Articles/Essays – Volume 58, No. 2

A Modest Paraphrase of Alma 30:44

for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
—Revelation 19:10

All things denote there is a God, even the carpet, and
the tile, and the television. Tele- meaning “at a distance” plus “vision.” And yet the
toddler places his palm directly on the screen, patting the prophet’s
face, while speaking in tongues. The cat yawns: prophecy. The clock
ticks: pro-phet. The timer beeps: pro-phe-cy, pro-phe-cy, pro-phe-cy.
My aunt opens the oven and out billows prophecy. Prophecy spiraling
from cinnamon rolls. Prophecy pouring from the faucet. Prophecy
pressing against the windows from the outside. Tulips blooming like
prophecy. A breath mint melting like prophecy. Teenagers snoring
to the sound of prophecy. Children drawing it, color spilling outside
the lines. Older children marking it, word-by-word, once and every
time . . . there it is again! Prophecy. Then grandma presses pause on
the prophet, to go to the bathroom, because she doesn’t want to miss
a word.