A transformative desire to be clean

One afternoon I was driving in Provo and I got a call to drive a couple from the Walmart on the diagonal that used to be Albertson’s. I pulled up and the guy put the groceries in my trunk then got in the car while the girl with him was smoking her cigarette and taking her time talking to a guy that was collecting donations. When she got in the car she was a little unhappy  because he had been pressing her to hurry.  

We started down the road and she talked about the guy who was collecting donations. He was collecting donations for a drug rehab place.  I started driving towards the destination that they gave me. While we drove I talked about how neat that kind of drug rehab place was because of the alcoholism that was part of my family history. I said that I’m glad there are places like that.

Then I had the

prompting

to talk about the person who I

gave

a ride to the day before.

I have that story written down the title of which is “You know it’s good when grandma has your back”. It’s a miraculous story that shows how God reaches out in times of need. 

After telling that story to these to this couple I said how do you think I knew to say those words. The man with no hesitation and in a snarky almost angry voice said “God told you to say it “. That’s the correct answer but the tone was a distinct change from the tone that he’s been using in the conversation to that point. After making that statement, he shut down and didn’t say another word the whole ride. It’s almost like he was pouting in the corner.

The lady however started engaging in a conversation about that very topic. About how God would send his angels and his servants to save a specific person. I talked about how when the spirit whispers something for you to say, it’s very important to say it. I told her that right then I felt those prompting from God to tell her that he loved her too and that I felt like he wanted me to let her know that he saw much more in her than she saw in herself. 

I asked what she knew about the church and she said that she knew nothing. She had seen some missionaries in the mall where she worked and ask them what they were doing. They told her that they taught about Jesus Christ. She said she had wanted them to come teach her but when two different missionaries showed up she was confused and it did not go well. They never even started teaching. 

Clearly the two missionaries she saw were on P-day and did not cover the area where she lived which was a fleabag hotel right next to the mall. When the missionaries that cover that area got there she didn’t understand and not having been prepared she was off put a little bit that the first two didn’t show up

At this point we arrived at the hotel and her boyfriend got out of the car slammed the door and stormed off. When he left the spirit in the car changed Immediately from one of adversarial contention and objection to one dominated by the Holy Ghost. It was clear to me that her boyfriend was playing for the other team.  

I talked to her about how through reading the scriptures and praying God brings us close so that we can be his instruments and so that we can know how to help others and how to be helped ourselves. I said that we just can’t sit around and watch the world burn while saying I wish God would stop that. He expects us to get involved, grab a hose and start dowsing the fire ourselves. In helping others we find that we truly help ourselves.

I talked to her about the church and the good things that we do as a church. I talk to her about the Book of Mormon and how we have the fullness of the gospel. Then I testified of the truthfulness of that book along with the Bible and how it has the power to change lives. I testified of the Prophet Joseph Smith, called as a young man to restore God’s truth on the earth. I testified  about the importance of baptism and being clean and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. I felt the impact of the spirit on her as I testified.  

I mentioned to her that Jesus came to America and that when he did his followers here had already been baptized but when Jesus came they all touched the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet and then knelt and in one voice said the word hosanna which means God save us now. A plea from them to be saved and what God gave them was exactly that, salvation. He called 12, then gave them authority to baptize each other and all of the people, even though they had previously been baptized and believed in Christ. 

I told her that this baptism that they were instructed to do by Jesus himself was the baptism that we have today on the earth in our church. It’s how people become clean and follow God.  I told her that this is what those missionaries were doing and what they wanted to teach. They teach the  importance of coming to Christ and receiving this baptism so that we could have the next level of blessings that Christ has to offer to God’s children and is necessary even if they had previously been baptized. 

The spirit was very strong and tears were streaming down her face. She said that she wanted to be clean. She said that she wanted to know more. I asked her if I could stop by the following day and bring her a Book of Mormon so I could read her the scriptures that we had talked about. She said yes

She said she started work at 10 AM so 8:30 would be perfect. We set an appointment for me to be there at 8:30 the next day.         Side note… this is not easy if you were up till 4 AM the previous night driving hahahazzzzzzzzz. 

She asked me to text her a note to remind her of the appointment so that she could make sure to be there. She gave me her number and I sent her a text from my phone right then.  She got out of the car and said that she was so thankful that I had taken the time to discuss this with her. She was excited for the next day.

The next day when I went to her hotel room to take her the Book of Mormon, the maid was there and said they had checked out. They were gone and no one knew where they had disappeared to. I went over to her work to see if I could find her there and she was nowhere to be found in the store. I was resigned to the thought that I hope that there was a seed planted and someday it would grow.

One month later on a Sunday morning I got a text from this young lady saying that if I was still interested she would love to have me come over and bring that Book of Mormon. She gave me her new address and asked when I could stop by. 

I was so excited and said how about tomorrow morning at 9 AM. She said that was perfect. I then just bagged the whole texting thing and called her.  

She said that her ex-boyfriend had told her that if this was the direction she wanted to go that they were breaking up and he left within minutes of our previous conversation the month before. When he left she checked herself into rehab for a drug addiction that I had no idea about. Clearly becoming clean meant a lot of things to this young lady. Much more of a complete process than an event. She said that she wanted that copy of the Book of Mormon I had promised her and wanted to go to church. She asked if I could help her with that. She also mentioned she wanted to get access to the church’s seven step program. 

The next day at 8:30 I showed up at her door and was blown away by how different she looked. She was clearly trying to change her life.  She talked to me about her rehab and how that weekend she was going to go back to see her family in Arkansas now that she was off drugs. I talked about going to church and having the missionaries she was excited to get started.  I gave her the seven step program information and told her I’d spoken to the Bishop of her ward. He had told me that the stake had counselors that could help her with her addiction issues as well. She was really excited!   She said that she will never forget the power of the spirit she felt that day in the car and that it changed her life and gave her a new direction. She said that this thought had been her near constant companion during rehab.The Spirit of God will do things like that!

The following Sunday I went to church with her in her BYU ward. Her bishop is excited. She has already met the relief society president and the missionaries were there to meet her. Someday soon she will be getting that baptism of Jesus Christ so that she can finish becoming clean.