Part Three: The Land of Jershon/Chapter 25: My Joy Is Carried Away

Part Three: The Land of Jershon
Chapter 25—My Joy is Carried Away

Himni sat back from the parchment on which he had spent the last two hours writing. He looked at the heavy flourish he had used on the symbol for “amen.” The flourish wasn’t characteristic of his writing, but he had to admit that he was deeply satisfied with the work of these pages. Omner had done most of the history keeping of their mission, but this was different. This was a psalm—a psalm worthy of David and Solomon.

He felt no trace of boastfulness as he thought it because these were not his words. They were Ammon’s. A month ago, on the afternoon of Himni’s wedding, all four brothers as well as Ammah and Muloki, were gathered in the same place as they awaited the beginning of the simple ceremony. It was unusual for so many of the sons of Nephi to be in the same place at the same time, and they had all heartily congratulated Himni on his choice of brides. The feeling among them was one of general gladness and contentment. Ammon’s mouth ran away with the deep joy he’d felt in his heart. The words had been beautiful, poetic. At one point, Aaron had accused his brother of boasting.

When Ammon had contradicted their oldest brother to say that he was only boasting in God’s power and benevolence, Himni couldn’t have agreed more. His wonderful words had been a blur in a day when everything was wonderful and blurry. He understood Ammon’s feeling perfectly when he had spoken of the immense gratitude he felt for being delivered unto salvation and then coming to teach their Lamanite brethren of the Savior also. After all, how else could he have met Abish?

She was such a central part of the joy in his life. He believed himself to have been content before, but now he could see that happiness was multiplied greatly when it was shared with one that you loved so deeply. He loved catching her eye across a roomful of people and watching her face light up; he loved the shine he could see in her countenance when they talked about things of the Spirit; he loved the smell of bread frying in his house many mornings; he even loved it when the smell was not there, knowing that she had gone to help another soul into the world.

He had once wondered if her work would get in the way of their marriage, but instead it had been a blessing to them. Himni himself was busy and often away. For over ten years in this land he and his brothers had lived on the generosity of others as they served. Now, Abish’s work provided them with a way to eat without giving up what he loved the most. He never grew tired of her telling about a birth or a mother or a baby. Her eyes glowed with tears as she gave God the praise for each successful delivery and tried to find meaning in the ones with negative outcomes.

He loved the way she moved and worked. He loved when she laced her firm, brown fingers through his pale ones and held on so tightly. He loved holding her close and resting his chin in the crook of her shoulder and smelling herbs in her dark hair. His mind wandered from the page he’d been working on as stared out the window.

“Himni?”

He jumped. He had been so lost in thought he hadn’t heard her come in. “Abish! I’m so happy to see you.”

She raised her eyebrows, “Or surprised?”

He smiled; an expression that came so readily these days. “I was actually just thinking about you and my mind was wandering.”

“Well here I am.”

He embraced her and kissed her forehead. She probably thought he was extremely foolish: she had only been gone a few hours. Somehow he couldn’t help himself when it came to her. Ever since the night she had told him so sweetly of her love, he had never ceased thanking God for such a miracle. “What are you working on?” She indicated the papers at the low table.

He explained about Ammon’s words from their wedding day. He then added. “Though I thought the words beautiful at the time, I didn’t really remember them. My mind was on other things.” He grinned and blushed, bringing laughter to her face, an expression that he loved so much that he had to take her in his arms again. After he kissed her, he completed his explanation, “Then, a few days after our marriage, pieces of it began coming back, and I felt strongly that I should write them. As I followed the prompting, the words came back to me, just as he spoke them. I finished today.” Himni had hardly finished speaking when Abish sat at the table. She read slowly, the Nephite manner of writing was different than the writing she knew best, but she was learning.

Himni stepped away from her, back to the window. He wanted to give her some quiet and became lost in his own thoughts again. Several minutes later he heard her sniffling. He quickly found a cloth for her to wipe her eyes and nose with. She smiled through her tears, “Oh, dear, this is beautiful! I had no idea you could write like this.”

He smiled gently, “I can’t.”

She said quietly, “These words will inspire our people for many generations.”

He nodded slowly, “Maybe there is more to it than that.” She raised her eyebrows, quizzically, and he continued, “Ammon has told you of our friend, Alma?”

“Yes.”

“He is the keeper of a record that is very sacred to our people. Actually, it is many records now. It is basically a spiritual history of this people from the time of Nephi. Omner has kept a record of our mission here in these lands and Alma has indicated in some of his letters that our record should be part of the larger one.”

“I had no idea.”

“The record is very sacred. Not many know of it, so that it is kept safe. Alma believes the record will be less for our own people, than for a people who will follow us.”

“So these words may benefit people everywhere.”

Himni shrugged, “It is hard to know. All I can say is that I have never felt as inspired as I have these last few weeks.”

“Does Ammon know?”

“I was waiting until I had finished. And I just did today.”

“We should take it to the palace now.”

Himni couldn’t help but grin. “We will.”

“What are you grinning about?” Abish was again suspicious and Himni loved the playful expression around her mouth and eyes, probably even suspecting exactly what was on his mind.

“I was just thinking I’ve had two causes for inspiration in these recent weeks.”

“Oh?”
“And I was just thinking that you are here and I am here and maybe that visit to the palace could be put off for a little while . . .” He trailed off, hoping she’d understand his invitation.

“It’s the middle of the afternoon.” Her words sounded like a protest, but she moved closer to him and put her arms around him. Would his heart always skip a beat when she was this near?

He bent his head down to kiss her and murmured, “Have you got somewhere else to go?”

“No. . . Not exactly . . .” Her words trailed off too as she responded easily to his kiss. She smiled broadly and looked up at him. He looked directly into her deep brown eyes and he could see love there he never thought possible. She flushed slightly and said, “Maybe that visit to the palace could be put off for a while.” He laughed for joy before he started kissing her in earnest.


Abish was excited to share Himni’s treasure as they walked to the palace that night. It was a beautiful and cool starry night and she loved the way his hand felt in hers. She had thanked God every day for months for the miracle of the love they had found. She was aware of new threats from many quarters of the land, and she was not so naïve to think that rumors of war would not touch their lives: no amount of healing could make certain memories go away. She had seen firsthand what war was like when only one side was armed, and men all over the land continued to speak Lamoni’s covenant and bury their weapons. Even her brother, always ready for war games even as a child, had buried his sword without a backward glance. Still, she was learning to take the happy times for what they were worth and live each day to its fullest.

As they arrived at the palace, the tension was palpable. She knew something had happened from the relief that was evident on Ammon’s face when he saw his youngest brother. The men—Aaron was there too—went into a room by themselves and Zaria spoke to Abish while Selah paced. Abish tried to convince her to sit; although the girl was trying to hide it, Abish had long guessed she was with child.

Zaria explained that a letter from Alma had finally gotten through. It had been well over a year since Ammon had received any news of goings on in Nephite lands. After so many of their Lamanite warriors had joined the Ammonites, the unconverted cities, spearheaded by the Amalekites, decided it was better to turn on the Nephites. At least they would be armed and it was easier to exploit their hatred. They had gone to the land of Zarahemla to attack several border cities. The Nephites had beaten them back.

“Anyway,” Zaria concluded, “Ammon and Aaron think that this news, coupled with the recent attacks against small groups of our people in Middoni and Midian, means they are ready to turn on us again.”

Abish prayed to have faith so the bitterness wouldn’t come back to consume her. Her voice felt low and strange as she asked, “Will we do as last time; will we just stay?”

“I don’t know. There may not be time to call the kings together. The council has been more or less dissolved, but they still consult with one another when they can. Each king is trying to run his kingdom as God would have them do and according to the will of the people.”

“It is a system not unlike the Nephites.”

“From what Aaron has said, yes. But there are still kings, and this makes us very vulnerable here.”

“Since our king is a baby.”

Zaria gave a wry smile, “Indeed. And the queen is the sister of the king at Jerusalem.”

“Ironic that your bond to Lamoni was meant to seal the alliance between these two nations for at least a generation.” Abish smiled gently, trying to show that she was sympathetic and not sarcastic.

Zaria smiled slowly, nodding, that pained look in her eyes still just under the surface when Lamoni was named. Selah excused herself and the queen carefully cleared her throat. Abish was immediately curious. It was a thing she only heard the lady do when she had something heavy on her mind. Abish was patient, and sure enough, a few seconds later Zaria lowered her voice, “I think I know of another marriage that will help secure position for this people if we move to Nephite lands.”

“Oh?”

“I could marry Aaron.”

Although the thought had been in the back of Abish’ mind since before Ammon wed Selah, she was almost shocked to hear the queen voice it so calmly. Abish tried to match her cool, detached tone. “Has he asked?”

Zaria chuckled, “No, he has not. But I am still a young woman and I am not unaware of the ways a man tries to tell a woman without words.”

Abish smiled. Her friend was indeed young, not thirty, and she was still the most beautiful woman Abish had ever seen. Age had deepened and refined her beauty. The pain of the past year and given her an almost impossible loveliness. “Do you love him?”

“No.”

“Do you consider this only for position?” Abish’s brow furrowed.

“I was married the first time for position. A princess or a queen may not always have the luxury of marrying for love.”

“Maybe love could grow.”

“Perhaps.” The queen conceded, “But even if it did not, we would be good companions. He would be an excellent father to little Lamoni. He could teach my son what kind of man his father was. He is a strong leader.”

“A man born to be king.”

Zaria nodded, “Perhaps yes, and under slightly different circumstances, maybe it is Aaron I would have been promised to in the first place.”

“I just want you to be happy, my friend.”

“As I look back, I know I am happiest when my people are taken care of.”

“You are a good queen.”

Zaria smiled graciously, as only she could, “And you are a very good friend.”

The walk home that night was more subdued than their walk to the palace. Abish was quiet and Himni knew she wanted to ask what had happened in the meeting. He would tell her when they were in the privacy of their home. He tried to divert her by telling of Ammon’s reaction to Himni’s transcript. His eldest brother had reacted with awe and wonder, saying, “If no other words survive of our mission to the Lamanites, the angels in Heaven will know that we did our part. A hundred generations from now, missionaries will read these words and it will give them courage to face each day.”

Abish thrilled at prophecy and the rest of their conversation was punctuated by the missionary work that played a central role in their lives. When they were home, Himni shared his report. “Ammon wants to go to Middoni so that he can talk to King Antiomno. He thinks the other kings will do whatever Antiomno wants.”

“What does he want?”

“We don’t know, but Ammon is going to try to convince him to leave the land of Nephi for the land of Zarahemla. In epistles past, Alma has indicated that there may be a place for us there. Aaron and Ammon have long thought that leaving the Lamanite lands would have to be the ultimate destiny of this people.”

Abish nodded slowly. “What would our new home be like?”

“Different. Closer to the North Sea, and a little colder. It is wetter, but it will be good cropland when it is cleared. Now it is little more than a wilderness.”

“It will be a lot of work.”

Himni agreed, but he could see that Abish wasn’t complaining, just making a statement. “Yes, but it will be a good place.”

“A safe place.”

“A safe place.” He repeated her words and held her hand a little more tightly. There was something else he had to tell his wife too, though he was hardly sure how.

She sensed his hesitation, “What else is on your mind, husband?”

“Am I so easy to read?”

“Your eyes are nearly brown when you have only happy thoughts on your mind. Tonight they are almost blue. Your thoughts must be heavy.”

His eyes widened in surprise; it was a thing he had never known about himself. He marveled again at the pleasure he felt at being near her. He cast his distraction aside and said, “I told you that Ammon wants to go to Middoni.” She nodded slowly, and although he would say the words, he could see that she already knew what was coming. “It is not safe, or right, that my brother should go alone.”

Her eyes filled with tears immediately, but she smiled through them, “And he wants his favorite companion to come?” As he nodded, he felt sick at heart. Even though he knew that such a separation would probably come sooner or later, he had hoped for more time. He wanted to ask her to come, but he knew she would say yes and he was worried about her safety. Besides, there were many here who needed his wife. She sniffed back her tears and became more practical. “Does Ammon know that Selah is with child?”

Himni’s eyes immediately widened in surprise. “He has said nothing to me.”
“She hasn’t told me either.”

“Then how do you know?” Her eyebrows shot up and she just looked at him. He laughed at her expression; of course it was a stupid question. “How far?”

“That I can’t say. Perhaps four or five months from delivery.”

“If all goes well we hope to be back in two months.”

“Will Aaron go with you?”
He shook his head, “No; Ishmael is too vulnerable. So many look to Aaron as a leader that they don’t question much who is in charge here. He can help hold the people together and Zaria can run her kingdom.”

“You should tell Aaron that Zaria is ready to accept his offer of marriage.”

Again, Himni’s eyes widened in surprise. “Aaron wants to marry Zaria?”

“For many months now.”

“How do women know these things?”

Abish laughed. “Men aren’t the only ones who hold closed door meetings! Besides, we are better at understanding what is being communicated even when no words are spoken.”

Himni grinned again, “Like this afternoon?”

Abish blushed and cleared her throat. “Now what were we talking about?”

“You were just saying how much you were going to miss me when I am gone.”

“I was?” Her smile was back even though the red was still hot on her cheeks.

Himni nodded rapidly. “And how we needed to spend as much time as possible together before I go.”

He had meant to tease her out of the somber mood that had come over the day, but the tears were back, “My dear, you will be careful won’t you?”

“Are you kidding? It would take the whole Lamanite army to keep me from coming back to you.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”