Ephraim's Rescue

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You're too late...

She died two hours ago.

The Relief Society sisters

are preparing her for burial.

Brother Johnson.

Your wife would

like to talk to you.

My darling!

I had the most wonderful dream.

There was a man with white

hair and a full white beard

sitting here beside my bed.

He told me that I would bear

and raise seven daughters.

The man also said

there would be a time in life when

they would all stand together

and be a great joy to me.

Being worthy when your

opportunity arrives

is a lesson it took

me years to learn.

It is, for me, what a

good life is all about.

But as a boy, becoming a good man was

the furthest thing from my mind.

It wasn't the first time

I'd put Lindy up wet,

but as it was Sunday, Pa couldn't take

it to me 'til the Sabbath had passed.

They went off to church

and that gave me time

to make the decision to

strike off on my own...

I've always loved the Sabbath.

I determined to show my parents

I could sort out what

this life is all about

and grow up to become a good man.

I worked my way around parts

of the country for a time,

learned what they knew,

then found myself

in the United States Navy

on the USS Columbia!

Three years later

I was back where I began,

at the port of Boston.

May have broke your

china on that one, eh?

- Get out a here.

- Be quick about it, Eph!

What!?

You lookin' for a bustin', mister?

That's quite a temper

you've developed there.

Yeah, so?

Where is your home?

Ohio. Who's asking?

How long since you've been there?

Three years. Now, who's asking?

Three years is a long time

from those you cherish.

Yeah. Well, I hope nobody's

waiting for me at the window

'cause I'm going to town, changing

ships and off for another three years.

May I offer to watch your

belongings in your absence?

Now why would I ever...?

Yes, I'd be obliged, sir.

Thank you kindly.

Eph, quit your dawdling!

Time's a wastin'! We got good

times to be had tonight!

Ephraim? What kind of

name is Ephraim, anyway?

I haven't heard a name that

peculiar since those, huh...

those New Guinea blokes, eh?

Strange birds they were.

As quickly as he had arrived,

the Man in the Grey

Tweed Suit was gone.

A new thought entered my head.

I made the decision to forgo

the Navy and return home.

Now, in my later years,

I see more clearly.

Though as a boy I had

stayed close to God,

as a sailor I was drifting

further and further away...

It was time to return and

make amends with my parents.

Acorn, that's a good boy.

Good boy.

I believe you took a

wrong turn, neighbor.

Mother?

It's Eph!

Ephraim! Ephraim!

My boy!

Where was he buried?

Near the south oak.

Did he have an ailment?

What did he die of?

He was old, Ephraim. He was 52.

During those years at sea, I...

I wanted to make you

and father proud.

Now I'll never know...

If you have any regrets, son, let

them be for your brother Sidney.

Sid...

Where is Sidney?

He's been led away by

the terrible Mormons.

Mormons?

They have cast a spell upon him.

Where is he?

A-way out west, almost to

the ocean, in Illinois.

Well, then I will go and free him.

Yes, go... as soon as you are able.

Saving Sidney was what

my mother wanted...

and seemed to be an

opportunity to show her

I could do something good.

Looking back, it seems like

everything that happened in my life

was a lesson God

wanted me to learn.

Like the morning a visitor stopped by

to teach me about keeping my head.

Some days, lessons come

one after another.

After taking the right path,

a strange despair fell upon me,

and I was overpowered

by a stupor of thought.

What's the matter with me,

Acorn? I am a blathering idiot...

Must've taken a wrong path.

Something is amiss.

I do not know what to do.

Blessed Father, it's been a

long time since I've done this.

For the first time

in years, I prayed.

Seems since I was a boy,

the Lord was always willing

to keep in touch with me if I was

willing to keep in touch with Him.

And though I'd been

absent without leave,

the Lord was quick to whisper

what I should be doing.

I felt impressed to

get on back home.

Soon as I got there,

I realized why.

Sidney!

Brother!

Sidney had been told in a

dream he needed to go home.

Son, I want you to

do us both a favor.

I want you to call on Pastor

Reed and Pastor Robbins.

Invite them here Thursday next.

Just being sociable?

You and Sidney are home now.

I want no more of

this Mormon rubbish.

They're good, Christian men.

They'll bring a Christlike message.

- A prophet in our day?!

- Prophets are a thing of the past!

Do you believe that

God is among us?

Most certainly!

"Surely the Lord God

would do nothing

but He revealeth his secret

unto his servants prophets."

Amos 3:
7.

Well, if God did speak to man, surely he

would come to learned men such as us!

We.

What?

Proper English is we: "He would

come to learned men such as we."

In any case...

why would God reveal His

word to a young boy?!

Yes! Why would the Lord

speak to a young boy,

like He did Samuel?!

1st Samuel 3:
4.

Gentlemen, it is my earnest

testimony given to me

by the spirit that Joseph Smith

is indeed a prophet of God.

And it is my testimony that Joe

Smith is a liar and a thief!

And to believe his stories sets

you among the weakest of morons!

And any man who would follow

him would rob his own mother!

Enough! You have crossed a

line, and I will hear no more!

Leave our home before I...

- Go, go, go!

- Get out!

You're not welcome in

Sunday School anymore!

And forget about the socials!

Get outta here!

And as a kid, I hated

your Sunday School class!

I am sorry, Mother...

But no one can slander my

brother while I am here.

They forgot their hat!

Now why would he

come to a young boy?

No, he would come to learned men

such as us, such as us, yup, yup.

Eph, you need to know that...

what I testified of

to them is true.

God has come again to Earth

and angels minister to men.

I myself was about to die

from a serious rupture,

but through the laying on

of hands, I was healed.

You were healed?

The way Christ healed others?

Here, this is the Book of Mormon.

That very night, I chose to cast my

lot with Sidney and the Mormons...

and another adventure

was about to begin.

I should have known the

moment you returned.

What?

You always have been and

always will be trouble!

You abandoned us once and

you'll leave us again.

Mother, I'm just...

You bring only shame to your

father and embarrassment to me.

Because I seek to do what's right?

No! Because you only think

of your precious self!

It's not within you

to become a good man.

Once again, in my mother's

eyes, I had failed to be good.

So we did as she asked

and bid farewell...

then headed out for

the city of Joseph.

I had many questions,

but they were all answered,

and the determination

became strong within me

to be a defender of the gospel,

of Zion and her cause,

come what may.

The same year I was baptized,

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