The Book of Tiahnihcuhmseht

[NARRATOR — SPOKEN VOICE ONLY] [DO NOT SING] Today we continue through the Nemenhah Sacred Records with The Book of Tiahnihcuhmseht, son of Mohmeht Ahkehkt. And his story begins somewhere surprisingly ordinary. At a potter's wheel. Tiahnihcuhmseht tells us that he is a maker of vessels of clay and stone. His wife is a weaver. The healers need vessels for preparing and storing their medicines. And so his simple craft becomes part of their work. He calls it... his stewardship. That little word teaches us something about Zion. Everyone has something to give. The potter. The weaver. The healer. The farmer. The mother. The father. The young man willing to defend his people. Everyone has a place. Everyone can serve. But Tiahnihcuhmseht's world was not always peaceful. Raiders came from the south and carried people away into slavery. Young Nemenhah men voluntarily served along the borders to protect their families. They were not forced. They chose to serve. And when captives were rescued, something beautiful happened. Strangers became neighbors. Neighbors became friends. And through service and covenant... some even became family. The Nemenhah also learned another important lesson. They had assumed that entire neighboring peoples were wicked because of the actions of some among them. Then they discovered they were wrong. Tiahnihcuhmseht admits it plainly: “In this we did err.” Do not judge an entire people by the wickedness of a few. But then the record turns toward the future. Tiahnihcuhmseht's father, Mohmeht, was a man of visions. And he saw difficult days ahead. He saw generations of drought. He saw hardship upon the land. He saw people needing places of refuge. And then... he saw something remarkable. He saw what the record calls... the Prophet of the Foreign Strangers. A prophet who would bring things out of obscurity. Who would possess something of the gift of the seer. Who would bring ancient writings of the Nayfihah again into the light. For an LDS reader, the parallel is difficult to miss. But the prophecy also contains a warning. Receiving truth is not enough. Possessing sacred records is not enough. Belonging to a church is not enough. We must live what we have received. And so the message of Tiahnihcuhmseht reaches across the generations: Prepare ye. But do not prepare in fear. Prepare by serving. Prepare by caring for the land. Prepare by protecting the innocent. Prepare by preserving the records. Prepare by teaching the children. Prepare by refusing to condemn entire peoples. Prepare by building places of peace. And above all... prepare by walking the Way of the Peacemaker. Because difficult days may come... but fear is not the Way. The Peacemaker is the Way. [MUSIC BUILDS — WARM AND HOPEFUL] [BEGIN SINGING — SHORT REFRAIN] Prepare ye... Walk in His Way... Serve one another... Day after day... Keep to the light... Whatever may be... Peacemaker... Walk with me. [END]