Mildred doesn't think she's holier-than-thou; she knows it. Her Second Blessing confirms it. She explains, "A Second Blessing is more than just doing right. It's the knowledge that you are pure. It's not thinking of yourself better than others, though you are, or showing it, though you do, since it's as natural as breathing. A Second Blessing is a gift shared with prophets of old and yet to come. It's not just having my name written in the Book of Life, but engraved." She believes this year's revival will be a disaster. Francis Paul Day, an ex-junkie, is the speaker. Plus he has the same christened names as her dead beloved son. And he's obsessed with her granddaughter. Mildred is determined to keep them apart, but exposing him reveals a family secret. Jonathan Swift said, "We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." Second Blessing ponders this truth.