OCR Text |
Show (ob% final word and the woman follows i t -- unless she's like Aunt Dot or this new woman and overlooks the rules when i t suits her?" My mother shook her head. "It shouldn't be that way. - Your daddy always asked our opinion about anything importanx as this. And i t i s n ' t as though we've opposed him - we've shown our willingness to l i v e the P r i n c i p l e . It has always been so beautiful, I never minded the new g i r l s . Until t h i s. I never dreamed that everything could suddenly become a nightmare for me." "He should have had your consent," I said matter-of-factly. I had read enough s c r i p t u r e to know i t was true. Joseph Smith had married other women without Emma's consent because she was opposed to the Principle i t s e l f . But my mother wasn't opposed to the Principle; she was opposed to t h i s woman. Again I felt some i n v i s i b l e connection between them. They were both a r t i s t i c - could that be i t? "He was already spreading himself on too t h i n . . . ." my mother's voice t r a i l e d off. She was t i r e d . I fumbled inside myself for some words of l i g h t and reassurance. His love had been spread l i k e t h i n j e l l y over our h e a r t s , too sweet and i n s u b s t a n t i a l . But my father was a good man; he had avoided the sins most people commit; he was dedicated to God. Perhaps he had overextended himself; perhaps he was too zealous for his - or his family's good. But I was sure that he had not done i t to promote his own power. "He must have had dosme reason or he wouldn't have married her, Mama. He's rejected his own sons - me, too - because we were 'worldly' and d i d n ' t follow the Gospel Plan. Maybe she's ""to teach him something about the world, something he |