A mothers prayer

I don’t know how familiar you all are with Salt Lake City but there are some places a young woman should not be alone at 2:30 in the morning. One of these places is on North Temple a block and a half west of Redwood Road. One morning at 2:30 I was driving home for the night when I saw a call to go to that location. The debate was on! I had earned the money that I needed to that day and I was tired but I was also compelled by the spirit to take this call so I did.

I pulled off North Temple and drove down a sketchy looking path. I’m always hesitant to go down these paths because they’re filled with drug dealers and various levels of ne’er-do-wells. Sketchy is a kind word for this area.

As I drove down the alley trying to find this young lady I was wondering what kind of situation I was going to encounter and if it was a set up to rob me. All of a sudden a young lady popped out. She was in her 20s with long blonde hair and she had her hands over her face. She opened the door and got in and I verified her name to make sure I had the right person. She was sobbing uncontrollably and shaking violently.

I started to drive and try to calm her down. I told her if she was cold I would turn up the heat. I assured her that the rear seat warmers were functioning and that they were a priority of my wife. Nothing I said would calm her down.

I prayed in my heart to know the words to say so that I could help this young woman. If she had had something terrible happened to her, it was important that we take the proper actions. I noticed she didn’t have a mask and Offered one to her which seemed to calm her a little bit but she was still shaking and crying. When I handed her the mask she grabbed my hand firmly and I held onto her hand. It seemed like she was holding on for dear life.

As we drove down the road she said go faster get me out of here and I did just that still having no reference as to what had transpired earlier in the night. I asked her what kind of people she had been with and she said that they were really bad terrible people. She told me that they hadn’t raped her or sexually assaulted her but that they had abused her and they stood over her and screamed at her. She was a total mess.

As we got further away she began to calm down and let go of my hand. At this point my shoulder was in bad shape because I was reaching into the backseat from the front seat and my shoulders are not what they used to be. She said that they had been manipulating her words and trying to cogerse her into doing something she didn’t want to do and take away her ability to choose. I preceived at the time it had something to do with drugs and her not being willing to go along with the program.

I asked her why she surrounded herself with those people and how it made her feel. She said that she didn’t feel like she was good enough to be around better people and that she was a bad person. She said that she was irredeemable. I asked her if she had killed anyone, she said no! Never! I asked her if she was a member of the church and she said no. I told her that regardless of whether or not she’s a member of our church she should understand that there’s nothing she could be experiencing or going through at that time that would put her out of the reach of the Saviors grace, love and understanding.

I told her that every negative thing she was then suffering had been suffered previously by the Savior and he could relate to her, help her and lift her. When I said these words it was as if clouds parted. I felt the spirit surge through me as I testified of the atonement of the Savior and how he makes everything right if we will look to him. He heals our souls and our hearts if we look to him. When I testified I noticed that she was responding and feeling the spirit too. I asked her to tell me what she felt. She said warmth, hope and peace. I identified that to her as the spirit and told her that this was God letting her know that what I was saying in the car that night was true. She agreed and said she knew it was true and believed the things I said.

I asked her what she felt when she held my hand, she said safe,gentle strength understanding and kindness. I told her that as a member of the church we take upon ourselves the name of Christ and when we act with the spirit we become his hands and his voice. I told her that the feelings she felt we’re not feelings from me to her but from God to her that he had sent me there to rescue her that night and we weren’t done yet, because he had also sent his Son to save her soul.

I felt impressed that this young woman was a member of the church and I asked her again are you sure you’re not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.? She said no I’m not but all of my family is. Then I said so in other words you were baptized a member of the church and just became inactive. She said well, I guess that’s right.

This seemed to fit this girl. I saw in my mind a mother at home praying for God to intervene to save her daughters life just like Alma had prayed to save Alma the younger‘s life. I soon realized the sacred trust the Lord had placed in me to be the rescue sent for her daughter.

So of course I felt like I should speak more about Alma and his experience with his brethren. I told the story about how his father had prayed and the angel had struck them down until they looked to God and realized that it was only through his power that they could be relieved of their agony, their pain and their sufferings from their sins.

I said that when you were a kid these were just stories you heard but now you’re living in a real life situation that parallels the Book of Mormon and I guarantee you your mom is home right now praying for you to be rescued. She teared up and started to cry again but different tears, not tears of fear but tears of love for her mother. She said that she was sure her mother was up.

I talked to her about all the bad things that had happened to her could be rectified through the atonement and she said “God doesn’t want me “ I taught her about the parable of the prodigal son and how even though he had blown his inheritance and everything his father had given him in riotous living and disobedience his father received him with open arms, killed a fatted calf, celebrated his return and gave him an inheritance.

I talked to her about the young man in this blog from a few weeks ago. His story is entitled the prodigal son. I mentioned the details of his story and how similar they were to hers. She was touched. She said how could Father in Heaven forgive like that. I said because he loves you. I asked her to think about her nieces and nephews. I asked if she loves them and she said very much. I asked her what she saw when she looked in their faces. She said love, beauty and innocence. I asked her if they could possibly do anything that would make her hate them and not want to help them, she said no. I said “now you have the smallest understanding of how your Father in Heaven sees you. When I looked back at her I saw a light of innocence in her face that wasn’t there before and could tell that she was feeling the Father’s spirit on her heart The spirit was strong and I asked her what she needed to do after recognizing this spirit and the presence of God. We decided she was going to pray that night and go talk to her bishop because she had been baptized so long ago.

I asked her if she knew who her bishop was, she said yes, he’s my next-door neighbor. She said she got along with him really well. I said that’s great! He’ll be overjoyed to have you come see him.

When we pulled up to the house the lights were on, she teared up and said see my mom is up praying for me. I said go in and talk to your mom about everything you felt and learned tonight. And I’m sure she’d love to go with you to church on Sunday.

Let her know that her prayers have been answered.

Now she had a huge smile on her face and almost floated into the house.