24. A New Star

CHAPTER 24

A NEW STAR

          Tyreantum was dead!

Hantuman went over to take a closer look.  The enemy was dead; his body was going cold and stiff and the appearance of his face said it all.  His face was frozen in an expression of extreme agony.  If a terrified scream could be seen instead of heard, his face was the image of untold horror.     

Nephi, Lehi, and Hantuman knew the reason why Tyreantum was dead.  He and the others had fallen because they had not believed the words of the prophets.  Tyreantum believed he had succeeded with his great plan to destroy Nephi and the believers.  Instead, he had failed.  He knew when the sign appeared that he could no longer frustrate the works of God.  Tyreantum learned about the will of God and the meaning of God’s judgment from God himself.  It was too late to repent.

          Nephi, Lehi, and Hantuman took advantage of the nighttime with no darkness.

They paddled a canoe from the shore and climbed aboard the ship with a rope.  Nobody else was there.  But the ship was loaded full of provisions, enough for over fifty people for at least a month at sea.

          Hantuman raised the anchor and set the sails.  Lehi watched from the bow while Nephi steered with the rudder.  They slowly and carefully made their way through the channel of water that avoided the dangerous coral reef.  They reached the open sea without much difficulty.

          With the voyage safely underway, Lehi joined his companions on the deck to celebrate.  He was thrilled to be on such a splendid ship for the first time.  “That was great!”  He congratulated them.  “And with this light as bright as day, I had no problem at all seeing where the water was the shallowest and where the reef would have posed the most danger.”

          “I could have no better brothers for crew mates,” Hantuman grinned at Lehi and Nephi.  “We did it!  It took a while with just the three of us, but it seems as though we left at mid-day and it still remains as if it were mid-day with the light never fading.”

          “But look!” Lehi pointed to the east.  “Look, it is hardly still mid-day.  The sun is rising again.  A new day is starting.”

          “It is on this day that He is born,” said Nephi reverently.  “Because of the sign which has been given, we know that He is come to save us this day.  The Savior does indeed have power to save.  Behold, has He not already saved us, on this --- the very first day of His life on earth?

“We shall find Him in the land of Jerusalem, the land of our forefathers.  We shall worship Him there.  We’ll know how old He’ll be by how long our voyage takes.

“I think we should now offer our prayers of thanks and gratitude to Almighty God for the gift of His Son that is now come into the world at Jerusalem.  All things that have been spoken according to the words of the prophets about Him will come to pass, yea every whit, and I know it.”

          Together they knelt as Nephi offered a prayer of gratitude.  Then they each prayed individually to offer thanks for the blessing to know that the Son of God was born.

          Nephi’s private prayer gave thanks for knowing that the believers back in the land of Zarahemla, including his sons, were no longer in danger of being put to death.  He gave thanks that the sign of Samuel had come, just as he said it would.  And because this had come to pass, Nephi knew that other prophecies, including the sign of the death of the Son of God would come to pass as well.  Therefore, the resurrection of the dead would also come to pass as prophesied by Samuel.  His departed wife, he knew, would be among the saints of the first resurrection.

          On the evening of the first day at sea, Nephi stood by himself on the deck and looked around.  Some land was still easily visible behind him to the east.  The last rays of sunshine brightened the mountain tops with tints of red and gold.  The sun was falling into the endless waters before him in the west.  A spectacular spectrum of color filled the horizon with shades of blue, red, and white mixed among the sky, the sun, and the clouds.  This sunset reminded Nephi of the wonderful sunset at Eagles’ Nest not that long ago.  Only this one was even better because it was mirrored by the reflection in the water.

This was another sacred moment for Nephi.  He raised both arms high over his head, arched his back, and posed in memorable token of his dear wife.  Now he knew of her selfless sacrifice for him.  He wondered; how long before he would see her again?

Darkness gradually grew around him as the sun sank steadily into the sea.

          “Hey, Hantuman, Lehi!  Come here!”  Nephi had to raise his voice to get their attention.  Hantuman was busy inventorying the supplies and Lehi was on the passenger level preparing food they could share.  “Come up here on the deck with me.  There’s something I want the both of you to see.”

          When Hantuman and Lehi joined Nephi on the deck, he asked them, “Did it occur to either of you last night that if we didn’t have darkness at night again, it wouldn’t be possible to navigate by the stars?”

          “It’s significant you mention that,” said Hantuman, “because that same thought also crossed my mind.”

          “Well, may I now point out to you that it is getting dark again.  Everything is back to normal as far as night after day.”

          “So it is,” observed Hantuman.  “So…?”

          “So!?”  Nephi shot back with excitement.  “Everything except for that!”

          Nephi pointed to the heavens where a new star had appeared.  The star grew brighter and brighter as the darkness got greater and greater.

          “Well, well, well.  Would you look at that!” marveled Lehi.  “Even I will be able to navigate just fine by following that star!”