Looking for love in all the wrong places.

I picked up this guy at the 7-Eleven on ninth south and second east. He was covered in tattoos and had at least three piercings in each ear. He had been waiting for someone to meet him there but they didn’t show up. I asked him who he was waiting for. He told me a girl was going to meet him there. Then I got the impression that this was a clandestine meeting and his purpose was to break the 8th commandment. I also had a feeling that he was seeking this girl out not because of her divine nature but her willingness to comply with the carnal activities they had discussed.

I told him about the promptings I was having about the girl and who she was and why she was going to be there. He laughed and asked how did you know that. I said that I would tell him in a bit. Then I went on to ask another question.

I asked him what kind of girl he wanted to marry. He told me that he was getting to the point of life where he really needed a stable girl, someone thats not so crazy. I asked him of all the places he could meet a girl where it would be likely that he would meet that kind of girl, Online? In the bar? Or at church?!

He laughed and said I guess it would be pretty stupid to look at any other place than church isn’t it. I said, that’s my take on it!

We talked about his friend who helped him through the time when he was in prison. All of his other friends and family abandoned him but this one friend kept in touch, sent him money and helped him through. Now that friend expected him to be hanging out and available to party. He said it was a real quandary. He asked me what I thought he should do.

I told him he should go to his friend and tell him how much he appreciated him and didn’t want to disappoint him but that now he wanted to move in a better direction and would like his help in that as well. I told him to ask him for help and tell him what he could do to help.

I told him that very seldom are people offended when you first complement them and then ask them for help, thus recognizing their ability to be helpful. People genuinely like to be the guy who helps.

I asked him that if he was going to meet a girl in church what church would he go to. He said that in the past he had been a member of a Pentecostal church and he didn’t like that church. Since he got out of jail he didn’t have a church to go to.

I asked if he knew anyone who was a member of our church. He said that his birth father and his wife were members. I asked him if he knew what we believed. He said he didn’t have a clue. He asked me what was the difference between our religion and all the rest.

I told him that I believe that we were the original church of Jesus Christ. That original church had fallen apart. God called Joseph Smith to be a prophet to restore the church exactly like it existed when Christ was on the earth. I told him Joseph Smith was just like he was, looking for the church that was the true church and trying to find out for himself God‘s will. I told him when Joseph Smith knelt and prayed, God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet to restore the church. I also told him that the priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith and that this priesthood is the authority of God to act in his name. I told him that this authority of God was the thing that set us apart.

I told him that we believe that Jesus Christ loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem. I told him that in the Bible Jesus said that he had other sheep in the world and that he was going to visit them. I told him that we believe that he came to America and that these were his other sheep. I told him that his ancestors, here in America, were those sheep that heard his voice and felt his touch and were blessed by him as was their posterity. I told him that blessing rested on him and was waiting for him to claim it.

The spirit was pouring into the car and the testimony of the Book of Mormon was touching both of us. It’s always interesting when they know it’s true and then watch them discover how it fits. This is what happened next.

He told me that in his life he had studied much about the legends of the indigenous peoples of Central and South America. He was very well acquainted with the legends of culculcan and ketzacoatle. I told him that when Jesus Christ came he descended from heaven in glory. He blessed the people, healed the people and organized his kingdom, the church. He then ascended into heaven and said that he would return someday. I told him that this is what they were waiting for when Cortez arrived. Cortez took evil advantage of this and wiped out their civilization. The reception he received shows the level of love and faith in Jesus Christ that endured through the centuries even though the teachings did not.

I showed him some photography of ruins from Central America that prove their belief in our father in heaven and descending God(Jesus) and in a God with no body . God the father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. He was blown away.

The fact is that they were waiting for the return of a white bearded God who would descend from heaven.

He said the one thing he had done in prison was read the Bible. He said that he had read it over and over. He always asked himself why is it that Mormons can only talk about the Book of Mormon? He was touched by the fact that I had taught from the Bible. I told him that we all believe in the Bible, that it’s the word of God. I told him that we believe the Book of Mormon is also the word of God and it was translated by the power of God.

I asked him that if God was going to have prophets in America should they record their revelations and experiences? He said that he thought so. I asked him what the prophets did in the Bible and he said they recorded the revelations. I asked him then if prophets in America had revelations what should the prophets in America have done and he agreed that they should’ve recorded the revelations and experiences. I said that this is the Book of Mormon.

I also discussed Ezekiel 37 with him where it talks about the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph and how they would be united as one stick. I identified them as the Bible and the Book of Mormon and said that they testify of Jesus Christ which is their one purpose. This is why people use the Book of Mormon. It is another testament. Ezekiel proves we need another stick.

I told him that the thing he needs to get to in his life is that God loves him and he wants him to be happy. I told him that because of the things you’ve done you don’t feel like you deserve to be happy but that’s not what God thinks at all.

He asked about baptisms for the dead. He said he had read about it in the Bible and understood that we performed these ordinances.

We talked about all of the people in the world who have never had the opportunity to hear God or his words. I asked him if it would be fair to condemn those people without an opportunity. He said no. I asked him if someone 500 years ago in China had the opportunity to hear the gospel and he said no. I told him that in Peter it talked about Jesus organizing the teaching of the gospel to the people who died without its knowledge. This happened during the three days while he was dead. I told him that the other half of that work was baptisms for the dead so they could have the opportunity to accept the teachings they had received and the ordinance that had been performed on their behalf.

This is what we call baptisms for the dead. We do it in temples where we are baptized for and in behalf of another person and they have the chance to accept that. He said that’s cool.

That’s God‘s will, he said. Everyone needs to be baptized and now I understand how everyone will have that opportunity.

I asked him if he liked to read and he said he didn’t like to. He downloaded the Book of Mormon app. I showed him how on the app you can listen to the Book of Mormon. He got visibly excited and said, I can listen to this at work instead of my music! I told him that’s what I do. He said he wanted to know every word in the Book of Mormon.

We talked about baptism and how when Jesus came he commanded everyone to be baptized even if they had been baptized before and then they received the Holy Ghost . He told me something that surprised me a little bit, he said that he had never been baptized. I guess I thought because he was Latino that he would’ve been baptized as a baby but he said he’d never been baptized.

We talked about sin and how through repentance followed by baptism his sins would be washed away and he would feel clean. He would feel them leave and would feel the spirit fill his heart at his baptism. He lit up. He said that’s exactly what he wanted. I also told him that when we are baptized and are worthy we have the Holy Ghost in our countenance, we are more attractive and that should help him attract the kind of girl he said he wanted to find.

The spirit was strong in the car and he became a bit emotional. This young man hardened by his life and his time in jail was feeling the spirit of God and loving it. I asked him what it felt like, he said it felt really good but that it also reminded him that he had to make a lot of things right. I told him that this would be part of his process as he changes his heart and turns to God. Seeking to be in the presence of God will drive the change.

I told him he would need friends on this journey. He said he would reach out to his father and his father‘s wife for help. He said they would walk this journey with him. He said that he was going to listen to the Book of Mormon and pray every day.

He got out of the car, waved and went into his house.

This one could take a while, I told him he would have to have many interviews with some pretty high up people probably. He’s still on probation so we’ll see but he said that this is where he wants to go and he recognized the miraculous nature of our ride. He said that he was going to be in this for the long-haul. He said the spirit he felt in the car is the thing that he wants in his life and is the thing that he wants in his family when he meets that girl in church and marries her.