together by 12th-century Rabbi Maimonides) page 10
The last Oy Vey page 11

Fall 1998 speakers: Jim Lehman: digs in Israel,; Karen Boren spoke on research into the sacrifice of the Red Heifer as spoken of in Numbers 19:2.

Fall 1998 1998Fallshofar.pdf

This is a very important and interesting historical issue about the first Jewish settlement in Utah and the first synagogues in Utah. Notice on page 9 the church's involvement in the first synagogues.

First Jewish settlement in Utah (page 2)
Reference to the Russian Far East 1930
First synagogues in Utah 1911. (page 8)
President George F Smith dedicated first one. Church made a sizable contribution.Jewish man elected mayor of SLC.

Spring 1998 Speaker: Legrand Baker:; Read Shofar pg 2, 3 - exciting statements..; His Handout

Spring 1998 1998Springshofar.pdf

Forgotton text of 22 day New Year's Festival (pg 2)
Judah Returns (State of Israel 1948)
Joseph Baratz from Ukraine 1905 (page 7)

Fall 1997 Speaker: Monte Nyman, retired BYU Prof, 9 semesters at BYU Jerusalem

Fall1997 1997Fallshofar.pdf

Jewish Books (page 4); Talmud, Mishnah, etc.
Jewish Calendar (page 7)
Jewish Jokes (page 10)

Spring 1997 Speaker: John Welch, co-director of the Masada and Dead Sea exhibition at that time, and founding director of FARMS; He discovered the first instance of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon in 1967, While a missionary for the LDS church in Regensburg, Germany. Because of previous exposure to the ancient literary device, John Welch correctly identified Mosiah 5:10-12 as a chiasmus, and thence began a life-work.

Spring1997 1997Springshofar.pdf

Masada and Dead Sea Scrolls (pg 2)
Timeline from Masada (pg 3)
Ezra Taft Benson affinity for jews (pg 5)
Music, instruments, and celebration (pg 10)

Winter 1996 Speaker

Winter 1996 1996Wintershofar.pdf

Kinship, Religion, Transformation of Society (pg 3)
Value of family newsletter (pg 5)
Chanukah and recipes (pg 8)
Music, instruments, and Celebration (pg 10)

Fall 1996 Speaker: Jerome Horowitz: The US has two constitutions.

Fall 1996 1996Fallshofar.pdf

Life and travels of Morris B Rosenbaum (pg 2)
3 Divisions of Jewish people and Jewish surnames (pg 5)
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and recipes (pg 8)
Kosher Food Laws by Dr. Irving Cohen: (pg 18)

spring 1996: Announced Summer picnic, July 27 with Klez performer, Netherlands research. No gathering speaker this issue

Summer 1996 1996Summershofar.pdf

Ron Zeidner past president passed away
Alexander Neibaur first Jewish Convert. His story 5 pgs.
Jerusalem Redeemed through Law of Tithing.
An Elder's conversation with Rothschild. MISSING a page.

Spring 1996 speaker: Dr. Arnold Green, professor of Near Eastern history at BYU. Speaking on the architecture of synagogues and the situation in Israel.

Spring 1996 1996 Spring Shofar

Orson Hyde and the rest of the story
Praising the Lord through music
Jewish and Gentile families and Jesus day
Pres. Harry S Truman as a modern Cyrus
How Jewish families lived in Jesus day

Fall 1995: speaker or agenda not named

Fall 1995 1995 Fall Shofar

Dedication of Palestine
Joseph and Judah
Was Columbus Jewish?
Book of Mormon and Jewish holidays
Center for Jewish Studies at Utah Valley State College
Jerusalem 3000th year anniversary

Spring 1995 agenda:: Conversion stories. How some descendents of Judah came to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ

spring 1995 1995SpringShofar.pdf

Hebrew lessons, seminars on Judaism
what is Yiddish
what is Hebrew
indexing project

fall 1994 speaker: George W. Pace spoke on the large promises to the Jews. David Rona sang and taught Israeli folksongs.
Fall 1994 1994Fallshofar.pdf
Spring 1994 speaker: Dr. Victor L. Ludlow, Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU, on "Mormon-Jewish Bridges".

March 1994 1994 March Shofar

Paschal Lamb
Passover Seder
Spotlight on Irving Cohen

1993: Spring 1993 Speaker not mentioned
Music and Dance at Elissa Molling July 9.; October 1993 Cleon Skousen
What are the prospects for Israel now? at Parley First Ward

May 1993 1993 May Shofar

Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Israel 1992 at request of Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek
Five items in Mission Statement / Objectives
Serve your people, House of Israel

Fri Oct 4 1991 Speakers: Elissa Molling, Harry Glick, Jerry Horowitz, Sylvia Linford and Ron Zeidner