A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:1-10
Dear Auntie,
It's been hard being back home. I miss our quiet days together and miss your total and gentle support. Oh, it's not that Mama, Papa and Joseph don't support me, but they are so anxious and there is too much arguing around here. I guess since Zechariah is mute, your house is much quieter than ours, but I wish sometimes the men would be quieter here. Mama is very quiet these days as her hands are always full of work and her mind is full of worry. She is troubled because she is so faithful and she doesn't understand why the Lord would put such a great burden on such a young woman and her family. I get it and there seems to be nothing I can say to calm her mind and heart.
There have been some troubles here at home with our neighbors and temple members. Several men representing the temple were outside the other night calling me out. Papa went out and confronted them. They said I should be stoned since I was a harlot. Can you believe it? I have been so good and faithful, but they don't care. He finally made them go away but I'm sure they'll be back. Ugh. Oh, I could tell them stories of their own daughters' misbehaviors! Papa said we cannot return bad behavior with more bad behavior. I know that but really, if only they knew what their children were up to when they looked away. I'm sure they came because someone saw me now that I am showing. I'm so annoyed, doing the right thing always seems to get me in trouble!
Auntie, I dreamed again of an angel telling me that the child is good news and the Savior of the world. It made me feel better for a time. I know I'm doing the right thing, but the world hates me right now! Please pray for me.
love,
Mary
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