The Second Book of Pah Nahtahn

[NARRATOR — SPOKEN VOICE ONLY] [DO NOT SING] Today we continue our journey through the Nemenhah Sacred Records with The Second Book of Pah Nahtahn. And this book asks a remarkable question: How do God's people prepare for difficult times? Pah Nahtahn writes for generations far beyond her own. She says the Peacemaker will restore ancient ways so that Tsiahn — Enduring Peace — may once again be established in the land. But Tsiahn is more than a place. It is a way of living. Pah Nahtahn tells us about her father, Tsihmlayi, and the spiritual adoption of the descendants of the Seven Companions. He did not want adopted children treated differently from those born into his family. They were to become one family. One people. Then Pah Nahtahn gives one of the most important teachings in this entire record. Refuge is a community and a way of living. And that refuge must be created before the crisis comes. Walls alone cannot save a people. Mountains cannot create Zion. Food and possessions cannot produce peace. Tsiahn must first be built in the human heart. The people must come out of Babylon, turn away from the values of the world, and learn to live together according to the Way of the Peacemaker. Pah Nahtahn also teaches about consecration. Those who came among the Nemenhah were welcomed and taught freely. But stewardship within the community required covenant responsibility. Zion was not simply something they believed. It was something they lived. The book also records women carrying significant responsibility among the people. Pah Nahtahn's sisters served as Tiwehkthihmpt, and during their stewardship the people lived in continual peace. Later, Pah Nahtahn herself was called to that responsibility. She did not seek the position. She considered it a great and weighty burden. That is another lesson of Tsiahn. Leadership is not power. Leadership is service. The Second Book of Pah Nahtahn teaches us not to wait until the world is falling apart to become a Zion people. Build the refuge now. Build strong families now. Serve one another now. Consecrate your heart now. Create Tsiahn within you now. Because ultimately, we are not preparing merely to survive a crisis. We are preparing to meet the Peacemaker. [MUSIC GENTLY BUILDS] [BEGIN SINGING — VERY SHORT] Build Thy peace... In our hearts... Walk Thy Way... Never part... Come, O Lord... May we be... One in Christ... Eternally. [END]