Everyone has to pay the price

One thing I am finding is that there is a tremendous amount of animosity towards the church in some circles and many people hide any affiliation with the church especially if they’re less active.Many times people will ask me if I’m a Mormon and when I say yes they tell me they’re surprised that I said yes. They tell me most drivers won’t say yes even if they are because they think it will cost them tips. It may cost you tips but I promise you it will always inspire a conversation.

One night I was up in the avenues and got a called to pick up a young man. I arrived and he got out and took his seat in the car. He was a student at the University of Utah going out to a party with some of his friends down by 7th E. and I-80. He was from California and I asked him if he liked it here as opposed to California. He said yes, that he liked the freedom of hanging out and partying with his friends.

I asked him if his parents missed him, he said that they were happy to have him go to Utah because they were hoping that he would meet up with some members of the church and gain a testimony.

He asked me if I was Mormon and I said yes. I said you are too right? He told me that his parents were Mormon. I asked him if he had been baptized, he said yes. I told him, then you are a Mormon too. He said that he did not go to church anymore and therefore did not identify as a Mormon.

He laughed as he said that and let me know that he had no intention if getting anywhere near the church. I asked him why he had so much animosity towards the church. He said that he really didn’t hate the church but that he couldn’t understand why his parents would be so devout. He said that it was a total waste of time. He told me that he had gone all the way through the Aaronic priesthood and attended church every Sunday with his family but those days were over now that he was at college. He didn’t believe that any of it was true.

I asked him If there was anything in the church that he thought was good and that he would want in his life on a permanent basis. He thought for a good 2 minutes and then he said, he liked the organization and family orientation of the church. He said that this allowed his family to be raised in a peaceful way. He thought the sense of community that the church shares was a big positive but other than that he doesn’t believe.

Then I asked him why his parents were so devout, why they went to church, and why they had taken him to church even though he didn’t want to go. I asked him if he thought that was easy for them, and if not, why they would fight that battle every week.

I asked him if he believed there was a God. He said that he did believe there was a God but that he didn’t know which of all the churches were true and that it seemed kind of arrogant to say we had the truth.

I asked him this question, do you want to know why your parents would go through all of that hassle to do all the things the church requires, spend every Sunday in church, and try to fight you to get you to go? Do you want to know why they would go to all that trouble?

He answered immediately, yes! He said that he had always wondered why they didn’t just quit hassling him given all of the attitude he threw at them.

I told him that it was because they knew that it was true. They knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, they knew that God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. They knew that the Book of Mormon was true, they had read the book and God himself had given them a witness it was true. They knew that we have a prophet now that speaks with God and because they knew these things they were willing to do everything in their power to bring their family back to God with them.

I told him that his parents paid the price and by paying the price they got a testimony that to them is much more important then any treasure because it means that they and their family can live with God. I told him that his parents put in the work and sacrifice to have this knowledge.

I asked him, do you know how they knew? He said no, how? I said they’ve read the Book of Mormon and they prayed. God confirmed through his Spirit to them the truthfulness of these things. It steeled it in their hearts and made it so that the gospel was not optional or negotiable to them.

I asked him if he’d ever read the Book of Mormon? he said no! I asked him if he had ever fasted and prayed to really know if the church was true? He said no. I asked him that given those answers, if he had paid the price to know if it was true, he said no. I asked him if given the fact that he hadn’t paid this price was it fair for him to say that it wasn’t true. He said I guess it isn’t.

I told him that I had the impression when I saw him sitting there waiting for me that this was what he was pondering. That he was considering religion and the truthfulness of the church, he said that it was and asked how I knew that. I told him that the spirit just gave me that prompting.

I asked him if he wanted to find out if the church was true, he said yes but that he was a little afraid of the answer. He didn’t want to interrupt his lifestyle. I told him that even though he hadn’t received an answer he had a good idea of what the answer would be. I told him that his whole life he had been around the spirit and that now his spirit missed that association. It was starved for it.

I bore my testimony to him of the truthfulness of Joseph Smith and that he saw God the father and Jesus Christ and they called him to be the prophet. I testified to him that the Book of Mormon was the word of God and that we have a prophet on the earth today. I testified to him that his parents were praying for him and that God was hearing their prayers. I told him that this is why people kept coming into his life and bringing up the church and bringing those feelings back to his heart from his childhood. He looked shocked and said ohhh, that makes sense now.

I told him that God had a plan. The spirit was really strong in the car and he was silent. I asked him what he felt. He said his heart was about to burst. I told him that this was the spirit of God trying to bring him home

Then he raised his head, looked at me and said “this has been the most amazing ride”. “Everything you said is true”. I told him that I knew that it was the word of God.

I then said that I felt by the spirit to tell him that God knows who he is and where he is and loves him very much. I said that I felt to tell him that next year when he’s sitting in church with a testimony he would think back on this day in this car and the spirit we felt. I told him that today God has sent you a message that you will use to begin your journey to gain a testimony. He said “I know that’s true and I need to change”. “I need to put in the work and I will.” He told me that he felt like I was sent by God to him that night and that he was willing to pay the price.

He got out of the car, waved, gave me a good tip and walked into his friends house. I’ll bet he didn’t drink at the party!