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Show Sis' full-scale, detailed answers, almost l e c t u r e s. But my moments with him had been so few, there was a certain preciousness about them, n r f n i n,.^ un M M itiW(H|, an expectation that the moment would end suddenly, and a ll chances for future discourse l o s t. "How's everything at the ranch, Daddy?" I asked as I served each a plate of appetizers. He switched his legs around and balanced his plate beneath his knees. He looked at the carpet, thinking. "The brethren are s t a r t i n g businesses in the area. A great deal of money i s involved. Many of the men have invested t h e i r life-work in them. We are praying that they'll succeed and afford our people a way to stay alive. The people in the nearby town are catching on to us and they've been r e l u c t a n t to hire our young men." "Brother Reardon - do you know him, Jeannie?" It was my mother, breaking in. "He invested his whole inheritance in these ventures - d i d n ' t he, Rulon?" My father nodded. "A huge sum." He gazed at the carpet. Why does a person do that? I wondered. It was admirable enough, a t r u l y u n s e l f i s h act. 'Take a l l that ye have and give i t to the poor. Then come, follow me.' "We are t r y i n g to keep the Law of Consecration," my father added. I didn't want to show my ignorance, but i t seemed a ll right to ask, softly, humbly, "What's t h a t , Daddy?" "If you'd read your g r a n d f a t h e r ' s book, you'd find a section on i t . Men of God should be willing to consecrate aH that they have to the Lord - a l l property and savings, keeping only what they must have to survive." |