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Show 67 r an outraged word born of his strong #ee±±ng=ccf concern for me, and not a prophecy at a l l . I had never thought of the incident that way before. Suddenly I f e l t that my l o s t b i r t h r i g h t had been returned. Past, present, and future lay l i k e a shimmering highway, inviting me to make my pilgrimage. I wondered i f any part of my future was here, on these grounds, in this big house. Most of those who lived in i t didn't even know me. Basically a four-plex, the building was much larger than the original white house. My father explained that i t had been constructed by his sons and the brethren in the group, and that i t had been financed by the Priesthood. "The Lord has promised that if we will serve Him with a ll our hearts, might, minds, and strength, a l l else will be added unto HvteW us. Here's proof that He keeps His promises to u s , " My father hold his hand out in a grand gesture. But I knew that t h i s addition had not appeared magically. My father had revealed the d i f f i c u l t y with s t a t e and local building agencies* had described the opposition of the local Mormon church to his effort to e s t a b l i s h a new compound, with some of my brothers' homes around h i s . Also there had been some feelings s t i r r e d in the family about the cost and a r c h i t e c t u r e of the building. Some of the 'new wives' had contributed heavily to the construction and therefore took a? stronger part in deciding about the plans for the new family home. My f a t h e r ' s older wives, /who*had contributed a l l their time and money to the family for years were generally l e f t out of the planning stages. Some even f e l t that the new women used t h e ir financial prowess to finagle more than t h e i r share of time with my father, and refused to l i v e in the new house, feeling that ' i t i s n 't ours.' |