The Lincoln Myth (39 page)

He stared again at the magnificent temple, the first one built by Saints on the eastern seaboard. The first, after the Salt Lake temple, to feature six spires. The tallest worldwide. One of five that featured
the angel Moroni holding the golden plates. Its seven floors represented the six days of creation and the day of rest, and beautiful stained glass ran the height of the towers, reds and oranges yielding to blues and violets, all representing the unbroken progress toward the divine. So appropriate, with what was about to happen.

“We will change our world,” he said.

The other men seemed pleased.

“We will accomplish what Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and every other pioneer failed to do.”

He paused.

“We shall finally be independent.”

FIFTY-ONE

O
VER THE
A
TLANTIC
O
CEAN

S
ALAZAR SETTLED INTO THE LEATHER SEAT AND BEGAN TO
enjoy the in-flight meal provided by the catering service. A combination of lamb and vegetables, which Cassiopeia had reheated, serving them both in the spacious main cabin. Of all his possessions, the Learjet was his favorite. He spent a lot of time moving from one place to another, so it was important he travel in comfort.

“I promised you an explanation,” he said.

She smiled. “You did.”

His two associates sat aft, near the galley and restroom, eating their own lunch. He kept his voice low, though the roar of the engines helped with privacy.

“It’s hard to know where to start. But the best way to summarize is that we intend to finish the establishment of Zion. What Joseph Smith and BrighamYoung began, we will complete.”

“The church is a vital organization,” she said. “A worldwide entity. Seems that mission
is
complete.”

“Not in the way they truly envisioned. We’ve always been required to conform—to be like everyone else. We migrated to the Salt Lake valley so we could live by the prophets, following the Book of Mormon, a true Zion on earth. But that never happened.”

“To accomplish that would mean having your own country.”

He smiled. “And that’s precisely what we intend to create. The nation of Deseret, headquartered in Salt Lake, encompassing the boundaries of the former American state of Utah, and other land that may want to join us.”

He could see she was intrigued. He remembered when he first heard Elder Rowan’s plan. His heart had been filled with joy tempered with confusion. But all doubts had been erased when Rowan described how the White Horse Prophecy would finally come to fulfillment.

“Remember what I read to you from Rushton’s journal? The White Horse Prophecy makes clear that Saints hold the key to the Constitution. In 1854 Brigham Young made a speech at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. He said,
Will the Constitution be destroyed? No. It will be held inviolate by this people and, as Joseph Smith said, ‘The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.’ It will be so
. Prophet Brigham said that fourteen years after the White Horse Prophecy was revealed and seven years before the Civil War. His words became truth during the Civil War, as Saints did save the nation from destruction.”

She listened as he explained about a bargain made between Brigham Young and Abraham Lincoln, one that was sealed by Lincoln when he provided a document, signed by the Founding Fathers, that said individual states possessed the right to leave the Union.

“Prophet Brigham never revealed that document to the South,” he said. “Instead, he hid it away and allowed the Union to survive. The American Civil War was fought over whether a state could secede. What would have happened if those wayward states knew that the founders of their nation sanctioned their act? I would say that the Constitution truly did hang by a thread. But the church, as the White Horse, allowed the United States to survive.”

“Amazing,” she said. “Considering how the federal government had treated them.”

“Which only demonstrates our commitment to the Constitution.”

“And that doesn’t exist anymore?”

“Of course it does. But the White Horse Prophecy makes clear that we should
stand by the Constitution of the United States as it was given by the inspiration of God
. That means the document, in its entirety, as intended by its drafters. The world has changed, Cassiopeia. The American government has changed. From all I’ve seen and read, there are many in the United States who would love to be rid of their federal government. We are just one group, but the time has come for the church to go a separate way. Elder Rowan will lead the secession of Utah. Those states you noticed on the map in my study? They will follow our lead.”

She stopped eating and seemed to focus on what he was saying. “What will you do if you’re able to actually leave the United States?”

“We shall live as the prophets intended. We have managed our resources wisely. The church owns billions of euros in assets all around the world, with little to no debt. We are smart, capable, and self-sufficient, more solvent than any government in the world. We also have extensive management expertise. It will be nothing at all for us to take charge of our own government.”

“And who will head this?”

“The prophet, of course. That man is, and will remain, our leader on this earth. Soon that will be Elder Rowan.”

He reached for his briefcase and found a sheaf of papers.

“All of this was foretold long ago. In 1879, by the third prophet, John Taylor. Listen to what he said.
The day is not far distant when this nation will be shaken from centre to circumference. And now, you may write it down, any of you, and I will prophesy it in the name of God. And then will be fulfilled that prediction to be found in one of the revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Those who will not take up their sword to fight against their neighbor will flee to Zion for safety. And they will come, saying, we do not know anything of the principles of your religion, but we perceive that you are an honest community, you administer justice and righteousness, and we want to live with you and receive the protection of your law. But as for your religion we will talk about that some other time. Will we protect such people? Yes, all honorable men. When the people shall have torn to shreds the Constitution of the United States the Elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of the earth and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to all men, and extending the hand of fellowship to the oppressed of all nations. This is part of the program, and as long as we do what is right and fear God, he will help us and stand by us under all circumstances
.

“I didn’t make this up. Taylor said it, in public. Now Elder Rowan will fulfill this prophecy.” He paused. “But not without our help. We’re headed at this moment to find the last piece of the puzzle to make it all happen.”

He told her about Lincoln’s watch and what may await inside.

“It’s a long shot,” she said.

He nodded. “One we have to take. If it proves false, we’ll try another tack.”

“I can get it for you,” she said.

“You?”

“Certainly not you. What would Elder Rowan say if a respected member of the First Quorum of the Seventy is caught trying to steal a historic artifact? I have no connection to him or the church. I can make it happen. And I won’t get caught.”

He loved her confidence. His mother had been a gentle, kind, quiet woman concerned only with her family. Cassiopeia was so different. There was an intense energy about her he found irresistible. She would make a fitting start to his burgeoning new family. With all of the changes coming, he’d decided to practice plural marriage, since he doubted the angel, Joseph Smith himself, would expect anything less. But with Cassiopeia’s reawakening he would now have a faithful partner, a true believer, to ensure that their extended family would be forever together in heaven.

“Think of it,” he said. “We will finally have a land that is ours. The nation of Deseret, as Prophet Brigham intended. We will be free to make our own laws and live in our own way. It will be a good, fruitful place, one where people will flock to live among us and all will be right.”

C
ASSIOPEIA COULD HARDLY BELIEVE WHAT SHE WAS HEARING
, but the simple force of Josepe’s words was proof enough that this was real. Apparently, though, neither Josepe nor this Senator Rowan had considered the international ramifications from the dissolution of the United States. And how would Washington respond to a secession? Threats? For sure. Force? That would have to be carefully thought through. Most likely, the response would come in court.

“You realize that the federal government will try and stop Utah,” she said.

“Certainly. But what we seek will ensure that legal battle will be lost by them. And how could it not? The American Founding Fathers’ own words on the subject would be decisive. A document, signed by them all, that says secession is allowed. That would carry the same weight as the Constitution itself.”

“Except that it apparently wasn’t ratified by the states.”

“But it is their written intent, and that cannot be ignored. We have teams of lawyers who have studied this from every angle. They are convinced this will succeed. The U.S. Supreme Court itself disallowed secession long ago, but that entire opinion was predicated on there being nothing contrary in American jurisprudence. Yet actually, there is. Something directly contrary. Americans place great faith in what their founders intended. Their constitutional precedents are all based on that intent.”

What he said was true.

Stare decisis
.

To stand by that which is decided.

“It will prove impossible for the courts to ignore reality. Then look at what President Abraham Lincoln did. Instead of telling the nation that states had a choice as to whether they wanted to be part of the Union, he hid the evidence of that away and fought a war to prove the contrary. How do you suppose that will be viewed?”

Not good. “Does this document actually exist?”

“That’s what you and I are going to determine. It did once, and we think it still does.”

She now understood why Stephanie Nelle had been so tense.
Sure, political unrest existed in the United States, as it did in other parts of the world. Calls for radical change were nothing new. But having the legal means to actually effect that change was an entirely different matter.

She got it.

This was a problem.

But knowing its extent changed nothing.

She still intended to do this her way.

FIFTY-TWO

M
ALONE WAS STRAPPED INTO THE REAR SEAT OF AN
F-15E Strike Eagle, cruising over the southern tip of Greenland. An air force pilot out of Germany occupied the front seat, flying the aircraft. But Malone had taken the controls a bit, once again in command of a fighter. It had been twenty years since he last flew one, thanks to a switch in career paths while in the navy that sent him to the JAG corps.

Stephanie had arranged for a helicopter ride from Salzburg to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. There the Strike Eagle had waited, engines running, and they’d immediately headed west across Europe toward the open Atlantic. It was 4,600 miles to Des Moines but, at Mach 2 the flight time was less than five hours. Of course, that meant an in-flight refueling, and a KC-10 Extender tanker now hovered ahead of them, its aerial boom captured by the fighter’s probe.