What is Your Nineveh?

First of all, and totally off-topic, can any of you sing “Who’s on the Lord’s Side” without feeling a little bit like a pirate? Every time I hear that song, I keep waiting for the Yo Ho part. In fact I was a little bit surprised to see that the tune didn’t come from an Irish drinking song. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming.


Sometime between 780 B.C and 760 B.C., Jonah, a prophet from Galilee, was commanded by God to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and preach to the Ninevites. At this time, Assyria was a powerful, evil nation and Israel’s most dreaded enemy. Jonah was told to warn the Ninevites to repent or they would suffer the consequences of their wickedness.

Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah for Tarshish, Spain. It is unclear whether his motives were fear or revenge or both. The people of Israel hated the Assyrians who had committed terrible atrocities against them. Jonah was probably frightened of the Assyrians and might have liked to see God punish them.

You know the rest of the story. While sailing to Tarshish, Jonah’s boat was caught in a terrible storm. Realizing the storm was his fault, Jonah told the sailors to toss him overboard. While in the ocean, he was swallowed by a large fish, or whale. Ultimately he ended up in Nineveh, where he preached repentance. The people listened to him, and he was successful in his mission.

Almost exactly a year ago, I faced one of my Ninevehs. In meeting with Chris Schoebinger, from Shadow Mountain, I asked what book he would ask for if he could have any book placed on his desk. I was hoping for something along the lines of my other middle grade fantasies. What he asked for was a young adult fantasy with excitement and adventure that was clearly LDS from the title, to the cover, to the story.

To be completely honest, this was just about the last thing I wanted to hear. I had no idea how to write such a book, and the idea didn’t appeal to me. I returned home and told my wife that was the last thing I wanted to write. Even when I came up with an idea—a story of a boy returning to the time of Joseph Smith with special powers—I didn’t want to write it. I wasn’t sure I could do justice to one of the most incredible events and people of all time.

Like Jonah, I went out of my way to avoid writing the book. I found other things to work on. I didn’t do the research I knew I needed. It wasn’t until Chris began to put real pressure on me that I finally gave in and began writing. But a funny thing happened. I started enjoying the book. Instead of being intimidated by writing about people like Joseph and Hyrum Smith, I loved it. It was both inspiring and motivating to find great quotes I’d never read before—to introduce a man that could teach eternal concepts one moment and play stickball with the kids the next.

The story I didn’t want to write became one of my favorite projects. It’s funny how the things we dread the most can become the things that benefit us the most. So, what are your personal Ninevehs? What did you you dread the most, only to be glad you did?

And speaking of The Fourth Nephite, the book doesn’t come out until August. But I’ve been given a box of Advance Reader Copies for review. If you have a blog and would like to get a review copy, just post a comment and e-mail me your mailing address. I’ll give away twenty review copies to the first twenty people who ask for a copy.

I’ll also give away two copies to people who don’t do reviews. Again, just comment, letting me know that you’d like a copy but don’t do reviews and I’ll draw two names.