BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY – PROVO, UTAH…

"So you have something for me from a shaman?" A slow smile spread across the deeply tanned face of BYU archaeology professor, Mahonri DeForrest.

The seven Bob-Whites nodded in unison, looking from one to another, waiting for someone to speak. This office was different than those of any other professor or teacher with whom they had had contact. There were the usual computers and piles of papers and textbooks that one would expect in an academic’s office. There were also artifacts resting on dusty shelves, evidence of Dr. DeForrest’s career. The unusual things, however were the pictures of a beautiful granite building with several spires, one of which was topped by a figure in gold. Others were of the professor surrounded by numerous children that looked like him, varying in age, from infant to teenager. And open on his desk, surrounded by several pages of notes and maps of South America were what appeared to be two books of scripture. What seemed strangest to Brian was the absence of a coffee maker or even a coffee cup. He hadn’t met a professor yet that didn’t have a mug of coffee in hand.

Breaking the silence, DeForrest continued, "My secretary said that you were from New York State. I spent a couple of years in your state quite some time back. I never ran across a Navajo shaman there, so I was quite interested in meeting you."

"Well, actually, Sir, um, Doctor, er…" Trixie wasn’t sure how to address the man before her. He gave her almost the same feeling as had the ancient shaman in New Mexico.

"Relax, Trixie, call me Dr. DeForrest – or Brother DeForrest – that’s how my students refer to me."

Mart’s eyebrows raised toward his non-existent bangs. ‘Brother?’’ That’s odd. He’d only heard monks called Brother in an educational setting. And by the looks of the pictures, Dr. DeForrest wasn’t a monk.

Trixie swallowed and continued. "Dr. DeForrest, we actually met the shaman in New Mexico." She grinned, "I’ve never ran into a Navajo anything in New York except in the encyclopedia."

DeForrest returned her grin and then turned serious. "New Mexico you say. Do you remember where in New Mexico?"

"We were right outside of Gallup," Jim answered, wondering why the professor had suddenly become so serious.

DeForrest sank back in his seat, visibly shaken. "Can you describe the man who told you to come find me?"

As Brian quickly and thoroughly described the ancient Native American’s appearance the professor nodded in silent agreement to each detail.

"I don’t believe this?" DeForrest murmured, "Did you notice anything else about him? Anything peculiar?"

For four days Trixie had said nothing to her friends concerning the sensation she had felt when shaking hands with the old man. She had kept it to herself as they swam in Lake Powell and as they toured Bryce Canyon. All through the long dusty drive in eastern Utah she had analyzed the experience. For some reason she had kept silent, not sure if her brothers and friends would understand her this time. However, there was something reassuring about this professor who studied scripture like text and surrounded himself with pictures of his family.

"Electricity!" she blurted.

Seven sets of eyes turned to stare at her. Six were skeptical and one was understanding.

"I thought that you would be the one to notice. You are in tune." DeForrest gently touched Trixie’s arm. "It was like an small electrical shock, was it not?"

Trixie nodded. He did understand.

DeForrest was quiet for several moments and appeared to be deep in thought. Nodding, as if affirming some inner thought, he reached for a picture hanging on the wall. He smiled a warm smile at the seven Bob-Whites and stated, "These are my trophies and awards." Gesturing toward the subjects of the photograph, "My children have been more work and more joy than any dig or excavation that I have been involved in."

"Those are all your children?" Di asked a bit bluntly.

"These are the seven youngest. My oldest sons – twins – were on their missions to Brazil and Russia when this picture was taken."

Surprise registered in the faces of the BWG’s as they did rapid mental math and all reached the same answer – nine kids!

Grinning DeForrest removed the back of the frame and extracted another photo. Wordlessly he handed it to Trixie.

Soberly staring up at her was the face of the shaman from New Mexico.

"Wow! You know him," Honey exclaimed as she studied the picture over Trixie’s shoulder.

"Yes, I knew him," DeForrest’s mood changed from jovial to sorrowful as he too looked at the picture.

"Knew?" Brian looked puzzled. "This picture looks like it could’ve been taken four days ago when we saw him in Gallup."

"Actually it was taken ten years ago. This is my grandfather. He left on a trip to visit his brother in Gallup nine and a half years ago. He never reached my uncle’s and we never heard from him. No trace was ever discovered of what befell him."

The young people sat in stunned silence. How could this be possible?

"Sir, are you saying we conversed with a ghost?" This was more than Dan was willing to believe.

"I don’t know, Dan. I don’t believe it was his ghost – I’ve never been convinced that he died."

The small office was enveloped in a heavy silence as each person was occupied with his or her own thoughts on the situation.

Changing the direction of the conversation, DeForrest queried, "Did you bring this item that Grandfather Mahonri gave you?"

Shaking her head negatively, Trixie asked, "What was your grandfather’s name?"

"Mahonri – I was named for him. It is the name of a very righteous and spiritual man – one of our long ago, distant ancestors. Every generation has a Mahonri…but that is not why you have come – to learn of my genealogy."

Stilted chuckles came from the Bob-Whites as DeForrest smiled at them.

"Well, you didn’t bring what my grandfather gave you, but can you tell me if I guess correctly?"

Trixie and Honey replied affirmatively and the professor continued, "Was it a bowl about so…" he measured dimensions in the air with his hands, "…big? And was it of a gray clay?"

The girls nodded wordlessly and DeForrest added, "Did it have a design painted inside in black and white and was it very old?"

The whole group breathed, "Yes!" in unison.

DeForrest started to say more when suddenly he paused and glanced at his watch.

"Kids, sorry to have to leave you hanging like this, but I’m late for a lecture. Are you able to meet me back here at 4:30 p.m.?"

"Sure we can, we have no set schedule right now," Brian answered, glancing around the group.

"Great. I’ll explain a little more then. Have you taken a tour of campus yet?"

"No, we just asked around and found people to show us which building we needed." Mart grinned, "And there were plenty of people willing to help us."

"Most students here at the Y are like that. If you want a tour, check at the ASB – the Administration Building, the one shaped like an X. They start a tour there. Also, make sure they take you to either the Creamery or the Cougareat and get some ice cream."

Mart’s eyes lit up at the mention of ice cream and he started to question DeForrest more; but the professor continued, "If you have no dinner plans you can join my ward for FHE if you like. Quickly he packed papers, books, overheads and videos into a beat-up leather briefcase and started toward door, "They’re heading up around Bridalveil. We can discuss that at 4:30 also." With a smile, he hurried out the door.

The Bob-Whites looked at one another in astonishment.

"Man…was that what you expected?" Dan shook his head.

"A professor called ‘Brother’ who doesn’t drink coffee." Mart looked a little bewildered. "And who has NINE kids and takes more pride in them than in his work."

Trixie chimed in, "And a professor who has a mysterious grandfather that vanished without a trace several years ago…" She broke off as her brothers groaned.

"Trix, haven’t you had your fill of mysteries for the summer?" Brian had been hoping to have at least one leg of their cross-country trip be mystery free.

Smiling fondly at Trixie, Jim answered, "Brian, have you ever known our Schoolgirl Shamus to have her fill of mysteries? At least this one seems relatively harmless."

"Right, Jim," Mart scoffed. "Harmless. An "electrifying" ghost who gives her an ancient cereal bowl to take to an archeologist with a baseball team for a family."

The group chuckled, save Trixie who tossed her curls in the direction of her almost twin and retorted, "It’s not an old cereal bowl – there’s something special about it. I could tell. And the shaman said that it was important for our futures."

Before Mart could respond, Dan interjected. "Say, guys, why don’t we go do this campus tour thing that Dr. DeForrest suggested. This is an old campus…and it has an interesting history behind it."

"Yeah, and Mart, remember what the professor said about ice cream!" Di’s violet eyes twinkled in amusement as she watched Mart’s face light up as he momentarily forgot his discussion with his sister.

 

TWENTY MINUTES LATER…

"And here we have the Maeser Building – the oldest building on campus - which now houses the Honors program." Janis Caldwell smiled at the group from New York State as she continued speaking. "The original campus, called Brigham Young Academy, is located down on University Avenue. Sadly once the student population outgrew those buildings and the university was moved up here to what was called 'Temple Hill’ the original structures were left to vandals and the ravages of the weather, which can be brutal at times. When I began attending BYU four years ago, it was awful to think about what had become of the once beautiful buildings. However, the City of Provo bought them and they are going to be converted into a new city library along with some other offices and things."

"We saw those on our way to the campus this morning," Di interjected. "You’re right, it is sad to see how far in ruin they have fallen. It’s wonderful that they are going to be put to good use."

Janis nodded in agreement and added, " Karl Maeser, the first principal of the Academy and Brigham Young himself would be sadly disappointed in what had happened."

"What makes BYU so different from other religious schools, like St. Mary’s or Notre Dame?" Mart asked, always on the lookout for more information.

"To really explain that I would have to explain the difference between the LDS Church and the other churches. Simply, BYU expects its faculty to teach within the doctrinal guidelines of the Church. Also, it is the largest church-owned school in the country with an enrollment of over 33,000. We don’t participate in sporting events or other such events on Sundays. There is a strict honor code involving dress standards and behavior. Just a few years ago students were not allowed to wear shorts on campus. And a couple of years before that found women not being able to wear jeans to class."

"What! No jeans? There’s no way I’d have survived at a place like that." Trixie shook her head in amazement a murmured, "No jeans?!"

Janis laughed. "Luckily my first year here was when jeans were ‘legalized’ and shorts soon followed. But the shorts have to reach your knees. If your shorts or skirt are too short, you won’t be served in the on-campus dining halls or the library. Honors violations are taken seriously."

"Is that why, even though today is a hot July day, that no one is wearing short shorts, tank tops or guys without shirts?" Honey asked curiously.

"Exactly. And the standards apply not just to the LDS students, but to all BYU students irregardless of religious affiliation."

"Quick question, Janis," Jim said, "What is the difference between LDS students and BYU students?"

"That I can answer, James," Mart began a bit pompously.

"Great," Trixie muttered in an aside to Dan, "Professor Belden strikes again."

Glaring at his sister, Mart began. "LDS is the abbreviation for Latter-day Saints – members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are more commonly referred to as Mormons. Over 90% of the student population here are LDS or Mormon. So LDS students here are all BYU students, but all BYU students are not LDS."

"That’s a pretty good explanation, Mart. We do prefer to be called LDS rather than Mormon, but most people recognize the word Mormon before they recognize LDS." Janis looked at her group and then glanced at her watch. "Well, that about ends our tour. Do any of you have any other questions?"

Mart grinned and said, "Yeah, where’s this Creamery place? A professor that we came here to see told us we needed to go there and get some ice cream."

Janis laughed, "That’s not part of the tour anymore, but I can show you where that is in a few minutes. You all are my last tour so if you’ll walk with me over to the SWKT so I can card out then I’ll take you. We could go to the Wilk and get ice cream at the Cougareat, but the Creamery is more fun."

"Swikit? What is that?" Thanks to the tour, Brian knew what she meant by the Wilk (the student union building named after a past university president Ernest Wilkinson) and the Cougareat (a dining area in the Wilk so named because of the school’s cougar mascot) but ‘swikit’ wasn’t one that he had caught on the tour.

"Sorry, just campus terms. S-W-K-T, which we pronounce as ‘swikit’ is the tall building kind of toward the western side of campus before you head down the hill to the PE buildings. It’s the tallest building in Provo and was named after Spencer W. Kimball, a past prophet of our Church. A lot of the buildings on campus are referred to by their initials; sometimes spelled out like the JSB – Joseph Smith Building, and sometimes pronounced that way like the SWKT or the SFLC…which though it sounds like an unpleasant disease it stands for the Smith Family Living Center."

By this time, the group had reached the building in the center of campus that Janis had referred to as the SWKT. While she went inside, the Bob-Whites stayed out in front, enjoying the warm afternoon sun and watched the students stream by. They were all a bit tired after walking across the entire campus. When they had begun the tour, Janis had asked them if they wanted to go on foot or in a little tram like vehicle. Not realizing the size of the campus and how much of it they would be covering, the active group had opted for the walking tour. They had gone into several of the buildings on campus and learned that many were being renovated and other buildings were being built. Nothing had even seemed to slow down for the summer.

"Ready for some more walking?" Janis asked brightly as she joined the group once again.

"Uh, how much more walking?" Di asked warily.

"Remember DT – Deseret Towers, the student high-rise housing?"

Di nodded.

"It’s on the other side of that." Janis suppressed a grin as she saw the faces of the others droop slightly.

"We do have a car in visitor’s parking…" Honey put in.

"It really isn’t as far as it sounds and once you have parking here you really don’t want to move your car unless absolutely necessary because it is next to impossible to find a space again."

"You can make it Di, just think of the delicious ice cream awaiting you!" Mart grabbed Di’s hand and added, "And if you start to get tired I’ll pull you along."

"Okay, let’s go then before I become to comfortable on this bench and decided to wait here for you guys to pick me up on your way back east next month."

The eight young people began walking across campus at a leisurely pace and engaged in more discussion about Utah and BYU.

Honey whispered something to Trixie, who shrugged her shoulders and signaled to Honey that she should ask Janis.

"Could you explain to us what a ward and FHE are?" Even Mart had been clueless to what Dr. DeForrest had meant when he said that to them earlier.

"No problem. A ward is a LDS congregation. There are thousands of them around the world. There are 230 of them here on campus. Every student, even non-LDS students, is a part of a ward. We’re divided into them by where we live and most of us meet in buildings on campus. Every class building has been dedicated as a church also. We all have bishops – kind of like a priest or pastor, but they have full-time jobs in the community and aren’t paid for their church service. My bishop is a professor here at BYU."

"So are these wards to kind of give you a group of people or a family while you are away at school?" The idea sounded great to Jim who had missed his adopted family more than he had expected when he first went away to college.

"Yes and that leads perfectly into what FHE is." With a grin Janis continued. "As you can tell we kind of like acronyms here at the Y. FHE stands for Family Home Evening. It too is practiced in the Church throughout the world. Monday evenings are set apart as special family time. Family is the most important thing that we will ever have in our lives here and a lot of us just don’t spend that much time with our families. These evenings are a little different here at college with no little kids running around at them, but they are still fun. Each ward is divided into groups of about 15 and that is your "family." Actually tonight all the groups in my ward are combining to have a big activity. Would you guys like to come with us?"

"It sounds like fun, but the professor we came here to see invited us to something like that tonight," Honey smiled at their new friend, "We came to deliver something and have found ourselves getting invited to all kinds of things."

"Did the professor tell you what you would be doing?" Janis asked conversationally.

"Something about a bridal veil and the ward he was a bishop of," Di answered.

"Bridalveil? Those are the waterfalls up Provo Canyon. That’s where my ward is going also," Janis’ brow wrinkled as she thought for a minute. "The professor you came to see wouldn’t by any chance be Brother DeForrest?"

"Yeah, that’s him, an archaeology professor. Why, do you know him?" Di responded.

"That’s my bishop," Janis laughed at the surprised looks on the Bob-Whites’ faces, "It’s a small world here at the Y and things that seem like coincidences are everywhere."

 

IN FRONT OF UNIVERSITY VILLA APARTMENTS – BLDG. 7

Trixie sat facing Dr. DeForrest at the picnic table in front of apartment 56. The rest of the Bob-Whites were gathered around them.

When they had returned to the professor’s office at 4:30, his secretary had informed them that the professor had needed to take care of some important business, but he had left directions for them to where they could meet. It turned out that he wanted to meet them at the apartment complex where the students in his ward lived. Janis, still being their guide, had gone with the group to pick up their car and then drive the short distance to ‘The Villa’ as she referred to her complex. At her apartment, she found a message on her answering machine from her bishop asking her to keep an eye out for the group from New York.
When DeForrest arrived, he hadn’t seemed overly surprised to learn that Janis had been the Bob-Whites’ guide. He had explained to the Bob-Whites that though it was often said in jest there was much truth to it when BYU students said that within three "Do you knows" they usually encountered a mutual acquaintance.

"So you all had an enjoyable tour?" DeForrest asked Trixie when he was seated across from her.

"Yes. We definitely got our exercise in," she said with a grin, trying to not appear too impatient.

"Did Janis tell you what the plan were for tonight?" he asked, hiding a grin of his own as he saw Trixie struggle from wiggling in her seat with impatience.

Trixie nodded. While they had been waiting for Dr. DeForrest to arrive, Janis had explained that at 5:30 all those in the ward that would be going up the canyon would be meeting in front of her apartment. Once at a chosen site up the canyon there would be volleyball and Ultimate Frisbee games until the dinner was ready.

"Dr. DeForrest, what more were you going to tell us?" Honey asked, sensing that her best friend wouldn’t be able to contain her curiosity much longer.

Though he still smiled, his eyes grew quite serious. "This bowl is very sacred to the Navajo people. It disappeared over two hundred years ago and people have been searching for it ever since. They never wanted to believe that it had disappeared for good. I became an archaeologist, as did my brother, because of this bowl and the legends that my grandfather told us as we were growing up."

Before he could continue a young man came up to him, "Bishop, it looks like everyone is here. Should we get things started?"

"Yes, Matt, great idea. Are you conducting things tonight?"

"Unless you’d like to, Bishop."

"Go right ahead. I’ll just be a participant today." DeForrest shook hands with Matt and the young man left. Turning back to the Bob-Whites he said, "We will finish this discussion, I promise. Ride with me in my van up the canyon and I’ll finish explaining about the bowl."

The Bob-Whites quickly accepted his offer and then fell quiet as the young man, Matt, called for everyone’s attention.

"Welcome to our FHE tonight. It’s great in the summer when we can combine our groups more often and all go hang out together. Before we leave to go up the canyon, we’ll have a few announcements and an opening song and prayer." Matt stepped back as another young man pulled a paper from his back pocket and read off the announcements.

"First off we’re very glad that Bishop DeForrest is able to be here with us tonight. Brother Marrott will be meeting us at Nunn’s Camp, but Brother Covey is unable to be with us tonight because of a business trip. We’d like to remind all you sisters that Relief Society Homemaking will be held in the Rec Room this Wednesday evening at 7:00 P.M. There is a co-ed intramural softball game at the field over by the stadium tomorrow evening at six, our ward is playing one of the married wards." As he was about to return to his position in the group, someone handed him another slip of paper.

"I should’ve known that we wouldn’t be done that quickly. These are a little more personal – some congratulations."

Everyone laughed and Janis whispered to Di, "I’ve never been to a combined FHE yet where someone’s engagement or mission call wasn’t announced."

When the laughter died down, the man reading the announcements continued, "We have two engagements and two mission calls to announce. Luis and Anya are joining two countries as well as two people, and are engaged to be married in October…those countries being Mexico and Canada. Also Chad and Jenny after two years of ‘maybe, maybe not’ have decided on maybe yes and are also getting married in October. As for the other big ‘M’ – Sharon of apartment 55 received her mission call to the Russia Samara mission and will be leaving in three weeks. Beth of apartment 56 will be following Sharon into the MTC about three weeks later to prepare for the Spain Barcelona mission." Shaking his head he added, "We knew that Sharon would most likely miss out on our Lake Powell trip, but we were sure Beth would be here since she graduates in August…we sure didn’t expect her to leave five days after graduation."

When all of the cheers and applause died down, a young woman with short brown hair stepped forward and said, "After singing "Come, Come Ye Saints," Bruce will offer an opening prayer."

The group began to sing a hymn that had given strength to many of their forefathers over a century before as they had crossed the unsettled central portion of the United States in search for a home where they would no longer be persecuted. The Bob-Whites didn’t know of the story behind the song nor its significance, but the could sense that it was a special song to those who sang it.

As the last verse drew to a close, a man in his early twenties stepped forward. Trixie giggled as she read his shirt – a giant mosquito with the words ‘I want to suck your blood’ underneath – and then quieted as the man bowed his head and began to pray. Not sure what to do, she lowered her eyes and stared at her feet. ‘This is different,’ she thought, ‘Much different than anything that has happened on our trip yet. This is relaxing…no bad guys chasing us, no one being kidnapped, no stress over who’s driving and how much farther we want to go…this is what we need right now after all the rest that has happened.’

Honey, too, had been a little disconcerted when Bruce had begun to pray. Prayer was something the minister did when she attended church on special occasions with her parents and Jim. Prayer was something the Beldens did occasionally at mealtime. But to see someone, not much older than she was, offer a prayer in the middle of a crowd of people and act as if it were a normal everyday occurrence – that was totally unfamiliar.

In unison, the members of the 123^rd BYU Ward uttered ‘Amen’ after Bruce gave thanks for their blessings and asked for guidance and protection on their excursion that evening.

The Bishop addressed the group briefly, using the hymn sung earlier as the basis for his words. He spoke of the strength of the early members who had been driven from their homes by force with little or no protection from the government and how in the end they had fled the country to the safety of the Salt Lake Valley. "Come, Come Ye Saints" had given the early pioneers the boost of encouragement that they had often needed as they traveled by covered wagon and by foot with a handcart, across plains and mountains. Their goal was to reach the place the Lord had led them to where they could worship in safety and peace. Many had died, including the early leaders of the church who had been murdered, but as long as they had kept their faith, they were never forsaken. He concluded by saying,

"Remember brothers and sisters, each of us is still a pioneer in our own way today. Some of us had ancestors that crossed the plains with mobs on their heels. Others of us are recent members of the church. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that we keep the faith and stay strong so that we are not forsaken."

The students nodded in agreement and a brief hush fell over the group as Bishop DeForrest returned to his seat at the picnic table with the Bob-Whites.

A moment later they were dividing up into groups to fit into the cars available to drive to the campground in Provo Canyon where the night’s activities were to take place.

The Bob-Whites followed Bishop DeForrest to his van. As soon as they were all seated and belted in, he began his story.

"My grandfather was a spiritual man – a shaman. He knew all the stories of our people. After our parents died he took my brother and myself in and raised us as he had been raised in the late nineteenth century. We were taught the history of the Navajo people and their ancestors more thoroughly than probably any other Navajo kid." DeForrest paused as he wove his way through the chaotic Provo/Orem rush hour traffic to reach the entrance to Provo Canyon and then he continued.

"My grandfather felt that it was important for Jared and I to be able to separate ourselves from the world, but still be a part of it. He was very strict with us, but he was the closest family that we had – except for his brother in New Mexico – we loved him and honored him."

"When I was twelve and my brother was 10, my grandfather told us of the bowl."

Trixie sucked in her breath. This is what they’d been waiting for since they’d met the shaman, the man that Mahonri DeForrest said was his Grandfather, in New Mexico.

The professor was quiet for a time, as he remembered the long ago conversation with the man who had raised him. Trixie turned in her seat to look back at the rest of the Bob-Whites in the other seats of the van. They all appeared to be holding their breath, much as she was doing.

DeForrest began his explanation. "One evening in August, shortly after I turned twelve my grandfather took Jared and I on a hike in what is now called Monument Valley in southeastern Utah. We loved going there because Grandfather always told us stories of our ancestors when we were there. Little did we realize the impact the story of that evening would have on our lives."

"Monument Valley?" Jim spoke for the first time, "That’s now part of the Utah Navajo reservation, isn’t it?"

"You’re correct. My ancestors lived there hundreds of years before the Mormons came and settled this part of the country. Most of the reservation is in Arizona and New Mexico, but a small part of it is located in the southeastern corner of this state." DeForrest decreased his speed as the road narrowed to two cramped lanes as they began to ascend the canyon. "On this day my grandfather told us the story of our names and the ancestors that had migrated to this country over a thousand years before. He also told us of the bowl that contained the story of ancestors since that day." The professor slowed his van even more and turned on his signal as they reached a sign that read "Nunn’s Camp."

He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine before he said another word. The Bob-Whites sat expectantly, knowing that now they were going to hear the words that they had been waiting for since they had left New Mexico.

"This bowl that had disappeared two hundred years ago had been entrusted to members of my family. It was the duty of our family to preserve this bowl and pass it along with the stories and legends of our forefathers. The paintings inside this bowl that the shaman gave you and Honey, Trixie, are not just random designs, but they tell the story of the Navajo or Anasazi people since the world was created."

Honey found her voice first, "Professor DeForrest, you mean that those sketchy looking figures tell the history of the world since the beginning?" That seemed hard to believe.

"Yes, Honey, that’s exactly what I do mean…and not only does it tell what happened but it also tells what will happen." He smiled wanly, "I know it sounds a little strange, but that’s what I have been told. You see, I’ve never seen this bowl, I’ve only heard about it from my grandfather. He told my brother and I that it was imperative that we help recover this bowl before the ends of our lives."

"This charge from your grandfather is what caused you to become an archaeologist?" Brian asked.

"Basically, yes. Also a few years later missionaries taught us about the L.D.S. Church and believe it or not, religion can inspire one to want to study long ago civilizations and cities." With a shake of his head he changed the subject, "Well, enough of the serious stuff. The other cars have arrived so let’s go enjoy ourselves this evening. But now you know why I was so surprised to learn that you have seen my missing grandfather and he has given you this long lost relic."

"Does he think that we’re just going to hand over the bowl like that?" Trixie asked Jim later that evening after an exhausting game of Ultimate Frisbee, "I mean, come on. What’s this have to do with our future?" She ran her hands through her blond curls in exasperation.

Jim smiled slightly and answered, "Trix, we were just asked to bring the bowl to him, we weren’t asked to reunite him with his grandfather, or learn every detail of his life. And as to your future or my future or any of our futures…well, maybe you’ll end up coming to BYU someday as a student. Or maybe you’ll become a shaman instead of a shamus." Jim grinned at his own joke.

Trixie grimaced, "Very funny, very funny. You’re about as comedic as Mart. Seriously though, that shaman, Grandfather Mahonri or whatever, he looked right into me and told me that this bowl had something to do with my future."

"Mahonri. You know that just isn’t a name I would expect to hear for a Native American. I wonder what the story behind that was?"

"Jim, are you saying that you’re curious about something? I don’t believe it," Trixie teased, "I think I’ll go ask the bishop about that now."

Biting back a hot retort, Jim said, "Maybe he didn’t want to tell us that part…" his voice trailed off as Trixie grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the picnic table where the bishop was sitting watching the volleyball game that was in progress.

"Dr. DeForrest, could I ask you another question?" Trixie asked, smiling sweetly at the professor.

"Sure, Trixie, I’ll try and answer it for you."

Trixie sat down across from the professor and motioned for Jim to sit down also. With a resigned sigh, he joined her. He knew that there was no use to fight her.

"Dr. DeForrest, you said that when your grandfather told you and your brother about the bowl that you were to find and take care of that he also told you the story of your names."

The professor nodded in agreement and she continued.

"Neither your name or that of your brother are ones that you’d associate with Native Americans, how did you get them?"

Jim groaned inwardly. Trixie had improved a lot in the years since he’d met her, but tact still wasn’t her strong point.

"That is an interesting story of itself, Trixie, apart from that of the bowl. It became even more interesting a few years later." He ceased talking and studied Trixie for a few moments, as if deciding whether or not she was worthy of hearing this story. Then he turned his gaze to Jim and did the same thing. "They’re fine," he whispered to himself and nodded.

Trixie and Jim exchanged a quizzical look and then settled back to listen to the story.

"As you know the Navajos are descendents of the Anasazi who built the ancient cliff dwellings early in this millennium in the southern part of what is now the United States. The word ‘anasazi’ means ‘Ancient Ones’ or ‘The ones here before.’ Legends that have been passed down over the years claim that we’ve been here even longer than that. There are stories that suggest that our ancestors came from the European continent thousands of years ago. The people came in small boats that were sealed and were led by two men, Jared and his brother."

"Mahonri?" Trixie breathed.

DeForrest nodded in affirmation, "That is what has been said. These two brothers were very righteous and honorable men. Their names have been used for the oldest two sons of every generation in my family. They were the first record keepers of my people. It has been the duty of each Jared and Mahonri as long as our history goes back to keep the records. Throughout the centuries, the written record was lost. There were many battles among our ancestors. About seven hundred years ago…near the time that the Anasazi people vanished…they inscribed their history on the bowl of which you are now in possession. Then around the time that the white men began to explore the continent more, the bowl disappeared. It was not known if it were destroyed, if it were hidden or if it were stolen. But my family continued to name the oldest sons by the names of the two men who were, according to tradition, the guardians of the history."

The professor fell silent, leaving Trixie and Jim staring at one another in astonishment.

Jim shook his head in amazement at Trixie once again. With just a simple questions she had found out even more information than they had hoped. Just what they were to do with this information he wasn’t sure, but he knew that the other Bob-Whites would be able to help with that.

 

LATER THAT NIGHT IN THE MOTEL…

"Man, Trix, you sure know how to get what you want out of someone," Dan said admiringly.

"Yeah, but what good does this information do us?" Mart added skeptically. "We’re just supposed to give the bowl to him, not solve any mystery."

Honey jumped in before Trixie could respond to her brother. "That’s just it Mart – whether we want to or not we are solving a mystery…a centuries old mystery that also will reunite a man with his grandfather."

"This is pretty exciting, Mart, you have to admit that," Di interjected. "You’re the history buff, don’t you think this is kind of neat?"

"Yeah, this is history that isn’t even recorded," Brian mused.

"Well, Professor DeForrest said that it is recorded in some book of scripture that his church studies. It’s a record of the people that inhabited North and South America before the time of Christ; but it is recorded in a different form there," Jim explained, "He didn’t go into a lot of detail about that."

Trixie had kept quiet for some time. Now she wordlessly went to the closet and brought out her duffel bag. She carefully unwrapped layer after layer of T-shirts and sweatshirts until she reached the grayish clay bowl. She placed it gently on a pillow in the middle of the bead and looked at it for a long moment. Softly she began, "He told us what the design inside meant." Gingerly she turned it on its side to point out the design painted there. The others knelt around the bed to see them as well and to hear Trixie’s words.

"He said that there was a man and a woman, representing the First Parents. Then he said that there was a tower and then an ark with animals inside it…"
"Noah and the Flood," Di interrupted.

Trixie nodded and continued, "Then there is a man with twelve sons surrounding him. Much later there would be another man with twelve men around him. Then the same man dying and rising from the grave…" Once again she grew quiet. The whole room was quiet as the Bob-Whites contemplated what Trixie had just told them.

"It’s like the history of the world drawn out instead of written," Dan said, finally breaking the silence. "What do the other drawings mean?"

Trixie looked at Jim and slowly shook her head. "He didn’t tell us what the other drawings meant, he said that it wasn’t important for right now. It wasn’t what we needed to know."

"So we’ll take this to him first thing in the morning?" Jim asked, looking to the others for their answers.

Tiredly they all nodded. Upon deciding on the hour that they wanted to head to campus, the boys left to go to their room and Honey, Trixie and Di began to prepare for bed. Trixie was unusually quiet as they brushed teeth and washed faces and changed into pajamas.

"It was an interesting evening, wasn’t it?" Di asked as she climbed into the bed she was sharing with Honey.

"Yeah, a lot different than the parties with gone to with the guys at their schools." Honey agreed, as she brushed her honey colored hair before bed.

"Praying before playing Frisbee and volleyball? That was way unusual." Di plumped her pillow up so she could sit up in bed and talk to her friends. "What did you think, Trix?"

She paused as she pulled her long T-shirt on before getting into bed. "It was strange. Religion has never been a huge part in my life and to see so many kids not much older than we are have religion be the guiding force in their lives…I don’t know how to explain it."

Honey and Diana nodded in agreement. Religion was usually a holiday or Sunday thing. Not something that filtered through into every part of their daily life.

"I was talking to Sharon and Beth…the two girls that they announced were going on missions…do you know what exactly that is?" Di asked the other two.

"Don’t they go some where for a few weeks or months and talk about their religion?" Trixie asked as she pulled the sheets up to her chin.

"No, it’s for eighteen months – a year and a half! And guys go for two years. The girls can’t go until they’re twenty-one, but the boys go when they’re nineteen." Di’s violet eyes grew bigger as she continued to explain. "They go wherever they are sent without complaint and live there. They can only talk to their parents on Christmas and sometimes Mother’s Day and they can only write letters once a week. No TV, no magazines, no movies, no DATING for that whole time!" Her voice registered her shock and amazement.

"Wherever they’re sent?" Honey asked, "Weren’t those two girls going to foreign countries?"

"Yeah, Sharon is going to Russia – she doesn’t speak a word of Russian. Beth is luckier, she’s going to Spain and she studied Spanish in high school and some here at the university. But she says that she is no where near fluent. They go to some training center here in Provo and learn the language for a couple of months and then they leave for wherever they are going."

"That reminds me of something my dad once said," Honey recalled, "He said that someday he was going to have offices for his international business ventures in Salt Lake City. Mother asked him why in the world he’d have offices there of all places and he said that because of the Mormons and their missionaries that there are people in the Salt Lake and Provo areas that speak almost an language you can think of…amazing isn’t it."

"How much do they get paid for this?" Trixie asked curiously.

"Absolutely nothing monetarily," Di exclaimed. "They actually pay for it themselves with help from family and friends…crazy isn’t it?"

"Dedication and belief is more like it I think," Honey said. "Can you imagine going away from everyone and everything you know for that amount of time knowing that you’ll only talk to your family a couple of times and knowing that when you get home everything will have changed? That’d be harder than boarding school…I always knew I’d see my parents at least briefly over vacation."

The girls sat quietly for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Di reached over and turned off the light and they tried to get to sleep.

After awhile Trixie asked, "Are you guys awake?"

In unison they replied, "Yes."

Trixie sat up in the and looked toward the bed her friends were in, trying to make out their shapes in the dark. "Can you guys believe how far back this whole thing goes? It seemed simple ‘Hand this old bowl to a professor at a university,’ and look at what all we’ve learned."

Honey giggled, "Like in "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" where he tells her to give the package to the man in the red hat…look at what that got her into."

"Yeah, it’s something like that. But what I still can’t figure out is how this is supposed to be important to our futures, Honey." That, for Trixie, was more of a mystery than anything else was.

"I know what you mean…I keep waiting for something to happen with this bowl that will change my life, and so far nothing."

Di broke in, "Maybe it isn’t something physical. Maybe you’re going to learn something to help you with something else in your life."

"Like what to do with it?" Trixie mumbled to herself.

"You could be right Di, but that’s too deep for me right now. Ready to sleep yet, Trix?" Honey asked her best friend.

"Yeah, sorry I’m keeping you guys up," she said as she lay back down.

"Good-night."

 

THE NEXT MORNING…

"Not the most exciting breakfast in the world," DeForrest said, as he and the Bob-Whites sat down at a table in the Cougareat, "But it will do."

"Doughnuts and bagels…what more could one ask for," Mart said as he finished off a cinnamon raisin bagel and then began eating a cream cheese Danish.

The others laughed. No matter what happened in their lives, Mart would always be hungry.

Mahonri sat next to Trixie and smiled. "That bag you’re guarding so closely wouldn’t happen to hold the bowl, would it?"

Brian laughed, "You’ve got about as much patience as Trixie has, Dr. DeForrest. You’ve been eyeing that duffel bag since we met you at your office."

With an embarrassed grin Mahonri nodded, "You’re right Brian. But remember, I’ve been hearing about this bowl my whole life and been searching for it almost as long."

Trixie smiled. Carefully she picked up her duffel bag and handed it to the professor. "Just remember, this isn’t a cereal bowl, no matter what my almost-twin says."

Mahonri reverently removed the bowl from the protective layers that surrounded it. Tears came to his eyes as he saw the bowl that his grandfather had told him about for years. This was it. This was the reason he had become an archaeologist. This is what he was named for - to find and protect this bowl.

The Bob-Whites were silent as they watched their new friend study the bowl. He murmured to himself in a language they did not understand as he ran his fingers lightly over the designs.

Remembering his guests, Mahonri said, "Thank you. Thank you so much. You will never know what this means. It is not only an artifact lost for centuries. It is not only a record of the history of my ancestors. It is also a link that my brother and I had hoped to find that connects our heritage with our religion. There were so many similarities between the legends that my grandfather taught us and the things we learned when we embraced the LDS religion…this is what we’ve hoped to find that will join our two worlds."

The Bob-Whites looked at one another, none of them knew how to respond. Finally, Dan said simply, "You’re welcome." The others nodded, there wasn’t much else to say.

After another long silence, Mahonri DeForrest asked, "Do you have plans for this evening?"

Jim answered, "Well, now that we’ve accomplished what were came here to do, we thought we’d check out Salt Lake City and then head back south. We’re hoping to check out Los Angeles."

"Sounds like fun. How about you wait until the afternoon to go to Salt Lake City. I want you to meet my brother. He’s returning from a dig in Peru this morning." Mahonri lightly rubbed the bowl, "And I am sure he will want to thank you in person."

Brian shrugged, "Why not, we’re really not in a huge hurry." The rest agreed.

Mahonri looked at his watch, "Once again time to run off to lecture. Would you like to meet at your motel at 3:30 P.M. and then head to Salt Lake? It’s only about forty five minutes away."

 

THAT AFTERNOON…SALT LAKE CITY – TEMPLE SQUARE

"My brother said that he would meet us in front of the Assembly Hall," Mahonri said to Trixie as she and the other Bob-Whites followed him through a large gate set in a high gray wall. "I thought that since we were coming up here, you might as well get to see some sights. This is Temple Square."

Honey noticed that when they walked through the gates most of the sounds of the bustling city were shut out. They were surrounded by beautiful flowers and well kept grounds. People from all parts of the world, in all kinds of dress, walked around quietly. Some were with families and some were in tour groups. She noticed that the tours were led by women not much older than she was. "Dr. DeForrest, why are there no male tour guides?"

"These aren’t exactly tour guides, these are missionaries. Part of their calling as a missionary is to tell the visitors at Temple Square about the buildings and the history behind them, along with telling them a little about the Church itself." Pointing to a large oval shaped building with a domed roof at their right he said, "That is the Tabernacle building."

"Tabernacle? As in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?" Mart asked. He’d heard of the world famous choir, in fact his mother had one of their Christmas records that she played every year, but he hadn’t realized that there was a building that went with them.

"Exactly. Inside is the famous pipe organ. There is quite a bit of history in that building. Sadly, we’ve outgrown it. Soon they will be finishing a new building where our General Conferences will be held. The Choir will still perform here, however."

"Aren’t the acoustics inside remarkable?" Jim asked, recalling something he’d read once.

"Yes. Once I was at a conference in there and I was sitting in the balcony that runs around the top. I was focusing on the speaker down below when I heard an odd clicking sound. I looked around and all the way on the other side of the building I saw ushers unfolding a portable wheelchair for an elderly woman who needed to leave. The sound was so magnified that the tiny clicks were audible all through the building." DeForrest then directed their attention to their left. "And that is the Temple." A multi-spired granite building stood there, drawing the attention of all that entered the gates.

"Only members of your Church can go inside?" Di asked.

"Yes, only those that are worthy. It is a very sacred place. Nothing strange goes on inside. Unlike what many of our detractors say, it just is sacred. One must be prepared spiritually to enter."

For the next several minutes the group from New York walked through the temple grounds, looking at the buildings and the statues. Honey grabbed Trixie’s hand as she read the plaque beneath the statues of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. Joseph had been the first prophet and leader of the Church when it had been restored over a hundred and fifty years ago and his brother had helped him. They had been murdered by a mob because of their religious beliefs a few years later, leaving behind widows and children. "Can you believe that people would kill someone else just because they believed differently?" she said angrily. "It’s horrible. It’s like what Hitler did, except in our own country."

Dr. DeForrest spoke up, "Hitler did much worse to the Jews than the mobs in Missouri did to the early Mormons. But it does boil down to the same thing – persecution because of prejudice. And such injustices continue even now as we near the 21^st century. We cannot continue to judge people because of their skin or their beliefs or because of the way they talk."

Trixie nodded. People could be horrible to each other. She and Honey and the other Bob-Whites had seen that many times.

"Dr. DeForrest, is that the Assembly Hall?" Mart asked as he came over to the three standing between the temple and one of the visitor’s centers.

"Yes, why?"

"There’s a guy who looks an awful lot like you standing in front of it," Mart answered pointing toward a man standing in front of the gray and white building talking to one of the missionaries.

"Good job, Mart, that’s Jared alright!" Dr. DeForrest walked briskly across the square to where his brother stood. The two men hugged briefly and then Dr. DeForrest motioned for the Bob-Whites to come and join them.

After rapid introductions, Dr. Jared DeForrest led the group across the street to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where they could sit and talk quietly.

"My brother has told me all about you and the wonderful treasure that you have restored to us. My thanks join his." Jared DeForrest’s face took on the same reverent look that his brother’s had earlier as Mahonri handed him the clay bowl that had been the focal point of so many of their grandfather’s teachings. "This is a very precious item that you have given us."

Humbly Trixie said, "We were just messengers. We didn’t do anything special."

"Messengers are very important," Mahonri said smiling, "Without them the world would be very small and trapped in darkness."

"Speaking of messengers, are you going to try and find your grandfather?" Jim asked, hoping to be able to help with the reunion of a family, something that he had always dreamt of doing.

Mahonri looked sorrowfully at Jared and then at the Bob-Whites. "I called the Borrego Pass Trading Post this morning. I asked about the shaman, described him, told them his name and everything. No one had any clue of who I was talking about. I later called our Uncle Jared in Gallup. He hasn’t heard anything more about Mahonri’s whereabouts since he disappeared. He was excited about the bowl, however, and is planning on flying up next week to see it. He adds his thanks to ours."

Sadly, Di said, "You mean, your grandfather has disappeared again?"

Jared and Mahonri exchanged a glance and Jared spoke, "Our grandfather is a shaman and often had to travel to help others of our people. He rarely would tell us where he was going or where he had been. We’ve both have known that he was not dead or that no harm had befallen him. We will continue waiting and someday he will return to us."

Mahonri nodded, "What Jared says is true. Grandfather Mahonri will return when it is time. Until then we must remain faithful and continue doing what he has taught us – which is clearer now that we have the bowl." He turned to gaze out the window at the Salt Lake Temple across the street and continued, "There are many things about life that we don’t fully understand. Sometimes we gain an understanding in this life as we go along, and sometimes we must wait until the next life. But always we must believe and never give up hope."

 

TWO DAYS LATER OUTSIDE OF LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

"Mart, where was it that you wanted to stay?" Honey asked as she watched the skyline of Las Vegas grow closer.

"The Rio it’s got a Brazilian theme. Not only does it have some cool Carnival show several times a day, but it has…" Mart sighed and rubbed his stomach, "It has one of the most incredible buffets in all of Las Vegas. The guy I talked to when we were hiking in Zion’s had just stayed there. He said that their buffet has foods of almost any kind you can think of – all in one huge room. Can you imagine that?"

Dan snorted, "I know you can imagine that. I swear you must be a bottomless pit! You ate about fifteen pancakes before we broke camp this morning and four sandwiches when we stopped for lunch an hour ago."

"Aw, Dan, he’s a growing boy," Brian joked as he looked up from the map he was reading in the front seat next to Honey. "If he doesn’t eat enough he’ll never be able to grow his hair out."

Trixie sat quietly amid the laughter and good-natured teasing of her friends. She thought back over the last few days and the parting words of Mahonri DeForrest, ‘There are many things about life that we don’t fully understand. Sometimes we gain an understanding in this life as we go along, and sometimes we must wait until the next life. But always we must believe and never give up hope.’ That is what she’d been having problems with lately, believing and not giving up. With everything that had happened since they had left Sleepyside, she didn’t know whom to believe in anymore and she sometimes wondered if her goals were attainable. She still wasn’t sure what the shaman, Grandfather Mahonri, meant when he said that the bowl would be important for her future and for Honey’s future, but she did know that she was going to be a little more tolerant of others, including her brother. And she was going to try and have more patience and more understanding. There was a whole lot more out there in the world than Trixie Belden and she wanted to see it. Maybe that’s what the bowl’s purpose was in her life – to make her more aware of life and what it holds.

With a smile she joined back into the laughter of her friends and smiled as she heard Mart continue, "This other guy that I was talking to at Zion’s said that Ultimate Frisbee, that game we played in Provo Canyon the other night, is really popular in Southern California too. Maybe we can hook up with some games there. That was a blast!"

"Yeah, if you can throw a Frisbee," Di retorted, "Others of us who are Frisbee challenged have a hard time with that."

"That’s okay Di, we can just watch the guys," Honey said, winking at her in the rearview mirror.

"Hmm, like that beach scene in "Top Gun"?" she queried.

"Definitely!" Trixie piped. To herself she asked, ‘What are we going to run across in Los Angeles – the City of Angels? It’s bound to be something exciting!’

Continue to Los Angeles

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