OWL OF THE DESERT
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A Conversation with Brigham Young






(I exit my Time Machine in Brigham Young's Bedroom . . . )

Me:  Brother Brigham (gently shaking him awake), I've come from the future ―

Brigham (rising from his bed):  Has the Council of Fifty established the latter-day kingdom, then?

Me:  Umm . . . not yet.  It really didn't go anywhere after 1884 ―

Brigham:  No, don't tell me!  You might create a time paradox. ​

Me:  Okay, anyway, I came to tell you that if you stay this course, your legacy will result in the Church ―

Brigham:  I said, (cupping his ears) you could cause a chain reaction that unravels the very fabric of the spacetime continuum! 

Me:  Fine.  I won't tell you anything about the future.  

Brigham:  Thank you, Brother . . . 

Me:  Merrill.

Brigham:  Brother Merrill.  I appreciate it.  Well (pause) maybe you could tell me just one thing . . . 

Me:  What do you want to know? 

Brigham:  In the future, does Mark Twain live in infamy?

Me:  Well, sort of, but not for the reasons you would expect.

Brigham:  Very good.  Now, what did you come here for?

​Me:  Do you have a Book of Mormon?

Brigham (reaching to his nightstand): Yes, right here.

Me:  Good, I want you to read Mosiah 18:24-28.

Brigham:  What do you mean, Chapter Eighteen Verses Twenty Four thru Twenty Eight?

Me: Oh, that's right! It doesn't get chapters and verses until 1879, a couple of years after you . . . never mind.

Brigham:  After I what?

Me:  Here, let me find the passage for you (me hastily taking his Book of Mormon):

       . . . the priests whom he had ordained should labor . . .
       . . . not to depend on the people . . .
       . . . receive the grace of God . . .
       . . . teach with power and authority . . .

       . . . impart of their substance . . . 
       . . . everyone according to that which he had . . . 
       . . . to him that had not should be given . . . 

       . . . of their own free will and good desires . . . 
       . . . to those priests that stood in need . . . 


​Brigham:  Yes, that's right.  That's how it should be done.  I work very hard.  It is the way of Deseret.  

Me:  Yes, but, my point is . . . how exactly did you become the richest person in the territory?

Brigham:  What do you mean by that?

Me:  For starters, who determines your wages, and that of your counselors, and your sons, and of the apostles? 

Brigham:  I do. 

Me:  Are you "all equal," as it says in Alma 1:26?

Brigham:  No.  But after all, I am the Trustee in Trust for the Church . . . 

Me:  Hmm.  Yes, you are.  Well . . . I better go.  For now, please bookmark that passage and think about it.   

Brigham:  I don't have a bookmark handy.

Me:  Here, use this (handing him a bookmark).

Brigham:  Whatever is this thing?   

Me:  The wrapper from a Twix bar.  

(Space time continuum explodes)
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  • Home
  • Poetry
    • Seven Stations of the Cross >
      • Jesus Condemned to Die >
        • Life Signs
        • Fashionable Religion
        • Tithing Declaration
        • A Pretty Important Detail
        • Jesus is All
        • Salt Lake Temple
        • Zion in the Lion's Den
        • High Noon
        • Bookmark
      • Jesus Stumbles and Falls >
        • Unveil
      • Simon of Cyrene Bears the Cross
      • Women of Jerusalem Weep
      • Jesus Stripped of His Garment
      • Jesus Nailed to the Cross
      • Burial and Resurrection
    • Fleeing Egypt >
      • Tower of Babel
      • The Orchard
      • Tithing Settlement
      • Chastity for Churches
      • Sign
      • Cleaning House
      • Elijah
      • Rulers of Sodom
      • Beware
      • Two Churches
      • Beginning At My Sanctuary
      • Toll Road
      • Get it Strait
      • Corporation Sole
      • The Religion of the Circle R
      • Fig Tree
      • Eve
      • New Jerusalem
      • Shemlon's Shore
    • Ascending Sinai >
      • Ark
      • Sin of the Calf
      • An Idol Observation
      • Dew from Heaven
      • I love you, Elder Holland
      • Easter
      • How Sweet
      • Haiku
      • The Barn
      • Patron Saint
      • A Conversation with Brigham Young
      • Mine Testimony
      • The Meadow
      • The Gardens
      • Ice Fishing
      • Without End
      • Forest
      • Continental Divide
      • A Great Sacrifice
    • Promised Land >
      • Lanolin
      • Zion
      • Wisdom
      • Take Up Your Cross
      • Was the Sun the Same
      • Plain and Precious
      • Bridegroom
      • Faith
      • Amos
      • But First
      • Wax
      • Parable of the Piano
      • Repentance
      • Wake Up, Child
      • Cold Storage
      • Covered Wagon
      • Multiply and Replenish
      • Rollercoaster
      • The Baptist
  • Blog
    • Previous Posts >
      • 2023 Posts
      • 2022 Posts
      • 2021 Posts
      • 2020 Posts
  • About
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