Candle in hand, Zina opened the door of her dark bedroom. In the dim light, she could see the four black shapes protruding from under the big, hard-carved wooden bed. They were sarcophagi, each containing the mummified body of an ancient Egyptian—enough to frighten the sleep out of any teenage youngster.

But Zina was not to be frightened by a few mummies, Egyptian or otherwise. She set her candlestick down on the chest of drawers, matter-of-factly dressed for bed and went to sleep wondering if the permanent sleepers beneath her had been nobles or kings or just ordinary folk like herself.

The four sarcophagi had been placed in the Huntington home for safekeeping. Apostates and other enemies of the Church in Kirtland, Ohio, were attempting to attach all Church property.

To protect the mummies from seizure, they were removed from the temple and stored under Zina's bed. These were the mummies purchased by the Church along with the hieroglyphic manuscript of the Book of Abraham