He found Fran waiting in the foyer. Down the hallway, family members and a few staffers congregated around Morgan, who reassured everyone that he was fine. Their eyes met, and Ben nodded. The candidate smiled and winked.
“Let’s go.” Fran held the door. “I need a beer.”
As they passed through the gate, Keera ran up the driveway and fell into his arms with tears and kisses.
They held each other, pacing slowly down to the street while Fran went to get the car. Ben removed his camera backpack from the locked case on his motorcycle and asked one of the state troopers to keep an eye on the GS until the next morning.
At the edge of the lawn was a long line of campaign signs. Ben pulled one out.
Save America’s Soul!
Morgan for President!
“I might as well keep this,” Ben said, “considering I could have ruined it for him tonight. Still could, actually. Or maybe not.”
“You don’t make any sense,” Keera said.
“Nothing makes sense anymore. The only physical evidence I had against him has just gone up in smoke.”
“Is it over? Tell me it’s over!”
“Almost. Can I borrow your iPhone?” Ben took it, got on the Internet, and signed into his g-mail account. Finding the e-mail he had sent to himself with the attached file of Zachariah Hinckley’s trial and evidence, he forwarded it to Rex. “It’s up to them now. I’m done.”
“Good.” Keera put her arm around his waist. “And I’m done being single. Got me a fiancé! I love saying it! Fiancé. Fiancé. Fiancé. God, isn’t it a beautiful word?”
“Yes, my dear fiancée.”
She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Ouch!”
“What’s wrong?” She touched the back of his shoulder, feeling the bandage under his shirt. “You’re injured!”
“Not exactly.” Ben let Keera into Fran’s back seat and got in next to her. “You know that football tattoo you loved so much…”
The End
Acknowledgements
As with my other novels, the historic details underlying the story required extensive research and verification. In achieving this level of authenticity, I have benefited invaluably from the works of many scholars and biographers.
Special mention is due to Richard Ostling and Joan Ostling, authors of Mormon America – The Power and the Promise, Richard Abanes, author of One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church, Deborah Laake, author of Secret Ceremonies, Latayne Scott, author of The Mormon Mirage, Martha Beck, author of Leaving the Saints, Michael D. Quinn, author of The Mormon Hierarchy—Extensions of Power, and Jon Krakauer, author of Under the Banner of Heaven. (A comprehensive list of primary bibliographical sources appears next.)
From a genealogy point of interest, the LDS database at www.FamilySearch.org is a fascinating destination. It has amassed upward of 2.5 billion names through a global effort aimed at obtaining copies of every available source of population records. Unfortunately, the database currently allows only members of the Mormon Church to search individual names for information on posthumous baptisms.
I am grateful to editor Renee Johnson and the team at CreateSpace, as well as to my friends and family members, whose thoughtful input, critical comments, and enthusiastic encouragement have sustained me along the way and made this novel possible. Thank you!
Last but not least, to my readers, whose enjoyment is the purpose of my work. As always, your comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated. An e-mail contact is provided through the website at: www.AzrieliBooks.com
Bibliography
Books:
Skousen, Royal, Ed. The Book of Mormon – The Earliest Text. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009.
Ostling, Richard N. and Ostling, Joan K. Mormon America – The Power and the Promise. New York: HarperCollins - HarperOne, 2007.
Abanes, Richard. One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003.
Brodie, Fawn. No Man Knows My History – The Life of Joseph Smith. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1945 and First Vintage Books, 1995.
Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York: Knopf, 2005.
Krakauer, Jon. Under the Banner of Heaven. New York: Doubleday, 2003.
Quinn, Michael D. The Mormon Hierarchy—Extensions of Power. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997.
Anderson, Devery S., Ed. The Development of LDS Temple Worship 1946-2000 – A Documentary History. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2011.
Laake, Deborah. Secret Ceremonies – A Mormon Woman’s Intimate Diary of Marriage and Beyond. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1993.
Scott, Latayne C. The Mormon Mirage. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
Decker, Ed and Hunt, Dave. The God Makers. Eugene: Harvest House, 1997.
Beck, Martha. Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith. New York: Crown, 2005.
Ahmanson, John and Archer, Gleason L., Tran. Secrete History – An Eyewitness Account of the Rise of Mormonism. Chicago: Moody Press – The Fieldstead Institute, 1984. (Originally published in Denmark in 1876 under the title Vor Tids Muhamed – “The Muhammad of Our Time.”)
Articles and Essays:
Pyle, Richard. “Mormons, Jews Sign Agreement on Baptizing Holocaust Victims.” Associated Press Newswire, May 5, 1995.
Eden, Ami. “Sister Golda, Brother Bashevis: Mormon Baptizers at it Again.” The Jewish Forward, July 27, 2001.
McEntee, Peg. “LDS Church Reaffirms No Proxy Baptisms of Jews.” The Salt Lake Tribune, December 11, 2002.
Walsh, Paton Nick. “Russians fume as Mormons buy souls.” The Guardian, November 22, 2003.
Urbina, Ian. “Again, Jews Fault Mormons Over Posthumous Baptisms.” The New York Times, December 21, 2003.
Makotoff, Gary. “Posthumous Baptism is a Terrible Insult to Jews.” Deseret Morning News, January 11, 2004.
Thiessen, Mark. “Sen. Clinton Joins Effort to End Mormon Baptisms of Holocaust Victims.” The Associated Press, April 20, 2004.
Radkey, Helen. “Proxy Baptism of Jews: The Splash Goes On.” Avotaynu – The Int’l Rev. of Jewish Genealogy, February 7, 2006.
Young, Neil J. “Southern Baptists vs. the Mormons.” Slate, December 19, 2007.
Heneghan, Tom. “Catholic-Mormon Tension over LDS Baptism of the Dead.” Reuters Blogs, May 8, 2008.
Marshall, Kelly. “Mormons and Jews Reach [another] Agreement on Posthumous Proxy Baptism.” CNN, September 2, 2010.
Burt, Brandon. “Rabble-Rouser Helen Radkey Keeping Tabs on Proxy LDS Baptisms.” Salt Lake City Weekly, September 20, 2011.
Dreher, Rod. “Are Mormons Stealing Grandpa’s Soul?” The American Conservative, October 19, 2011.
Slosson, Mary. “Mormon Church Apologizes for Posthumous Baptism.” Reuters, February 14, 2012.
Editorial. “Mormon Posthumous Baptism, Again.” The Jewish Week, February 14, 2012.
Sheffield, Carry. “A Mormon Church in Need of Reform.” The Washington Post, January 29, 2012.
Keneally, Meghan. “Mormon Church shuts down whistle-blower’s access to list of people posthumously baptized…but says it is to ‘protect’ Jews and Catholics not hid the names.” The Daily Mail (UK), March 8, 2012.
Kaylor, Brian. “Prominent African-American Southern Baptist Condemns Mormonism as Racist.” Ethics Daily, June 15, 2012.
Mason, Prof. David V. “I’m a Mormon, Not a Christian.” The New York Times, June 12, 2012.
Visual:
Whitney, Helen, Dir. The Mormons. New York: PBS – American Experience, 2007.
Roos, Bram. The Mormon Rebellion. New York: A&E – History Channel, 1997.
ALSO BY AVRAHAM AZRIELI
Fiction:
The Masada Complex – A Novel
The Jerusale
m Inception – A Novel
The Jerusalem Assassin – A Novel
Christmas for Joshua – A Novel
Non-Fiction:
Your Lawyer on a Short Leash
One Step Ahead – A Mother of Seven Escaping Hitler
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
www.AzrieliBooks.com
The Mormon Candidate - a Novel Page 32
