Looking for his light

I was driving one Thursday night and picked up a young lady in Sugarhouse. She was from Michigan and we started talking about where she was from and what it was like there. She lived out in the country by Lansing but she liked it because it was close enough to the big cities that she had access to all the things she liked.

She said that she really missed Michigan. She said she was new here. I asked her what kind of work she did and she said she was here for a rehab program. Normally I would asume that she had drug or alcohol issues but the spirit impressed upon me that this was not the case.

Immediately I started hearing the spirit say that she was recovering from trauma suffered at the hands of others earlier in her life. She didn’t want to tell me anything at the time but the spirit was letting me know that I was supposed to talk to her about the church, the atonement, and the love of God.

First I asked her, is that really hard for you? She said, yes! I feel like I’m invisible. The spirit prompted me to tell her that I felt that she seemed a little bit out of place in her rehab program, like she didn’t fit in. I asked her if it would be OK if I prayed for her. She was startled and then said yes!

I talked about how I believe that prayer is powerful and that if we pray with faith, God can lift us, bless us, and help us overcome whatever obstacle confronts us.

She said, that’s great! I would love to have your prayers. She asked me if I was Mormon or Christian. I said, yes I am! I could see her eyes in the mirror and she looked puzzled for a second , and then asked, well, which one is it? I said, it’s both. I said as members of the church, we believe that the only name through which salvation can be attained is Jesus Christ.

I told her that Jesus Christ is the son of God and he prepared the way so that each of us can come home to our father. I told her that our belief in Jesus Christ gives us faith and hope when times are dark.

I told her the one thing she should always remember is that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father and she is very loved by him. I told her that before she came to earth she had a very personal and loving relationship with her father in heaven and she loved him. I told her that she loved this relationship and it was so important to her. I told her that her spirit still remembers what it feels like to be in his presence.

I told her it’s like when your mom comes in the room, you know who it is without even looking. I told her that her spirit has the same familiarity with the spirit of her father in heaven. I told her that we are designed to need that relationship so that we seek it.

I told her that in seeking to have that spirit with us it helps us do the things that we need to do so that we live like we should and be happy.

She said, that thing with my mom is very real. It’s like a huge vibe. I said, Yep! And you have that same kind of feeling with your father in heaven. When you came to earth, you forgot what it felt like but as you come in contact with it here, on earth, you crave it and you want it and you do the things you need to do to have it. She said, I could see that.

She asked me if we believe that there’s only one Jesus or that Jesus walked on the Earth? I said, we believe there’s one Jesus and boy did he walk on this earth!

I told her that Jesus did everything that they said he did in the Bible and we believe it. I told her that Jesus was crucified and then resurrected and we believe it. She asked me if anybody saw him, and I said yes! Hundreds of people saw him. I said they didn’t see him only in the accounts in the Bible but he went to other places too.

I told her that Jesus said other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, and that he had received a commandment from his father to go to them. I told her that Jesus was speaking of the people in America and other places in the world.

She asked me if this happened in New York in the 1800’s. I said, no but we will get to that in a minute! I love getting questions, sincere questions. I’m grateful that God creates an environment in my car where people feel safe and comfortable asking them. She said, I’m gonna have a lot of questions here because I am interested in learning about this. I smiled and I think my Father in Heaven did too.

I told her that God is the God of everyone and he’s an all powerful God. I told her that he’s an all loving God, who loves each one of his children, regardless of where they were born, the color of their skin or when they lived. I told her that he sent his son to save as many of his children as would be saved.

I told her that Jesus suffered for you and this is what we call the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told her that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected. I said that before this, in the garden of Gethsemane, he suffered all of the pain, injustice, infirmity, evil, and confusion that anyone will ever suffer. I told her that he did this so that we can learn to look to him and he can heal our hearts. I told her that he has the power to do that then I testified that he had the power to do that. The spirit was unmistakable in the car.

I asked her what she felt and she said it’s an incredible feeling. I told her that this was the spirit of her father in heaven and that it was in the car right now confirming to her that the things I had said were true. I told her to always remember this feeling and look for it so that she could know truth.

I talked to her specifically about the abuse and betrayal she had suffered in her life. I told her that when those people did those horrible things to her God was angry and hurt. I told her that his plan was for her to look to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ had already suffered the indignation and humiliation of her situation and that he was there to lift her burdens and heal her heart.

She said, you’re being very specific. There’s no way you can know these things. I told her that the Spirit of God whispered them to my heart so that she would know that the other things that I was saying were true. I told her that in life, God will lift us through our trials by the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I told her that this is how we learn to forgive others and ourselves. I told her that this is how we move on and become healed.

I told her that God loves all of his children and he’s not a regional God. I told her that when Jesus came to America and visited the people here he gave them baptism so they could be clean and the Holy Ghost so that he could walk with them.

I told her that Jesus loved them, blessed them, gave them power and authority to baptize and commanded that they be baptized. I told her that this is the same baptism we have today and when we’re baptized, we get the gift of the Holy Ghost so that it can be with us always. I told her that this is what she needs in her life. She nodded her head in agreement.

I told her that they had prophets in America who had prophesied of Jesus. They had written their prophecies and the account of the visit of Jesus to America on metal plates.

I told her that this is where the 1800’s come in. I told her that Joseph Smith was called by God to be a prophet. I said that he knelt and prayed and God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be a prophet. I told her that later he was given these plates. By the power of God he translated them. I told her that this is how we got the Book of Mormon. This is how we have this account that teaches us so many things about our relationship with our father and his son, Jesus Christ.

I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said no. I pulled out one of the Book of Mormon’s that the Secrists prepared and asked her if she would like one. She said she would love one. I read through the questions of the soul with her and several of them seem to strike a chord.

I told her that as she reads and prays she will feel the spirit of God like we had felt in the car. I told her that because of that she would know that it was true. I asked her if she had any friends that were members of the church and she said she had one that was a good member of the church that went every week. I asked her if she would go talk to that friend and ask her about this. She said she would do that absolutely! I told her that being clean through baptism and having this spirit as a companion would help her get right in her therapy. She agreed.

She said that this feeling she was feeling in the car was lifting her in a way that she had never been lifted before. I told her that God put her in this car. I told her that he put her in this car, he gave me the words to say so that she would know that I spoke his words and finally he had testified to her through the spirit that the things she was hearing were true.

She said that’s all true!

She said, I’m going through a really hard time in my life and tonight I see a light. She said, “I need this light right now”. She said, who knew that this ride would change everything. I thought, God knew. She said she would go in and call her friend and bounced off into the house.

I love it when our father lets me carry his light to his children. Sometimes they really need it. It’s fun to be a light delivery service!