CHAPTER 25
Jokes about “Are we there yet?” had ceased being
funny eons ago. No land had been seen in
over six months.
The tiny islands where they had seen all kinds of
different birds, turtles, and lizards were far behind them. No birds were ever seen flying overhead
anymore. Even Hantuman had no idea how
far from land they were or how much longer it might be before they saw land
again. No one wanted to talk about or
guess how much longer they would languish on the many waters. No one dared question if they were really
making progress towards the land of Jerusalem or not.
The scenery was the same day after day. Water and sky; sky and water. At least the clouds provided some
variety. There was no end to the
horizon, no end to the vast amounts of water before them, behind them, to their
right and to their left.
Each new day was like the day before, and the day
before that. Except that there was a
little less remaining in the stored supplies of food and drinking water.
The new star was still prominently
visible every night the sky was clear.
But even the unusual star no longer seemed so unusual.
Clouds and storms had obscured the
star for an entire week earlier in the voyage.
When the skies cleared once again, the new star was still there. But Hantuman noted that the new star had
moved relative to the other stars. The
new star was definitely a different kind of star.
Hantuman decided their navigational goal would be to
follow the direction of this new star.
Nephi reasoned that since the new star was a sign of Christ’s birth,
they were more likely to find Him by following the new star. Hantuman carefully charted the position of
the new star each night and navigated the ship to follow its path through the
heavens.
Hantuman’s analysis of their voyage so far indicated
that they had initially traveled in a nearly westerly direction for some
time. Then they had gone in a west by
southwest direction for nearly two months.
Some cold and stormy weather had beset them a couple
of months ago. Furious winds raged for
several days without ceasing. Huge waves
along with the wind and the storm had driven them in an unknown direction for
at least two weeks. Hantuman’s skills as
a mariner were needed and thoroughly tested at that time. Nephi and Lehi did everything they could to
assist, and eventually, the storm passed them by and the voyage continued.
Hantuman’s charts indicated that the star was
currently leading them in a north by northwest direction. The temperature was considerably warmer than
it had been a couple of months ago.
Except for an occasional brief shower which helped supply more drinking
water, there had not been much difference between one day and the next for a
while.
The weather was very pleasant one evening, and there
were no signs that conditions would change any time soon. Only a few light clouds hovered gently
overhead. The sun was slowly falling in
its daily, gradual descent into the water while mild undulations in the sea
slowly rocked the ship like a cradle as if preparing it for a night’s sleep.
Hantuman expressed no objection for eating the
evening meal seated on the deck instead of down in the passenger area as
usual. As the three travelers ate, they
enjoyed the peace and the calm and the rest that their surroundings provided.
Lehi asked Hantuman “How are our supplies holding
out? Have you re-taken an inventory any
time recently?”
“I sure have.
We’re still in good shape. We’ve
consumed more than half of what we started out with. But that doesn’t mean I think we need to
start worrying about rationing or anything.
The water we’re in now is warmer and contains more fish than we’ve seen
before. We’re not going through our
supplies very fast now. At the present
rate, we should be good for another year without having to worry about
anything. All we need to do is sit back
and enjoy some of the fruits of the good life.”
“How delightful!” exclaimed Lehi. “How about passing me some more of that
delicious fish over there? And I might
help myself to another piece of that fried cake tonight too.”
Hantuman passed some extra fish and cake over to
Lehi. “Does it feel warmer to you this
evening than this time last night?” asked Hantuman.
“Maybe just a little,” replied Lehi with a sigh of
contentment. “In any case, it feels just
about perfect to me. A man could get
pretty comfortable with a life like this day after day. Everything’s going well for us at the
moment. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt
this free and relaxed for such a long period of time. Nobody has yelled at me or threatened to
throw me into prison for months. This is
delightful. I’m quite delighted with the
way things are right now.”
“Listen to you!” snickered Hantuman. “Are you getting lazy? You aren’t exactly fat yet, but at least it
no longer looks like you are missing every meal. Do you need me to start yelling at you? I could practice some of my Tyreantum impersonations
on you if you need me to.”
“Yeah, why don’t you do that,” Lehi bantered
back. “I am losing some of my toughness
and need to stay in shape. And thanks
for reminding me. Because of Tyreantum
and Alumon, I have plenty to eat. It was
so nice of them to conveniently provide me with everything I need. Bring on your Tyreantum, Hantuman! I’m ready for it.”
“All right. Remember,
you asked for it!” Hantuman began to
speak in Tyreantum’s manner and tone of voice.
“Who gave you permission to
eat my food? You do realize that I had to pay for all this
stuff myself, don’t you? What are you
going to give me in return for it? Do I
have to tie you up to keep you away from my stuff?”
“Boys!, boys!” Nephi interrupted Hantuman’s hilarious
impersonation. His voice had the ring of
scolding to it. “If you keep going at
each other like this in such a childish manner, you’ll be inviting a bad spirit
of contention to destroy us. We need unity
and harmony to complete this voyage.”
“Ooohheee,
who invited Brother ‘Super Sober’ here to kill all the joy and fun we otherwise
deserve to have on this long, lonely and tiring trip to… maybe NOWHERE!?” Hantuman spoke as if he were Tyreantum before
he realized that he was still impersonating.
He immediately wished his sarcastic words could be
taken back. But that couldn’t be done. They had slipped out. “Oh Nephi, … I’m sorry. Please, please forget what slipped out of my
mouth just now. I know how that
sounded. I don’t mean it that way. Really.
I don’t know why I said it. I
wasn’t thinking. I, … I was trying to
act like Tyreantum and …”
“I understand, Hantuman. I do.”
Nephi held no hostility towards Hantuman. “And I don’t want to put a stop to any good
fun that can be enjoyed. But, we all
have some of that natural man in us that tries to take over from time to time.
“Let’s face it.
We are tired of the monotony
and boredom of the past several weeks.
We are getting a bit
lazy. We are lonely and miss being at home with family and friends.
“I have no idea how much longer this voyage will
take. And we better not take for granted
that these pleasant conditions will last.
I’m grateful that the Lord has blessed us to get this far. We need to be sure that we’re prepared for
anything that might yet prevent us from eventually reaching the land of
Jerusalem.
“The natural man is more likely to gain control when
he thinks he deserves a carnal reward for living. Perhaps the Lord is testing us with peace and
prosperity for the moment. The Lord has
seen that we were faithful despite the trials and hardships we faced in the
past. Maybe now He needs to know that we
will also be faithful in times of peace and plenty.”
“You’re right, Nephi, absolutely,” stammered
Hantuman. “Once again, I didn’t mean to
doubt that we would ever…”
“I’m as much at fault as Hantuman, and more,” Lehi
expressed his remorse for encouraging Hantuman to act in a negative manner in
the first place. “I guess I didn’t
realize how much weaker in spirit I’ve become since I’m no longer facing death
at any moment. I’d forgotten that I’m
still totally reliant upon the Lord for every breath that I take.
“We did let the natural man take over, didn’t
we? We tried to make fun of
Tyreantum. Only instead of acting like
Tyreantum, we were really acting like Laman and Lemuel. I’m humbled and sorry to admit that.
“I never understood before how Laman and Lemuel and
the sons of Ishmael and their wives could join in revelry and rebellion aboard
the ship before arriving in the promised land.
But now it makes more sense.
After a while, it’s easy to lose sight of God.
“The record says that Laman and Lemuel bound our
first father Nephi with cords. But the
Lord caused their compass to cease to work, and a great storm arose, such that
they were driven back for the space of four days; and they were nearly
swallowed up in the depths of the sea.
There was nothing except the power of God, which after they repented and
loosed our first father Nephi from his bonds were they saved from destruction.
“So it is with us as it was for them. We cannot afford to become lazy, or believe
that we can accomplish this great mission on our own. We are helpless without the power of God to
save us. We must trust His star to guide
us the rest of the way. I pray that it
will continue to work without ceasing according to our faith, just like the
compass did for our first father Nephi when he had to guide the ship to the
promised land.”
Lehi finished speaking and they all
sat quietly thinking. The sun disappeared
into the water and the stars began to appear.
The brightest stars could be seen first.
When the new star appeared and shone brightly before them, they were
humbled.
Nephi made a proposal. “You know, boredom is a dreadful enemy,” he
began. “Especially when there doesn’t
seem to be a lot for us to do every day, day after day. What do people do when they’re bored? Well, minds wander and the carnal pleasures
of the world become enticing. People get
lazy. Then it becomes easier to forget
the Lord.
“Lehi talked about acting like Laman and
Lemuel. But what did the Jaredites do
when they were in the same situation?
They were also on the sea for a long voyage. Well, the record says they commended
themselves unto the Lord their God. The record
says ‘they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing
praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long;
and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
“‘And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of
the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have
light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.
“‘And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and
forty and four days upon the water.
“‘And they did land upon the shore of the promised
land. And when they had set their feet
upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face
of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy
before the Lord, because of the multitude of His tender mercies over them.’
“Therefore, I suggest that we follow
the example of the Jaredites instead of Laman and Lemuel. We must continue to humble ourselves. I propose that we meet together every evening
to hold a devotional. In our devotionals
we will pray and give thanks to the Lord for our many blessings. We will study and meditate on the scriptures
and prepare to meet Christ and worship Him as we should.
“And we shall sing praises unto the Lord together as
well. Do you agree?”
“I agree completely,” Hantuman sang
out in a strong tenor voice.
“I am with you also, brother” chanted
Lehi using bass notes. “And all kidding
aside, Hantuman, you have one of the finest tenor voices I have ever heard. This will be part of the fun we can enjoy upon these many waters.”
Hantuman was ready to begin the first
devotional right then. “Let me teach you
two a song of praise that my father taught me when I was younger and he was
first showing me how to sail. My father
said he learned it from Hagoth who originally built large ships like this. My father sailed with Hagoth on the west sea
between the land Bountiful and the land northward before never returning from
his last voyage. I don’t know what
happened to my father, but this hymn is still one of my favorites because of my
love for the sea. My father said this is
taken from psalms of David and it goes like this:
“The
floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their waves.
The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
“O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth:
the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it:
And his hands formed the dry land.
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from
thy presence
If I ascend up into heaven,
Thou art there:
if I make my bed in hell,
behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the
morning,
and dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand
lead me,
and thy right hand shall
hold me.
If I say, Surely the
darkness shall cover me;
even the night shall be
light about me.
“Yea, the darkness hideth
not from thee;
but the night shineth as the
day:
the darkness and the light
are both alike to thee.”
Hantuman could not sing any more as
his voice was stolen by the emotions he felt for his father.
“Your father may have gone to dwell in
the uttermost parts of the sea,” comforted Nephi, “and he would have been led
there by the right hand of the Lord. Thank
you, Hantuman, for singing as you did.
The Lord is holding us as we go upon the floods too. He made the night shineth as the day to get
us underway; a clear sign that He is there.”
For the next several days, one uneventful day still
followed the next, day after day. But
every evening, the three castaways held a spiritual devotional service before
retiring for the night.
The next week, Hantuman volunteered to
keep the first watch of the night after the evening devotional was finished. Nephi felt tired, went below deck and was
soon asleep in his hammock. Lehi decided
to stay up a little longer to sit with Hantuman, watch the stars and meditate
for a while before retiring himself.
Far away from them, somewhere deep in
the sea, the earth quaked. The wind remained
calm and the sea was peacefully tranquil. Nothing around them at the moment would
indicate any cause for alarm.
But rapidly approaching them through the many waters
were gigantic waves traveling at enormous speed as a result of the quake in the
earth. The waves piled up, one on top of
the other. The initial wave was taller
than the pyramids of Zarahemla.
Without
warning, the first giant wave crashed over the top of the ship!
