Wednesday night is when they have college night at some of the nightclubs downtown. Drivers love to be downtown because you get lots of quick rides with bonuses even though it requires the ferrying of drunk College students back-and-forth from the clubs to their apartments.
One of the interesting things I’ve learned in taking freshmen who are inebriated from the clubs to their apartments is that a quality fake ID costs about $100. These are the things that we learn. I was driving along trying to scoop up as many of these wayward children as I could. I was right in the middle of downtown when I got a ride at 35th South 40th W..
The ride was supposed to go from 40th W. all the way out to the end of Magna which meant I was going to drive 15 minutes to pick this person up and drive him an additional 20 minutes. This happened at 1 AM right when the most profitable time in downtown had arrived.
I was torn and I was frustrated but I found myself driving out instead of canceling the ride. When he got in the car he told me that the previous drivers all canceled and I told him why it happened. I felt like elaborating on it so that maybe he would have pity on me and throw a tip my way. Then the spirit said to me, don’t you realize why you’re here? I suppose after all this time I should but I had only been thinking about my goals of the numbers of rides and the money I wanted to make.
I started looking for a way to introduce the church and I mentioned to him that I went on a mission. He asked me where I went and I told him I went to Argentina and he thought that sounded really cool. I assured him that it was really cool and that only the coolest missionaries went to Argentina!
I asked if he knew any members of the church and he said he knew a few. I asked what religion he was and he said that he was Catholic but that he really didn’t have the belief in the commandments like the Catholics did. He believed in God and Jesus but he thought that the commandments were a very personal thing that everybody should be able to decide on their own.
We talked about commandments. I talked to him about people who ignore the commandments and instead try to have fun but what they find is that in the process of having fun they lose the ability to feel joy and find happiness in their lives.
I talked about a drunk person I know who used to drink to have fun but then he became an alcoholic and he lost total control of his life.
He said fortunately he doesn’t drink much and that’s never been part of anything he wanted in his life. He’d always tried to be sober.
I talked to him about the people I know who don’t obey the law of chastity and because of that they lose their marriages or they have multiple children with different people and it ties them down instead of letting them be free. I told them him that if these people would obey they would have freedom and not be tied down by the consequences of their decisions.
I told him that it is truly like putting the fence at the top of the cliff instead of the ambulance at the bottom and that God gives us commandments because he loves us. I told him that each commandment steers us away from sadness, destruction and darkness.
I asked him if he knew what our church believes and he said no. I said for the most part we believe a lot of what the Catholics believe but much much more. I told him we believe that God loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem.
I told him that this is easy to see. I asked him to explain to me what the Bible was. He said it was a collection of revelations to the prophets. I said why did God give them revelations and he said because he loved them a the father gives instruction to his children. I said that’s right. I asked do you think God loved the people in ancient America? He said yes.
I said, would an all powerful God who loves his children have prophets for one group of children but no communication at all with others in different places? He said he never thought about that but that it was a weird concept. He said of course an all loving all powerful God would give instructions to all of his children.
I mentioned to him that in the Bible Jesus said “other sheep I have which are not of this fold” and that he was going to visit them because he received a commandment from his father. I asked, would an all knowing, all loving God who is all powerful visit one group of his children but not another group? Back in that day, there was no television , no satellite or airplanes would an all powerful God send his son only to visit a very few of his children? He said no, he would visit them all if he could.
I talked to him about how Jesus Christ came to America. He descended from heaven and the people worshiped him. They came forward and they touched the prints of the nails in his hands and feet and then they worshiped him again.
This young man was of Mexican descent but spoke no Spanish whatsoever. I told him, those were your ancestors. Jesus came to your ancestors. I told him God is the God of everyone not just those in Jerusalem and he loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem and he sent his son to them.
I told him that while Jesus was here he said still other sheep I have which are not of this land or the land of Jerusalem or the lands roundabout and that he had also received a commandment to go to them. I asked him who he thought that might be and he said the other people in the world.
I told him about a young man that I had in my car. We discussed Budda. He told me who Budda was. He said Budda was the son of a Great king who came and lived amongst the people. He taught them how to live. I asked my passenger who he thought that may have been and he said it sounds like Jesus Christ!
I told him that Joseph Smith was a prophet, called of God and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I told him that this is where we find these teachings. I told him that it contains the revelations and commandments that God gave to his ancestors as well as the account of the visit of Jesus Christ to America.
The spirit was really strong in the car. I could feel that he was basking in it and breathing it in. While he was enjoying it a light was coming on inside of him. I asked him what he felt and he said amazing! I feel like knowledge is filling my body. Then the spirit spoke to me and I said,in your life lately you have been had turmoil in your soul because someone has treated you very unfairly and very wrong.
I told him that when Jesus Christ suffered and died and was resurrected for us, he paid for our sins. Not only that, he suffered for all of the injustice, angst and all of the problems we have in our life. He felt our sicknesses and our frustrations. He made it so that we could look to him while we were suffering instead of being angry. I told him that anger forces people to turn away from God and that is what Satan would have us do. God would have us look to Christ instead of being angry.
He said how do you know this is going on? I told him that I don’t know but that God does. He said how? I said that when we are baptized we get the gift of the Holy Ghost that whispers to our hearts the things that we should say. I told him that God put him in my car tonight to get this message. I told him that this is the reason why I was pulled out of downtown during the most lucrative time of the night. I told him that to God he was much more important than money and he sent me to not only teach him these things but to help him understand the feelings he had his heart.
He said it’s crazy, it’s like an overwhelming amount of knowledge going off in my brain. I told him yes. I asked him how he felt in his heart right then, he said calm and overwhelmed with light. I said this is how you feel the presence of God and it’s how you know which things are true. When you feel that you know the things you’re hearing are true.
I asked him, do the things I’ve said to you sound true or not? He said they sound true and they feel true. I said that is because they are true. I told him Joseph Smith was a prophet and by the power of God he translated the Book of Mormon. I asked him if he owned a copy of the Book of Mormon. He said no, but asked where he could get one. I smiled and reached into the glovebox and handed him one of the Books of Mormon prepared by the Secrists.
I testified that today we have a prophet who leads our church and speaks with God for us.
I asked him who the people were that he knew who were members of the church. He said it was his brother-in-law. I asked, when will you see your brother-in-law next? He said Sunday! Family dinner! I told him that’s perfect. I asked him to do me a favor and he said what? I said, tell your brother-in-law about everything that we have felt and learned in the car today. He said he absolutely would but he wanted to sit in the car for a minute longer because he loved the feeling. I turned off the app so that he wouldn’t be charged and we sat there and talked about what it means to receive revelation and about God’s will.
Finally, he said I’m going to do this. He got out of the car and walked into his house. I drove off shamed and chastised that I didn’t understand the purpose of this ride earlier but I’m grateful that my Father in Heaven showed me. I’m grateful that he forgave me and got me back in the saddle that night. I’m grateful that this young man was receptive to the spirit and I have confidence that his brother-in-law will know exactly what to do.
Sometimes God sends you a lift 