Right here in Gods vineyard

I picked up two ladies down in Vineyard from Sri Lanka via London England, who were heading up to Costco. I’ve never given a ride to someone from Sri Lanka before and we began talking about traveling. I didn’t know why but I felt I should find a reason to talk about religion and so I said, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints and I’m very devout so sometimes when I travel I look at the religious aspect of the places I go.

One of them asked me where the coolest place is that I have ever been that had a religious connotation. I said Cairo, Egypt.

She said, you’ve been to Cairo? What did you see there?

I told them that in Cairo I stood in the spot where I could see the Mohammed Ali Mosque. It is the biggest mosque in the world. I also saw one of the oldest synagogues in the world, built over the pharaohs daughters wading pool (Yes, the rabbi took us down there and I waded in the water). I also saw one of the oldest Christian churches whose foundation was laid about 78 A.D. by the apostle Thomas over the spot where Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived when they were in Egypt. It is less than 50 yards from the synagogue that had been there for 3000 years over the place where Moses was taken from the Nile.

I was blown away being there and I told them that it was really cool. She said, I love that! That’s amazing! I need to go to Egypt!

She said, I’m very religious too. She said that she was Christian and that Jesus Christ was very important to her. I said, as it should be! She said so you’re a Mormon? I said yes I am! She said, tell me what you believe thats different from what we believe.

I told them that we believe that God loves all of his children everywhere in the world no matter where they were born or when they lived. I told them that God not only loved all his children but his son had died for all of his children. They said, we know and agreed.

I said that not only did God love everyone he sent his son to visit many of his children. They said, what?

I said that in the Bible Jesus said other sheep I have which are not of this fold. I no sooner got that part out then they finished the scripture. I asked them, who was he talking about? They said, I had never thought about that.

I asked, who was he going to go talk to, teach, bless that had not heard his voice at that point. She said she didn’t know. I said well we do! And it is one of the main differences between our church and your church.

I said he came to America. He descended from heaven in glory and stood there while the people felt the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet. He loved them and he taught them. He blessed them and then he said that were still other sheep that we’re not of that land or the land of Jerusalem or the lands roundabout. Then he received a commandment from his father to go to them so they could hear his voice.

I asked her where they thought those other people were?

She said she had no idea. I said that Isaiah gives us a hint when he talks about the children of Israel being in Egypt, in Africa and Europe and Asia and the Isles of the sea which includes America and the rest of the islands of the world. I asked them if that sounded right and they said yes.

I told them we know this because we had prophets in America and they wrote down their revelations along with the account of the visit of Jesus Christ to America.

She said, is that your Bible? I said no! Our Bible is the same Bible that you guys use but we have the Book of Mormon which is another testament of Jesus Christ and it testifies of him. I told her that the Book of Mormon is the place where Jesus said he still had other sheep he had to go see. That book is proof that God loves all of his children not just his children in one little country and that Christ is the Savior of all of the world.

She said, I like this, I believe this. I told her that she believed it because she believed that God was her father and that he loved her and a loving father would be fair and treat all of his children with love not just the specific ones in one specific area. She said you’re right. I I told her that the Book of Mormon was true, that it was the word of God that it was prophesied by Ezekiel as the stick of Joseph. Ezekiel said that it would be a companion to the stick of Judah, which is the Bible.

One of them said that makes sense to me. I told them that the Book of Mormon teaches us about Jesus and testifies that the things the Bible said are true. She said again, I love this. The spirit was strong in the car I knew I’d been guided from the start of my conversation as to which way to take it to open these women’s hearts. I didn’t want to blow it and the spirit was telling me to talk about baptism for the dead.

I told them that God loved every one of his children like we talked about then I asked them what would happen if somebody wasn’t baptized. They said they can’t go to heaven. I asked them if their ancestors in Sri Lanka 500 years ago were baptized and they said no. I asked them if they got the chance to hear about baptism. They said no. I asked them if they could even possibly have heard of Jesus Christ and they said no.

I asked them if those ancestors could possibly go to heaven then not having been baptized. They said no. I asked them if this is just. They said no. I told them that this was another big difference in the way we believe and in the way they believe. I mentioned that in the Bible it talks about the ancient practice of baptism for the dead and that we do that today in our temples. They said that they were very familiar with that passage in the New Testament.

I told them that when we go to the temple we are baptized for and in the behalf of another person who has died. They said, wow. I said then that person gets a chance to accept this baptism and it is as if they had been baptized on earth, thus allowing them to go to heaven. I asked them if a loving God could possibly ignore all of his children that hadn’t been born in a favorable time or circumstance to receive the gospel? They said no, there’s no way the just and loving God that I believe in could just condemn his children. I said that’s right.

We were now sitting outside Costco and I asked them to just be quiet for a minute and tell me what they felt. The words came rapid-fire joy, peace, emotional and tingly. I told them that this was the spirit of God and that when you feel this you know that the things you’re hearing are true. They said that they knew it was true but they had never felt the spirit this powerfully before. I told them that it was because God was there testifying about his truth to them.

They said, this is really exciting. We love this We want to learn about your church. I asked if they had a Book of Mormon and the one sister said yes. The other glared at her sister like, why have you been holding out on me! I laughed. I asked if they had friends that were members of the church and the sister that had been here the longest said yes several. I told her to tell them about what she had felt in the car that day. She said she would.

Her sister piped in and said well, I want to Book of Mormon of my own and I want to go to that church. I love it when they’re so demanding. I got their information and took them over a Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists. The sisters contacted their friends that night. My expectation is that great things are going to happen.