Morning Star (31 page)

John Mark was asleep and she allowed the mare to amble along at her own pace. There was a touch of coolness in the breeze, and Jenny lifted her face to it. “Of course,” she beamed, “how simple! Why didn't I think of it before?”

It was the solution to all the problems—Sarah's, Emma's, Sally's. “It's that talisman. You admitted yourself that it was the power in the talisman causing the problem with you. Is it too ridiculous to believe it's causing
their
problems, too? Granted, they don't have a talisman to pitch, like you did, but he does.”

She recalled Sally's ravaged face and her heart squeezed tight. But how would she get Joseph's talisman? “One thing,” she told herself, “you're going to have to see a lot more of the Prophet.”

****

“Jenny!” Mark exclaimed, “you've been walking around this house all day looking as if you reside on a different planet. You've studied that potato as if you've never seen one before.”

Jenny raised her head. “Oh, Mark, that isn't funny.”

“Meaning?”

“I'm having a difficult time trying to understand all the Prophet says, and here you are picking at his sermons.”

He frowned and then grinned. “Planet. That was a pun. Why don't you just read the Bible? You know he says he believes in it, too.” He came to lean over her shoulder, to peer at the vegetables.

“But only as far as it is correctly translated.” She hastily added, “I know, you're going to talk about having Bible sections in the
Book of Mormon
. You're going to say we don't know what
not
to believe.”

“No, I'm going to kiss your neck and suggest you forget about the whole subject right now.”

She saw his eyes as he bent to kiss her. The frown indicated that Mark wasn't as lighthearted as he seemed. For a moment she wished desperately that she could tell him all. But even with that wish, her soul withered in fear.

The next morning, while she was reading the book of John, she murmured, “Jesus, I still don't understand, but I wish I knew what I could believe about this Book.

“What does it mean when it says You've come to give life, and that if I follow You, I won't walk in darkness? Why am I condemned already if I don't believe? What does
believe
mean? I believe Mark will come home tonight; I believe the sun will rise tomorrow.”

As Jenny stared at the Book, the thought occurred to her that she should believe it all. She shook her head, “Joseph—” The thought seemed suddenly illuminated.
Why believe Joseph?
She caught her breath and examined the question. So many problems would disappear if she
didn't
believe Joseph: that certificate in Joseph's office, salvation through the church. Now another thought came into her mind. It was so vivid that for a moment she felt as if she had literally heard the statement.
The power of the deed will be broken if you tell Mark
.

Aghast, she considered his reaction—the horror on his face, the disappointment, and finally the rejection. With regret she shook her head.

To be done with the guilt, even the possibility of being forced to honor that contract, was a temptation she dared not consider. As attractive as the thought was, she could not risk losing Mark. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “Joseph has not one hold on me. He knows I would tell Emma. I am no longer afraid of him.”

When Jenny heard Mark's horse late that afternoon, she knew he was angry. Standing in the doorway she watched Mark slide from the horse and yank off the saddle and bridle. He impatiently pulled open the gate and slapped the mare across the rump.

As he came up the steps she said, “What's wrong?”

“Speech in the temple grove. You know election is coming up next week. Joseph promised his vote to Cyrus Walker when he was arrested. Well, Hyrum had a revelation. He said he'd asked God how the people should vote. The answer was that God wanted the people to vote for Hoge, on the Democratic ticket. Quite a sensation, this abrupt reversal of what we'd been led to expect. Especially considering Hyrum had previously promised the Democrats the Mormon vote if they would promise him a seat in the state legislature next year.”

Jenny paused to think for a moment; then with a sigh and shake of her head, she said, “Well, come have a cool drink and tell me more about it.”

He pulled the buttermilk from the well where it had been chilling. She began preparing dinner as he talked.

“When Cyrus Walker took Joseph's case against the Missouri charge, it was done with Joseph's promise of support in the upcoming election. Well, Walker's the Whig candidate for Congress. Remember the rumor floating down from Springfield?”

Slowly Jenny said, “You mean the trip J. B. Backenstos made to confer with Ford? About the promise in exchange for the Mormons' vote on the Democratic ticket? Didn't they say Joseph would have nothing to fear from the governor? Mark, are you saying there's a possibility Joseph will be voting for the Democrats to keep from being arrested?”

“You know how strong the people lean on revelations.” He went to pick up John Mark. “William Law was irate. He got to his feet and chewed out Hyrum, reminding everyone that only Joseph was entitled to have revelations. Then he reminded them Joseph had pledged Walker the Mormon support.”

“So what did Joseph say?”

“Only that he was pledged to support Walker, and unless he had a revelation to the contrary, they should support him too.

“Oh, my,” Jenny murmured. “Sabbath-day sermon should be interesting.”

At the end of the sermon the following day, Mark leaned toward Jenny and said, “You were right, my dear.”

She nodded, her eyes riveted on the pulpit. Joseph was saying, “I've no intention of telling you how to vote. I don't have a revelation concerning the election. Matter of fact, I don't believe in troubling the Lord about politics. I gave my word to Walker when I hired him to handle my case against Reynolds, but I didn't pledge him the votes of all the Saints. Now Hyrum advises us that he has a revelation from the Lord instructing that the Saints should vote for Hoge.” He paused for a moment and then slowly said, “I must admit, I've never known Hyrum to have a revelation that failed.”

William Law was standing beside Mark, and as the congregation began to move toward their wagons and carriages, William fell into step with Mark. Jenny saw his shoulders droop in discouragement as he said, “I wonder if he believes he can get away with this? I'm afraid Joseph's just garnered himself a pack of enemies.” At Mark's quick glance he said, “Oh, I still believe in him. I just think he's making a terrible mistake right now.”

Sarah and Orson Pratt caught up with them. Orson said, “Law, I heard what you said. Seems we ought to be discussing the situation. Maybe we could get together this afternoon?”

“If you've carried your dinner, bring it and come,” Sarah invited. “We've plenty of trees for shade and the breeze off the river hits us just fine.”

While the men stood in the shade of the trees on the Pratt farm, the women spread their food across the table.

Looking at the dishes, Sarah said slowly, “When I remember the time we had in Missouri, just getting wheat milled and enough to eat, I'd be grateful for just a speck of this.”

Jenny looked at the table. There was snowy bread, creamy butter, ham, fried chicken, a joint of venison, garden vegetables baked into a thick custard, cucumbers floating in vinegar and spices, applesauce, and fried pumpkin chips. The pies looked like apple and peach. Jenny's spice cake, heavy with raisins, released a fragrance of molasses and cinnamon.

Jenny looked from Sarah to Jane. Addressing Jane, she said, “Except for what you've heard from the pulpit, you don't know what it was like.”

“I've been fed a constant dose of the stories of the persecutions ever since we've arrived,” she said; then she raised her head and added in a rush, “Seems Joseph is bound to not let it die. It cuts a picture of a man not big enough to let by-gones be. Will he hold a grudge forever? I was raised to believe in the importance of forgiving those who sin against us. Even though we're Latter-day Saints, seems there's still a few Christian virtues that need to be retained.”

The men came to the table and the conversation turned lighthearted until the table had been cleared.

When William Law leaned back in his chair he addressed Pratt. “Orson, do you believe Joseph's statements today will have an effect on the election?”

“I should hope so,” Orson replied. Jenny glanced at Mark. When he sighed heavily, she knew he had an objection, but she also guessed he would save his irritation for her ears. Pratt continued, “We've a responsibility toward these people. They need instruction until they've accepted all that will be given to them to achieve the knowledge necessary for salvation.”

“You think knowledge gives salvation?” Mark asked, looking surprised.

“Of course. The Prophet gave that to us.”

Mark was asking, “What about the truth concerning God as revealed in the Holy Bible?”

Orson moved impatiently. “In the Bible there's not a thing you can believe in with surety except what is contained in the original. What we have nowadays is a corrupted translation, given out by uninspired men without the authority to translate. I tell you, there's no part that we can accept with certainty as the Word of God. I declare to you that what we have is only the words of men, not the true Word. It is only the skeleton—the mutilated, the changed, the corrupted.”

William Law was leaning forward; there was a perplexed frown on his face. “Then what do you trust?”

“The Prophet. He has been given the keys to the kingdom. Through the direct revelation of God himself, we know Joseph is to be trusted.”

“But, Pratt, we have only Joseph's word for it,” Mark said.

“That's true,” Pratt admitted. “But he's also told us to ask God to give us a testimony of the rightness of all this. There's not a man in the church who's asked, who hasn't received.”

Law's frown remained. Slowly he said, “One of the things that's really nagged at me has been the willingness of the people to rely on emotion. I've heard things like, ‘I
feel
this is right. I know by the spirit, I've been caught up in the spirit. I saw a great light when I prayed. I felt a burning in the bosom.' I'm a practical man; I don't like to go by hunches. I want facts. Why can't we rely on the Word?”

“What word?” Mark asked. “If you're talking about the
Book of Mormon
, then please tell me what I should depend upon. I've been listening to Joseph long enough to realize little of his beliefs come from his holy book, the
Book of Mormon
.”

“Well, you can't rely upon the Bible. The
Book of Mormon
clearly sets forth that the Christian church, referred to as the ‘abominable church' has taken from the Bible the most plain and precious parts of the gospel,” William said.

“God deliver us from ever calling ourselves Christian,” muttered Orson.

“I suppose there would be some merit in living by the doctrine of the
Book of Mormon
,” Mark added. “I saw in the second book of Nephi the thirteenth verse where old Nephi urges relying completely upon the merits of Jesus Christ for salvation, urging the people to feast upon the word of Christ. It doesn't say a church will save us.”

In the silence Mark continued, “But there's more. This hits right at the priesthood. Chapter one of the book of Jacob calls it a wicked practice, this having many wives.”

Orson's voice was brittle. “Anything else, Brother Cartwright?”

“I've noticed the book refers to Christ as God, the Father of all things. That isn't consistent with Joseph's saying Christ is our elder brother. I kinda like it where it says God came down and took upon himself flesh and blood and that He shall redeem His people. Sure beats any salvation I can earn for myself through the church.”

William and Orson were on their feet when Mark added, “Have you noticed? The book of Alma says that Mary, the mother of Jesus, conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Mark and Jenny were in the buggy headed for home before Jenny dared say, “Mark, you worry me. If Joseph were to hear about this—”

“I'd be labeled apostate.” He turned to smile at her, saying, “But the strange thing is, although this goes against his teaching, I'm only giving his words back to him.”

In a moment he added, “If I were to ask if—” The smile disappeared and he turned to flick the reins along the mare's back.

“Jenny, I believe there's a move on among the people to break out of the bondage Joseph has placed upon them. There're some intelligent men in the camp who are beginning to think for themselves. One of these days they are going to demand that Joseph give way and take stock of the teaching which he claims comes from God.

“Have you noticed? Back in Kirtland days there was a new revelation just about every time Joseph took a breath. Now it's seldom we get one. Nowadays it's just a matter of Joseph saying jump and the people jump. One of these days they won't.”

Chapter 31

“The end of August is as hot as July. Here in the temple grove this Sabbath, there's not a whisper of a breeze,” Jenny murmured as she settled on the bench in front of the pulpit and tried to fan the squirming John Mark.

“You might as well forget that,” Mark said. “He's generating more wind with his bouncing around. I don't think he's minding the heat as much as his mother.”

“I nearly wish I'd stayed home with him. He's getting so strong, and I think he's going to have a tooth soon.”

Jenny continued to struggle with the squirming baby as the Sabbath service began. She had nearly lost the thread of the message when John Mark went to sleep. While Mark adjusted the blanket across their legs and eased the baby onto his lap, Jenny became aware of the Prophet's words.