by Marian Wells
“Of course it was the temple dedication,” she answered lightly. From his expression she decided that he was encouraged. But she also knew there was an element in his expression that she couldn’t fathom.
“Very well,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’ll put you on the roll right away.”
“What do I have to do?” she asked in a playfully mocking tone. She saw the Bible. “Do you expect me to read that since I’ve not yet made it through the Book of Mormon?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. You’ve only to be baptized at the first suitable time.”
“Oh, don’t trouble yourself,” she said hastily. “I was baptized when I joined the Presbyterian church.”
He shook his head, still slightly smiling. “Jenny, you don’t understand. If you had bothered to read the Book of Commandments, you would have discovered the Lord’s instruction.”
“What do you mean?”
Picking up a book he began reading to her. “Revelation number twenty-three. The Lord has caused all past covenants to be done away, and even though you’ve been baptized a hundred times, it’s worthless in this dispensation. Because of man’s dead works, God needed to perform this new work. There’s no other way, Jenny. This is the new and everlasting covenant. You must be baptized in the Church of the Latter-day Saints.”
“Oh, all right; I suppose I’ll survive another dipping.” She turned impatiently toward the door.
“That isn’t all, Jenny—” She turned back and saw his outstretched hand. “The talisman, Jenny. Give me the talisman.”
She nearly walked out, but at that dark moment, the horror of the sabbat swept over her again and she felt those cold fingers clutching, demanding satisfaction. Still, she hesitated a long moment.
Slowly the rigid expression on Joseph’s face gave way to a smile of satisfaction. With a sigh of resignation she said, “You must turn your back.”
When she handed him the talisman, still warm from her body, he smiled. “Warm and sweet, like Jenny. That is a promise, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said coolly. “I intend to be a good church member. I want all the—” She caught herself before she said power.
“My dear, I promise you, the women in my church will reap all the benefits of eternity, providing they are willing to follow the ordinances of the gospel.”
Jenny walked slowly home, full of misgivings. She had gone expecting to come away victor, triumphant with the step which would release her into the realm of new power. Now she was feeling very much like the loser. The expression on Joseph’s face stayed with her.
Briefly she thought of Emma and wondered how she was going to fit this new situation into her resolve to be the only Mrs. Smith. Would that most desperate measure, the waxen image, have to be utilized?
Jenny went out to tell her friends that she had joined the church. With the handshakes, hugs, and kisses, she was immediately drawn into an inner circle she didn’t dream existed. Within a few weeks she discovered another benefit: once again she was being deluged with requests for her nursing services.
After one such week spent taking care of a newborn and his mother, Jenny returned to the Morgans’ to find Andy at the kitchen table poring over his account ledgers.
“Jenny,” he said, “I’m just sitting here seeing in these figures the picture of all that lies ahead of us. I can’t get over it. The Lord is preparing to bless the Saints just as He has promised. Look, last year, just over here in Buffalo, people were spending $500 for an acre of land. This year the same acre is worth $l0,000.”
Jenny dropped her valise on the floor and gasped. “That much! How can people possibly buy?”
“They aren’t. Right here in Kirtland the price of a lot has risen from $50 to $2,000. Even the farms next to us have gone from $10 or $15 an acre to $150. Joseph thinks it behooves us to hang on to the land with all our strength. Right now, if there’s buying and selling, it’s done in shares and with securities or notes.”
She frowned at him. “Then we actually don’t have money to buy and sell.”
“No, we don’t. That’s why I say the Lord is preparing to bless us. This is just the leading edge of the blessings. We must be very wise and cautious right now.”
He was silent and Jenny could see his agitation. “What is it, Andy?”
Andy looked up from the ledger. “Jenny, you are one of us now. Also, you are a very intelligent woman.” For a moment Jenny nearly lost his words as she considered his description of her; then she heard, “It is no secret; our Prophet doesn’t manage money well. He is impulsive and good-hearted. That kind of handling the finances will get us in a fix sooner or later. So I’ve been trying to get council to suggest we put Brigham Young in charge of the financial affairs, but not a man is willing to push the idea.” He sighed heavily and stroked his beard. “We need to get a financial advisor or an attorney to come in and work with him.”
He moved restlessly. “Trouble is, Joseph doesn’t take kindly to the men under him lifting reins of responsibility. I guess I’ll continue to search for a lawyer to come give me advice and work himself into Joseph’s good graces.”
A vision of Mark burst into Jenny’s thoughts. Even as she recognized his suitability, she was recalling those last painful scenes with him. She winced and Andy saw it. “You don’t agree?”
“I was thinking of a young man who seems ideal, but I was also wondering how I could avoid being involved in the situation.”
Andy studied her thoughtfully, saying, “I wondered why an attractive young woman like you ignored the local swains. I understand. I’d be willing to give him a chance just for your sake, Jenny.” She stared back at him, realizing explanations would only complicate matters.
He pulled a blank sheet of paper and picked up his pen. Lifting his head, he said, “Now, name and address, please.”
****
Once alerted to the changing financial picture, Jenny began to see the events taking place in Kirtland with new eyes. Obviously the Saints were astir with the same money excitement that infused all the western United States.
Even Joseph Smith reacted to the excitement. He took to the auctioneer’s block, and the Saints responded with enthusiasm. Under his hand, town lots were going from a hundred dollars to three and four thousand.
Some days Jenny joined the crowd just to feel the excitement and hear people’s comments.
Emotions were riding high, and cautious ones said, “Doesn’t seem proper for the Prophet to be buying and selling.” The answer came back: “The prosperity of the Lord is His blessing for being a good Mormon and keeping the ordinances of the Lord. What’s more fittin’ than for Joseph to help the Lord dish it out.”
Jenny spent June with the Walker family. Matilda Walker had been ill with the summer fever, and it had taken all Jenny’s skill with the charms and potions to nurse her back to health.
She left the Walkers with their praises ringing in her ears, but she also left exhausted, feeling as if life had been abandoned for the month’s time.
As she often did after a nursing job, she stopped on her way through town to see Tom at the stables. She found him agitated and angry. “What’s upsetting you?” she asked, settling herself beside the cold forge to watch him sort and clean his tools. When he raised his head she saw the tight, white line of anger around his mouth.
He continued to rattle his tools before replying. When he lifted his head again, he caught her gaze and held it. “How would you like an Indian for a sister-in-law?” She gasped and he added, “That’s right. A plain old uncivilized squaw who can’t even speak English.”
“Tom, you’re trying to shock me. If you choose to love an Indian, why, I’ll accept her.”
His face softened and he managed a crooked grin. “Sorry. I suppose the Lord is just trying my patience and willingness to obey the Prophet. Joseph’s goin’ to be sending me to Missouri right soon. And he’s told me, since I’m not married, that I’m to marry an Indian when I ge
t there. The Lord commanded that this be done. It’s pleasin’ to Him.”
“I can’t believe he intends you to just marry the first Indian you meet,” Jenny soothed.
Tom snorted and flung a file to the trash heap. Looking at Jenny with a sheepish grin, Tom apologized, “I didn’t mean to unload on you. It’s just that some of these revelations try body and soul together. Jen, things are goin’ bad in Missouri. I know Joseph is waitin’ for direction before we all head west, but we can’t go there until some of these troubles get solved.”
“What’s going on?” Jenny asked slowly.
“When the Saints were run out of Jackson County, most of them settled in Clay County, with the blessing of the residents. But now the same tide of feelin’ is sweepin’ Clay County; in short, we’re not welcome there anymore.
“Joseph is aware of this. Just in March, he sent men to Missouri with fourteen hundred and fifty dollars to buy land up in the northern part.
“They say the land isn’t as fair as the southern part of the state, but it must do, and it’s cheaper. Jenny, the people are sufferin’ for want of food and clothin’ as well as freedom. I fear that any day now we’re goin’ to hear that the Missourians have run our people out of Clay.”
Jenny listened and studied Tom’s face. Puzzled by his rambling explanation, she began to realize he was talking over the whole situation in an effort to understand why Joseph was pressuring him.
Tom paused in his work. “There’s that revelation sayin’ the Indians will be white and delightsome when they accept the gospel. Joseph’s obviously tryin’ to hurry things along by havin’ his men marry the natives.”
“But you said the Lord promised blessing if you were to do so.” Jenny watched his face twist. As she pondered that expression, she realized that for the first time, Tom’s whole manner revealed a skepticism he wouldn’t yet admit.
When she arrived home, Sally met her. “Oh my, does Andy ever have a surprise for you!”
Jenny frowned. “I can’t even begin to guess.”
“Is there anyone on earth you are terribly lonesome for?”
Jenny’s mind immediately flooded with thoughts of Mark Cartwright, but she restrained herself. “I wasn’t aware of being lonesome, but you’ve made me think. Does it have to do with the name I gave Andy?”
“Oh, shy one you are! Just for that, you’ll wait.” She gave Jenny a quick squeeze and went to rescue her crying child.
Jenny carried her valise upstairs to her room. After settling her clothes in their proper place, she opened the window and leaned far out. Soft breezes wafted woody perfume from the trees pressing the fringes of the Morgans’ property. The late June air bore the scent of every growing thing imaginable, and Jenny was overwhelmed with the need to be out of the house and among the trees.
For one moment, as she started for the stairs, she hesitated. Not since her last encounter with Adela, just before she joined the church, had she walked in the woods, nor had she again met Adela. Jenny shivered. Despite her best resolve, the memory of that one sabbat still invaded her dreams.
But the call of the woods won out and Jenny fled toward their serenity, wandering carefree and nearly happy. As the afternoon wore on, Jenny gathered mint and wildflowers as an excuse to barter time alone.
Jenny relaxed, forgetting her initial reluctance to enter the woods and the afternoon passed. In a dreamy mood she circled deeper into the trees. The sun-warmed air softened and sweetened with new smells as she walked around the moist swamplands.
Jenny didn’t realize she was lost until she spied the little log cabin just beyond the marshy meadow. Stopping to study the building, she tried to guess where she was. As she peered at the cabin, the outline of a tall man was visible in the doorway. “Well, at least it is inhabited,” she murmured, looking around to get her bearings.
Jenny tried to retrace her steps, but discovered the lush undergrowth hid the trail and familiar landmarks.
When frogs began their evening chorus, she turned and fled toward the cabin. She was muttering to herself, “Be grateful that Adela can’t see you now. Fine witch you are! You can’t even find your way home, let alone call down the powers.”
The cabin was just across a marshy section, and she had to plunge through ankle-deep water to reach it. When she was nearly to the door, Joseph stepped out onto the stoop. He was pulling on his coat, and he stiffened when he saw her.
“Jenny Timmons, what are you doing here?” For a moment Jenny was surprised and distracted by the hard expression in his eyes. As she searched for words, the conviction that he suspected her of spying swept across her.
“I—I—” she stuttered and then laughed, “Oh, Joseph. I’m not trying to discover all those secret things you men are supposed to talk about when the women aren’t around. I’m lost.” She pointed to muddy boots. He studied her for a moment, then swung the door open.
“Come in. You’ll find nothing more interesting than a quiet spot where we men have our prayer meetings.” The one room was plainly furnished with a cot, a table, and a scattering of chairs. “I would offer you tea, but I have none,” he said. “There’s not even a fire, but you could rest for a moment before I send you on your way.
“Jenny, I have meant to talk to you. It has been a month since you joined the church. We need to have you baptized, and I haven’t seen you in meeting.”
“I’ve been nursing again,” she explained, and saw his quick frown.
“That also merits some discussion,” he added with a nod. “I’ve been hearing more about your charms and amulets and all the potions you use.”
Jenny sat down on the chair Joseph indicated, accepted the towel he offered, and wiped her feet.
“It smacks a little of witchcraft,” he said slowly as he continued to watch her. “But anything that keeps down the fever will be demanded by the people. I can’t complain unless you go into competition with me.”
She stared at him hard, trying to understand what he meant. He was beginning to relax, and the grin on his face became friendly. Abruptly he crossed the room to her chair and squatted close to her. “Jenny, tell me the real reason you wanted to join the church.”
Shaking her head and looking away from him, all those visions of the sabbat filled her mind. She put the towel aside and looked up. The expression on his face was changing and his eyes glowed with a sweetness she didn’t understand.
“Dear Jenny,” he said. He took her hands and lifted her up. With his hands on her shoulders, he held her only inches away from him. The unexpected touch left her nearly swooning, unable to think of anything except his closeness.
Now he was saying, “You don’t have to explain. I know. Jenny, I want you to realize that I understand you better than you do yourself. Do you trust me enough to follow all the directions from the Lord without question? During the next few years, the Lord will reveal many marvelous things to us.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he said, “Trust me. I’ll have you yet.”
She was wondering whether she had heard correctly. But just as her foolish heart began its hurried, hopeful beat, his words snapped her to attention. “Jenny, one of the first responsibilities you have in your new church is to get married.”
The room spun; she couldn’t believe her ears. Woodenly she said, “Married? I don’t want to marry, I—” She shut her hasty lips before they betrayed her. Disappointment flooded through her. His new command made her realize that his past caresses meant nothing. Her back stiffened and her chin lifted. Plainly, he was saying that those kisses had been an impulsive liberty; this was his signal that they had best be forgotten. “Joseph, church is one thing and a person’s love life is another,” she said frostily.
“You don’t understand, Jenny. All the revelations haven’t yet been written down and presented to the people, but God is making it very clear to me that it is His will for marriage to be the basis for a new and everlasting covenant in the hereafter. You see, we are not to be just human. Through His provision of exal
tation, we shall become as He is right now. With kingdoms and powers, we shall possess more earths than you’ve ever dreamed about.”
His voice deepened. “There are spirits already waiting in the spirit world. We need to provide bodies for them. That’s part of our mission here and now. Together with them, we’ll inhabit new worlds. Later, one of the most important teachings in the church will be about marriage. For now, the only thing you need know is that God wills you to be married.”
Jenny was filled with the shock of Joseph’s proclamation as he guided her to the right path and walked through the woods with her. Only when Jenny saw the lights of the Morgans’ kitchen was she able to salvage her composure.
As she hurried toward the house, one word Joseph had said rang through her mind. Power—that word made all the difference in the world.
She forced a cheerful smile and opened the back door into the house. Mark was there. Slowly the events of the afternoon receded, like a dark stormcloud pushed by the wind. Against that backdrop, Mark was an oasis. She found herself clinging to his hand as she studied every familiar feature of his face.
It was easy to say, “Mark, it is good to see you. I’d not realized just how good it possibly could be.” When she saw the flush of pleasure on his face, the wounds inflicted by the afternoon began to heal.
Chapter 28
During July, Sally determined to further the courtship of Mark and Jenny. At the same time Andy set out to make Mark into a financial advisor acceptable to Joseph and the first presidency. Jenny watched with amusement as the tug-of-war for Mark’s attention lurched back and forth.
But Jenny had to admit, even secretly, that she had expected Mark to press his suit immediately, since it was obvious she was responsible for his being in Kirtland. To Jenny’s confusion and even dismay, Mark was seldom at the Morgan residence except to consult with Andy. Even Sally’s frequent dinner invitations didn’t cause him to linger long in the soft summer evenings.
While Jenny was secretly troubled, Sally’s annoyance boiled over one evening. After Mark and Andy escaped the house immediately after dinner, Sally shook the butcher knife she had been drying and exclaimed, “Do you have any idea of what you are getting yourself into? That Mark is not good husband material. Why I picked someone like Andy, who loves work more than wife, I’ll never know. Haven’t you taken lessons from the Morgan household?”