U.S. SUPREME COURT
ZORACH V. CLAUSON, 1952
Sunday, December 23
Three Weeks Later
WASHINGTON—William awoke at just after four in the morning. His alarm was not set to go off for over two hours, yet he realized that he was fully awake. After five minutes he got up, put on his robe against the continuing chill, and walked over to the window to look out at the lights around the Washington Monument.
He wondered for a moment why he was awake. Was it because his family would gather again that afternoon, this time with Carrie’s mother and sister as well, to spend Christmas at Camp David? Perhaps that was part of it Was it more worry about the still unfound nuclear warhead, about which there had been no further news for months? Or from listening to his advisors during the past week while their teams presented their goals and plans for the new year, which sounded exactly like the old year? Perhaps. But for the past week he had also felt a new expectancy, an unusual coming together, as though a page in his life was turning. No, he thought, not a page. More like one whole book closing, and another book opening.
Their concentrated, formal course of study with Michael Tate, Joe Wood, Robert Ludwig, and several other gifted teachers had ended the previous week. What a blessing that course was! To be discipled and taught by such godly men and women. Thank you, Lord, he humbly prayed. William felt he now had almost an alternative advisory team—not people who understood laws and policies, but people who could serve as a collective moral rudder, enlightening him on God’s Word whenever he asked. And through them he and Carrie had hosted several quiet dinners with a few economists, legal professors, educators, and business owners who shared their faith and tried to implement the Lord’s will in their professions. I didn’t know such people even existed six months ago. Or at least I didn’t know they were so sane and reasoned! Another incredible blessing.
Six months...it was just about six months ago that I gave my life to Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit started to work in me. “William smiled. What a six months! The best of my life. Why did I wait fifty years to find out these simple but powerful truths? God can do anything.
William had been praying daily for those six months, but for the past three he and Carrie had focused on asking the Lord for his guidance. Over and over William had prayed regularly, sometimes several times a day, that his heart would be opened, that he would submit his will to God’s, and that God would use him however he wanted. At times he wondered whether his prayers were heard, but Michael reminded him to be patient, that God had to prepare the heart before he could use the other talents given to each one of us. Michael assured him that if he continued to pray, to read the Bible, to worship, and to seek God’s will, the Lord would always be faithful. So William had persevered.
Now, alone in the stillness of the dark morning, he felt led to pray again. He fell to his knees by the window, bowed his head, and started to pray. As he began praising God and asking for his guidance, it was suddenly as if his own words stopped and someone else began to speak. William still heard his own voice, but the control of what was being said was no longer his, as if someone had taken over the microphone in his mind.
A chill ran down William’s spine, and he bowed his head further. Words were spoken that he had never before expressed, many in direct contradiction to what he had always believed. It was as if he were a spectator—no, a scribe—and the words were being written on his mind and etched on his heart.
William stayed on his knees for almost an hour. But it seemed to him like only a few minutes. Near the end of the time his initial chill was replaced by a growing warmth, as if his soul was filling with a new power, a new and different energy, which both surrounded his thoughts and were themselves the thoughts. His heart began to race.
After filling him with visions he had never before expressed, the pictures and thoughts began to recede. William was left limp, done in, but completely at peace. In fact, he felt filled with a new and almost inexplicable peace. When he realized that his thoughts were again his own, he lay prostrate on the floor, physically drained but spiritually filled. Thank you, O God! I’m in awe of your power and your grace! You have in fact been faithful, more than I could ever imagine. O God, like Solomon, I pray far your wisdom. And no matter what happens, let me always remember that you alone are the source of my strength. Thank you, holy Father.
Lying on the floor of the White House bedroom before dawn on that December morning, William Harrison, the president of the United States, for the first time knew exactly what God wanted him to do.
CAMP DAVID—The family gathered at the White House, as they had at Easter. Lunch was followed by Christmas carols provided by a combined high school choir from around the Washington area. Then the extended family entered the presidential helicopters for the ride to the Maryland retreat, confident of beating the front that was predicted to bring precipitation—and maybe even some snow—that night.
Most of the guests had asked for their earlier accommodations again, though Carrie moved Jennifer and her three young children into the cabin near Laurel Lodge where the elder Harrisons had stayed in April. Jennifer hoped for a special phone call from Hugh on Christmas morning.
Rebecca’s daughter Courtney and Robert’s friend Sasha were the only other two Easter guests who were not in attendance; Courtney was visiting the home of her new boyfriend in St. Louis, and Sasha had purchased an inexpensive winter ticket to visit his parents in Kiev.
As William and Carrie walked hand in hand to Aspen Lodge, the president said, “It’s really hard to take in all that’s happened since we were last here with the family.”
Carrie smiled. “It really is. That seems like a decade ago. Neither of us knew the Lord, your parents were still with us, we didn’t know Michael Tate or Joe or Robert—it’s truly incredible that it’s only been eight months.”
“And our domestic package still hasn’t passed Congress,” William laughed. “Some things change more slowly than others!”
“Yes, but from what you’ve told me about your experience this morning, it’s maybe a good thing.”
“You’re right, Carrie. I realized the same thing at our final Treasury briefing just before lunch. I guess God protects us from ourselves sometimes, even when we don’t know it, and we think he’s wrong.”
She looked up at him. “I want to hear more about what happened.”
“You will. In fact, I want to discuss it with you in detail. Then I hope we can use some of the time here to think and to pray and to write.”
“Sounds good to me,” Carrie said, walking closer to him.
He put his arm around her and whispered in her ear, “I love you.”
As they neared the steps of Aspen Lodge, Katherine bounded out, wearing a warm-up suit and carrying her tennis racket. “Sarah and I are going to start. Robert and Tim are coming over in a little while,” she fired off as she sped by her parents.
“Isn’t it a little chilly for tennis?” Carrie asked.
“Not really.” Katherine turned and walked backward toward the courts. “And it’s s’posed to mow tonight, so we thought we’d better play today.”
“Have fun,” Carrie responded. She turned to William as they started up the steps and said, “She seems so much happier. Won’t it be great having the two of them together at school next year? They’re like peas in a pod. I’m so glad they both got in.”
“Yes. And I think Sarah will continue to be a good influence on Katherine,” William concluded as they entered the lodge.
“So, what happened with you and Matthew?” Katherine asked, as the two girls did stretching exercises by the court.
Sarah smiled as she came up from touching her toes. “Oh, I accepted your cousinly advice. We didn’t do it, but we’ve done about everything else. Matthew is so sweet. He’s great—I don’t just mean with sex, but he is great at that, too.”
Katherine rotated her right arm and frowned. “You sound awfully serious. I don’t mean to sound preac
hy or anything, but everything I’ve ever heard or read says to wait. I hope I’ve got the strength.”
“Come on, Katherine. Believe me, it’s not a battle. It’s natural. Trust me. After what I’ve experienced on that computer, making love with an eighteen-year-old man will be so nice. I think we’ll probably do it over New Year’s.” They unzipped their racket cases and moved out onto the court. “Matthew says we can get a motel room. Won’t that be awesome?”
Katherine shook her head. “I don’t know. Sounds sort of cheap to me. What do you think he’ll want to do the next weekend? And the next?”
Sarah stopped bouncing the ball and said seriously to Katherine, “Look, he’s not like that. We’ve got a mature relationship. I know what I’m doing, so please don’t criticize what you don’t understand. Okay?”
“Okay...truce. But you’re the one who’s always told me to wait. Then you get excited by a machine, now by Matthew. You’re right. Maybe I don’t understand. Here, let’s play.”
Although Mary had briefly seen Carrie and William in August when she drove Katherine back to Washington at the end of summer vacation, the two couples had not been together since Easter. They had decided during lunch at the White House that after unpacking, Graham and Mary would walk over to Aspen Lodge, where there was a roaring fire in the living room fireplace. The four of them pulled up comfortable chairs in front of the fire and talked about all that had happened since they were last at Camp David.
After about twenty minutes, Mary said, “William, did you have any idea that the polygamy ruling was coming?”
He frowned and shook his head. “No, big sister. And, believe me, I feel terrible about it.”
Graham spoke. “In Raleigh, we’ve already had lots of multiple marriages. The city’s insurers are threatening to send big bills, apparently because of increased benefits to so many more people, if employees pick up additional wives and children. And over in Chapel Hill a thirty-five-year-old aerobics instructor has three young husbands.”
“We’re making a further mockery of marriage and the family,” William lamented. “After all that’s happened the last forty years, is it any wonder no one understands God’s intent for a permanent relationship between a man and a woman?”
“It’s not just marriage, William,” Mary said. “Do you remember that sex education computer we told you about? Well, Sarah decided to go ahead and experience it.”
“Oh, Mary,” Carrie said sympathetically.
Mary and Graham went on to explain all that had happened, including Mary’s visit with the Williamses to BioTeam and to their high school principal. “We didn’t expect BioTeam to deny that it was their product being advertised in Pet Girl International, since it looked identical to the computer at school, and they didn’t. But what blew us away was that the principal, Lester Perkins, also knew about it.”
“He knew that the school is using a device being sold as pornography?” Carrie asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Yes. Isn’t that great? But Perkins told us that something’s value depends on its ‘situational context.’ He said that some great literature could be considered to be erotic or to be promoting bigoted mores if taken out of context, and he preferred to view the computer’s value within the context of the students’ health class, where he was sure it was having a positive effect.”
“What double-speak!” Carrie said. “In other words, ‘We’re happy to be teaching your children with pornography!”
“Exactly. And then when I tried to tell him about the negative effect the class was having on Sarah and on our relationship at home, he told me that ours was an isolated example, probably caused by our ‘overly religious lifestyle.’ He said all the other parents seemed to be very happy.”
“That sounds awful,” William added. “Can’t you get relief from the school board? At least this is one problem for which the federal government’s not responsible.”
“We tried,” Graham said. “The school board is so much in favor of this machine that it’s trying to raise funds to buy ten more. And, unfortunately, that’s where the federal government does come in. BioTeam has apparently filed for a grant under a program pushed through Congress last year by Enlightened Parenthood and the U.S. Teachers Association to fight AIDS. There are tens of millions of dollars available for teaching programs that help prevent AIDS. If you can believe it, BioTeam is pushing this machine, which I’m sure promotes promiscuity, as an anti-AIDS program! They’re even using our school as the model for their program. And they’re asking for enough money to put one computer in every public high school in the nation!”
“Dear God, help us,” Carrie said, almost involuntarily.
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Mary added. “Graham and I have had this awful feeling for months now that God is turning from us, that things are getting worse at an increasing rate. We’ve been praying fervently for national repentance and revival.”
“Yes...yes...we’ve felt exactly the same way,” Carrie said, then looked over at her husband. “William has really felt that burden. We’ve been praying, too. And maybe early this morning William may have heard at least the first words in answer to those prayers.”
William nodded quietly, put two logs on the fire, and sat down again. He then explained what had happened when he had been awakened so early.
“Oh, William, it gives me chills,” Mary said, as he concluded. “Do you think you can do it?”
“With God’s help, we can do anything.”
“Then let’s pray, now,” Graham said.
The Harrisons nodded. The couples stood up, held hands, and bowed their heads in what for William now seemed to be a completely natural act of acknowledging the real ruler of the nation.
The entire family assembled at Laurel Lodge an hour before dinner. There was a roaring fire, hot cider, and a tall Christmas tree which the younger members of the family decorated while the older members talked and gave advice on ornament placement.
Rebecca and Bruce, still flush from a long jog and recent showers, found their way to where the president and first lady were standing by the fireplace. Everyone smiled and shook hands. Bruce spoke first. “We didn’t have much time at the White House earlier today, but I just want to tell you again, Mr. President, how much my family really appreciates your help with my mom’s operation. She’s doing great, and we’re so thankful.”
William appeared to be embarrassed but continued to smile. “I’m so glad she’s okay, Bruce. And we were glad to help.”
“If there’s anything I can ever do for you, just let me know,” Bruce continued. “I think you’re the best thing that’s happened to this nation in a long time, and if you decide to run again, I’d like to help your campaign in Atlanta. I just hope your legislative package finally passes next year—it was awful what Congress did to your initiatives.”
“Sometimes what we think is terrible actually has a positive reason behind it. Anyway, I do hope we break the gridlock this year. Carrie, do you need some more cider? Rebecca? Here, let me get some, and then I want to hear about the hospital.” PARIS “Trent, so glad to see you again.” Wafik extended his hand as Congressman Patterson came through the front door of the spacious villa located on the western side of Paris.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” responded the congressman. “I’m just sorry the fact-finding dinner at our embassy took so long. But to come over on the taxpayers’ money, I’ve got to at least do a little of the taxpayers’ business,” he said, smiling. “Or seem to.”
“Yes, I understand completely. You know we keep late hours here anyway. Please, come have a drink in the drawing room before you turn in.”
Trent looked around the foyer. “Are...are they?...”
“Marie and Paulette? Yes, they’re here. They were so excited to hear of your return. And since Francis is not along on this trip, I’m afraid they’re both yours for the night. They’re waiting for you upstairs.”
Trent’s eyes widened and his smile broad
ened. “Yes, well, let’s have that drink...but we better keep it short. Jet lag and all.” He winked. Wafik nodded his understanding and showed the congressman into the drawing room, where Trent again apologetically went through his ritual with his anti-bugging device, which again missed Wafik’s special computer.
Once they were seated before the fire with Trent cradling a large brandy snifter, Wafik spoke, “We noticed and appreciated your outspoken support for our people in your Congress.”
Patterson swirled the brandy, then took a sip. “And I noticed and appreciated the money in the Swiss bank account,” he said. “But, seriously, you were right. These are measures I now believe we should have been supporting all along. My conscience is clear that I’m doing the right thing.”
“Well, I’m glad our arrangement could help in that understanding.”
“Yes, absolutely. And you know, I was frankly astonished by how many of my colleagues agreed with my statements. Several of them, even from the other side of the aisle, went out of their way to tell me how much they appreciated my leadership and assured me of their support.”
“It seems you may have touched upon a subject that has genuine support in your Congress.”
“Yes, I think so,” Patterson said and took another sip of brandy.
They continued to talk for ten more minutes, when Trent finished off his brandy, stood up and said, “I really appreciate your hospitality, my friend, especially at this time of the year. But I truly am a little tired, and I’d like to continue this in the morning.”
Wafik rose and offered the brandy bottle. “Of course. Of course. Here, take some more brandy with you. Please, have a very good night.”
A few minutes later, as Trent reached the top of the stairs, he wondered if the twins would notice how much younger he looked after a month of using Grecian Formula in his hair.
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