A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray Read Free Book Online Page A

makes Ian sing louder. He wishes he’d been born two hundred years ago, when the docks were the gateway to Zion and the first Mormon missionaries landed in Liverpool. He would like to wind back time and begin his pioneer journey with baptism in the River Mersey. Imagine crossing the sea to America and embarking on the thousand-mile trek to Utah! The pioneers made enormous sacrifices and they endured tremendous trials—their persistence and faith will surely guarantee their exaltation in the highest degree of heaven, the Celestial Kingdom. His own life has been disappointingly easy by comparison. He was baptized indoors, and although the water in the font was lukewarm because the heating wasn’t working properly and he shivered a bit as he changed out of his wet clothes, it was certainly no hardship. There was a party afterward with a big cake that said, “Happy 8th Birthday—Welcome Ian!” in white chocolate buttons and he felt as if his life had finally started, as if everything up to that point had been just a practice, a dry run for the moment when he would begin playing for keeps. He has been fortunate—blessed, in fact. He has barely suffered at all. He has a happy marriage, four children, a satisfactory job, and, for just over a year, he has served the Church in his role as Bishop of the local congregation, an enormous responsibility.
    He was called to be Bishop on Father’s Day. After he took his place on the stand, behind the pulpit, the Primary children sang a song about fathers and family with a special second verse addressed entirely to the Bishop—to him. As he listened to their singing, Ian made a silent promise always to be there for the Primary children and their families. Since that time there have been frequent opportunities to make small sacrifices, such as the ones he has made today. It’s a shame to have missed Jacob’s birthday breakfast and party, but these things don’t begin to compare to the things the pioneersgave up. The gospel is all about serving people, it’s what Jesus would do if he were here; Sister Anderson needed help and as one of His representatives on Earth, Ian gave it.
    Claire finds sacrifice difficult, she often needs a little encouragement—next time he sees one of those retro
“Keep Calm and Carry On”
posters, he’ll buy one and stick it on the fridge. It’d be good if they also made posters with General Kitchener pointing,
“Your Husband Needs You
!”—she could do with one of those, too! It’s for Claire’s sake that he tries to offset each small sacrifice by making the most of every minute he has at home. One of the apostles died a couple of years ago and in his obituary it said that although he was too busy to spend time with his children either before or after dinner, he used every mealtime wisely, talking about the gospel. It made Ian realize he had been wasting teaching opportunities, and he resolved to make mealtimes an occasion for both physical and spiritual feasting. It’s good to chat about gospel-related matters at the table instead of who said what at school, or the latest episode of whatever it is the children watch on television.
    They were having a family discussion about the importance of tithing last Sunday when the telephone rang. Ian answered it.
    “Bishop Bradley!” exclaimed the voice at the other end.
    “Hello, President Carmichael.” Ian stepped out of the dining room and into the living room. “How are you?”
    “I’m fantastic, Bishop!”
    President Carmichael is always fantastic. His inability to be anything else cheers Ian.
    “What can I do for you, President?”
    “There’s going to be a special missionary meeting on Saturday at the Stake Center.”
    “This Saturday?”
    “Yes.”
    Ian’s response—“I’ll be there, President”—was automatic. Back in the dining room, he changed the subject of his discourse. “Whoknows what obedience is?” he asked. Issy’s hand shot up like a steeple and she held her breath