Lena Jones 02 - Desert Wives
He jerked his head toward the lectern, where Prophet Davis, having finished the task of greeting everyone, rapped a small gavel on the lectern.
“Friends, before we begin today’s meeting, let us pray,” he said, sounding more like a televangelist than ever.
It was all I could do not to groan but I stood obediently with the rest of the group. The prayer was long, calling for God’s help bringing strength and endurance to the men, obedience and humility to the women. I’d heard it all before, which was why I’d shied away from church all my life, but toward the end, Prophet Davis interjected some intriguing new material.
“As it says in Prophet Solomon’s Gospel, ‘For behold I reveal unto you a new covenant and unless ye adhere to this covenant, ye will never see Highest Heaven,’” Davis’s voice rang out. “Our forefather Abraham received numerous concubines and they bore him many children, and therefore Abraham was seated by the Lord on the highest throne of Highest Heaven. Oh, children of Purity, that is our sacred commandment, to follow in Abraham’s footsteps.”
As everyone said “Amen,” and sat down, I added a silent “Bullshit.”
The self-serving prayer out of the way, Davis got down to business.
“First, I want to issue one more call for the man who shot at me this morning to admit his mistake. I am ready to confer forgiveness upon the sinner.”
In the long pause that followed, I could hear people breathing. The silence must have continued for at least five minutes, but no one ever confessed.
“All right then,” Davis said. “Here’s what I’m going to do about it. The guns have all been returned to the armory, correct?” He looked over at the Circle of Elders, where each of those worthies nodded in unison.
“Brothers, bring your keys to me.”
“What? What do you mean?” Earl Graff said. “The Circle of Elders has cared for the guns for a hundred years!”
“Not anymore.” Davis’s voice was grim. “Bring those keys here now, Brother Graff. From now on, when anyone wants to go hunting, he’ll have to come to me and I will personally take him over to the armory and hand him a rifle. I don’t like being shot at twice in one week.”
Earl sputtered, as did the other members of the Circle, but in the end, they handed the keys over to Davis.
“The armory? Where’s the armory?” I whispered to Saul.
“It’s on the second floor of the clinic, where the Circle of Elders holds its monthly meeting. Like everything else around here, the guns are communally owned, but it sure looks like Davis is going to make it a lot less communal.”
Davis spoke again, his voice carrying beautifully, even in this large room. “As you all know, brothers and sisters, things have been pretty tense around Zion City since Prophet Solomon’s murder. The anti-polygamy media is trying to stir up a witch hunt again, and they’re making our friends in government nervous. When you take those runs into town to sign those welfare and SSI forms, keep your wives and children as much out of sight as possible.”
Noah Heaton, the dwarfish dog-shooter I’d met before the meeting, stood up. “Who cares what the Outside thinks? I’m more interested in what’s going on right here in Purity. Maybe if things were a little fairer around here we wouldn’t have so many problems. I mean, why should some men have ten wives while some of us still have none?”
Davis gave him a smile tainted with a trace of condescension. “Your point is well taken, Brother Noah, but this isn’t really the time for such a discussion.”
Noah refused to drop his complaint. “I want a wife! But the Circle of Elders refuses to give me one!”
Some of the women in the room giggled, but they fell silent when their husbands glowered at them.
Davis sounded pained. “You were offered one of Prophet Solomon’s widows. It isn’t the Circle’s fault you refused her.”
“But she, she…” His mongrel-thin face contorted in frustration. “She’s too old to have any more children, so what good is she?”
Angry mutterings greeted this statement and one of the men near Noah shoved him back into his seat. Perhaps the men shared Noah’s opinions about women’s worth, but they still didn’t like hearing them stated in such a bald fashion.
Davis’s smile grew broader as he turned away from Noah and spoke to the rest of the group. “Actually, Brother Noah’s comments give me an opportunity to bring up
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