An Instrument in His Hands

Part 2 Chapter 8

Part 2

Chapter 8

Why did he kiss me? I lay awakethe first half of the night wondering why a confirmed bachelor would do such a thing!

I lay awake the second half of the night wondering why Daniel’s kiss didn’t send tingles down my spine and fill my heart with soft feathery feelings. Kissing Daniel was not anything like kissing Aaron! Did real love make the difference, or was I too old now to really enjoy kissing? What was I now - twenty four? I was old!

And what would I do about Daniel? What if he wanted a relationship beyond friendship? Was he really against marrying? And, if so, why did he kiss me? Why? Why? Why?

The next day I dragged myself through my lessons with the girls, so tired that I could hardly hold a quill. That evening, when I met Daniel at the marketplace as he promised, he approached me warily. ‘Are you going to slap me for taking liberties?’ he asked before anything else.

‘I’m too tired to slap you,’ I said. ‘I stayed awake all night worrying about why you would want to kiss me. Why did you kiss me?’

He laughed. ‘Because you looked so happy and beautiful.’

‘That’s all?’

‘A man needs no other reason.’

My shoulders slumped. I should not have spent my night worrying.

‘I want you to go home and sleep. I’ll take over whatever you were planning to do tonight.’

I looked at him with half open eyes. ‘I’m teaching a class full of girls how to care for infants.’

‘Hmmm…. I don’t think I can do that for you. Is there something else I can teach them, like how to measure rice, or how to sharpen a sword?’

I smiled a half of a smile. ‘You can help me walk there without falling in the river.’

‘Gladly,’ he said, and held on to my elbow firmly.

The next night that Daniel took me visiting, I felt a lot more perky.

‘You look good enough to kiss again,’ he complimented.

‘As long as I know there are no strings attached, I won’t lose sleep over it if you do,’ I told him, half grumbling.

‘Isn’t that usually what the man is supposed to say?’ he said.

‘I’m a confirmed spinster, right?’

‘And I’m a confirmed bachelor.’ Then he switched subjects. ‘ Will you attend another event with me tomorrow? You don’t have to dress quite as fancy this time. It’s for the Nephite-Muelekite party.’

‘What do they want? A King?’

‘It doesn’t matter much because they are in the minority, and none of them are religious, so they don’t have much of an agenda. Speaking of religion, I think the Zoramites are going to take a lesson from the Nehors and capitalize on it.’

‘How?’

‘Well, you already know that they don’t accept that Christ will come and dwell in the flesh.'

‘Yes, they’ve made out a god that is much like the Lamanite’s “Great Spirit,” a convenient god who doesn’t care if we sin.’

‘Well, it’s not much of a leap to give the Great Spirit the ability to manifest himself in nature, or in a sacred, dedicated object, like a rice god.'

‘Idolatry?’

‘Essentially, yes. You saw the hats they wore. They represent the local gods of Antionum. In blessing the land, a part of the god’s spirit comes down and dwells in an object that represents the local god.’

‘And ensures prosperity?’

‘Exactly!’

‘As opposed to blessing the Land of Zarahemla?’

‘Abigail, you are a very intelligent girl. Yes. That is exactly their intent. The Nephite-Muelekite party won’t come up with anything half that appealing to the masses. Every soul, as much as they try to reject it, has a great need to worship. To offer a god that blesses his people no matter what they do is the ultimate opiate for guilt. It is especially appealing that the god blesses Antionum.'

‘Daniel, you’ve had experience with this type of thing, to understand it so well.’

‘I’ve seen it over and over throughout the kingdom. Idolatry is a great temptation because it can be touched and felt and seen immediately.’

‘Unlike Christ, who is invisible to the eye, until he comes.’

‘Yes.’

I stopped and put my hand on his arm. ‘Daniel, I know that Christ is real. I have witnessed an angel with my own eyes and ears. Christ will come. This I know.’

‘Ah! That is the secret to your strength.’

‘I suppose so. I have seen great examples of service to emulate also. You know of the waywardness of Alma and the Sons of Mosiah.’

'Of course.'

‘You know too that my brother, Andrew, came under their influence and turned from the teachings of his fathers. Though they turned back and persuaded him to do so, Andrew still will not believe in God.’

‘Yet he serves the government well.’

‘It was not always that way. The missionaries that served under Ammon found Andrew and rehabilitated him. They faithfully stayed with him day and night. I became a part of their group and learned to serve under their tutelage. What I do here is a continuation of their noble cause.’

‘What will Andrew do if the Zoramites come to power?’

‘He likes them. I am hoping that they promote him. Andrew is very capable.’

‘Yet he is pure Nephite. Hmmm…’ Daniel thought a while. ‘Perhaps there is something I can do for him.’

‘I would be forever in your debt,’ I told him.

‘I may hold you to that,’ he said with an uplifted brow.