|
||
|
||
|
|
Jack pauses: "We're still working on it. we just picked him up from the farm an hour ago."
The lady responds: "Oh. What kind of dog is he?"
Jack recounts the usual garb about the breed and pauses for a moment. There is something stirring inside of him. His stomach is churning a bit. Nephi at this point is pawing gently at the lady's pant leg, trying to dart through her ankles in an attempt to get to the Dachshund who is now fully cowered behind the lady's feet.
"Look at those paws! He is going to be huge!" She exclaims.
This doesn't seem to settle Jack's stomach any. There is a verse flashing through Jack's mind now. A verse from the Book of Mormon: "I Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God." The scripture trails off in Jack's mind.
"My kids want to name him Nephi." Jack exclaims. He has no idea why he has admitted this and why altogether he feels prompted to do so.
"Nephi?" the woman questions. "Where's that from? Is that a family name?"
Jack's fear has abated and he sees the opportunity. "He's a prophet that lived among the early inhabitants of the American continent. He's written about in the Book of Mormon."
"Oh, then it's an important name." She responds. At this moment the Dachshund has had enough of Nephi's flirtations and is pulling the lady away to get back to business. She follows the dog several feet leaving Jack a bit stupefied.
"What did she mean by that? Important?" Jack thinks to himself.
Here they are at a rest stop, in the middle of Ohio, taking their respective dogs for a walk on a grassy knoll and talking about the Book of Mormon.
"Does this count as a contact?" Jack mutters to himself. In his mind come the words of his mission President: "Only if you get a way to contact her." He swallows.
Before he has time to muster more courage, the lady returns. The Dachshund is no longer afraid of Nephi and the two are sniffing away as the leashes meet a second time.
"I had one once." The lady exclaims unexpectedly.
"A Swissy?" Jack replies.
"No, a Book of Mormon." she laughs. "At least, I think I had one. Do you now how I could get another one?" she asks.
"Yes, I believe I do. Let me get your address and I'll send you one."
A few minutes later, the kids are back in the car having attended to their rest stop needs. Jack waves to the lady over his car door with the piece of paper in his hand. She waves back. Nephi is still tugging away at the leash and is now barking at the Dachshund. Jack picks Nephi up, places him in the car, starts the engine, looks back at his three girls who have a distinctive inspired glow in his mind's eye and exclaims: "Nephi, it is!" The girls cheer.
Previous page >
Where
did Nephi come from? > Page 1,
2
