The difference is knowing who we are and who’s we are

One of the things I really enjoy is when people ask me the question, can you tell me one or two differences between the Mormons and the rest of Christianity?When I hear this question, I get really excited because it’s an opportunity to teach how much our father in heaven loves us.

One Tuesday night this happened to me. I picked up a guy from work on his way home. It had been a slow night and I was glad to get a ride. When he got in, he was cheerful and we started talking about where he was from. He was from Peru and I started speaking Spanish.

He asked me where I learned Spanish and I told him that I learned it on my church mission. He said, when I was coming back from Peru last time there were a bunch of missionaries from your church on the flight.

He said that they were very interested in Peruvian food in Salt Lake City and he was able to hook them up with all of the information. He said that they were really good kids and he enjoyed talking to them.

I asked him if they told him anything about the church and he said no. I asked him if he had any friends that were members of the church, and he said, yes, back in Peru but not here. I asked him if he had talked to any of them about the church and he said no, they kind of kept themselves.

Then he said, I think pretty much all the churches are the same as long as they teach about God. I said, it couldn’t be that they are the same because even though they all believe in the same God they teach very different things about God.

He said, really? What are the differences between the way you believe and the way the rest of the Christian world believes.

I told him that the foundation of everything we believe that is a bit different is that we believe that Heavenly Father is literally the father of our spirits. I told him that we believe that he loves each one of us and our spirits love him. I told him that this relationship is fundamental to anything and everything we do in teaching the church.

I said, for example, in Jerusalem, when Jesus was crucified and then resurrected, he taught his apostles that he would go to visit the other sheep and that he had received a commandment from his father that he go to them so they could hear his voice and be counted among his sheep.

I asked him what that meant. He said, well there had to be other people in other places that he was going to teach. I said, this was after he is resurrected so where do you think that was? He said, I don’t know.

I told him that because God loves everyone and he is the father of everyone he loved the people in America too. I told him that God had prophets in America and they received revelations from him. He interrupted me and said prophets in America? I said, yes, your ancestors had prophets here in America.

I told him that they received revelations from God so that the people could be blessed. One of the prophecies that they received through revelation was that Jesus would come to them. I told him that these people were taught and these people were baptized into the church. They were awaiting the arrival of Jesus Christ.

I told him that after Jesus’ resurrection, he came to America, he appeared in the heavens and he descended down until he stood in front of them. I told him that his ancestors touched the prints of the nails in his hands and his feet. I told him that his ancestors bathed the feet of Jesus Christ with their tears and they knew he was their God.

I told him that Jesus blessed them. Jesus blessed his ancestors, and he held them, and he loved them because God loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem. I asked him, if you were an all powerful loving father and you have children in a lot of places would you choose just the children in one small place to send your blessings to?

He said, no, I would bless them all! I said this is what God did! He sent his son. Jesus came and he stood before them. Then he taught them his doctrine which included an invitation that they be baptized. I told him that these people had previously been baptized but Jesus was bringing a new level and he invited them to step up to that level and accept that baptism.

I told him that he called 12 and gave them authority to baptize and instructed how this was to be done. I told him that he did it so that they could be clean. I told him that when we’re baptized we are clean and worthy so that we will be able to stand before God.

As I said this, the spirit powerfully testified of the truthfulness of the words I had said. I could tell that he was moved and I asked him what he felt. He said, I feel energized, I feel enlightened. I feel, in a strange way that I know that this thing that I’ve never heard before is true. I said, I know it’s true and what you’re feeling is the spirit of God.

I told him that God sends his spirit to confirm truth when it is spoken and that’s why he had this clarity and that’s why he knew that it was true.

I told him that Jesus came to his ancestors here in the Americas. When I said that he stopped me and said, you said that before, do you mean just in the United States? I said, no, Jesus went to visit God’s children in many places.

I pointed out the Book of Mormon says Jesus was going to visit his sheep that were not in the land of Jerusalem, or in that land, or the lands roundabout. I told him that we believe the Jesus went to many other places because God loved everyone not just the people in Jerusalem.

I told him that there are many cultures that have a belief in the son of God coming and dwelling with them and teaching them. I shared a couple with him and he said, that’s crazy!

I told him that when the prophets in America received these revelations, they wrote them on plates of gold. They were given to Joseph Smith, a modern prophet, to translate by the power of God. I told him that Joseph Smith was for the most part an uneducated man but he interpreted and translated the book by the power of God so that we could know what Jesus taught. I told him that the book is another testament of Jesus Christ.

I told him that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he was called by God to restore the church and that we have a prophet on earth today. I told him we believe in prophets because they reveal God‘s will to us.

He said, I love the way this makes me feel. He said, maybe this is why I ended up in Utah. Then he chuckled, but I wasn’t laughing because I knew that was the case. I told him that one of the things that’s so important about that book is that it teaches us what we’re supposed to do.

I told him that we as members of the church think it’s important that we follow Jesus Christ. He agreed with that fervently. I told him that what those missionaries on the airplane had been doing is that they were out teaching about Jesus and then baptizing people in the way that Jesus taught.

I told him that we have the same exact baptism that Jesus taught his ancestors. I told him that goes baptisms are performed by that same authority that Jesus gave those 12 men. I told him that these missionaries had been out doing this and inviting people to accept that invitation from Jesus Christ to be baptized.

I told him that when people are baptized they become clean. They’re clean and pure to stand before God. I asked him what he thought about that and he said, that is beautiful.

I asked him if he knew any people that were members of the church. He said he knew people at work that said they went to church but he didn’t know if they were members of our church. I asked him if it would be OK if I had some missionaries come over to see him and he said, yes.

He told me that he has Saturdays and Sundays off which is perfect. I told him that I would have missionaries call him this Saturday and set up time that they could come by. We looked up where his chapel was and the meeting time. His met at 11am. He was excited to go.

He said, you really do have something different and I want to know about it! I reached into my glove box and grabbed one of the Book of Mormons prepared by the Secrists, and I gave it to him. He was touched, he said, do you mean I can have this? I said, yes! It’s yours.

He said, I love to read. I’m going to read it, I promise. I told him that he needed to pray for the spirit of the Lord to be with him when he read it and that he needed to pray to know that it was true. He said that he would. He said he always prayed!

He got out of the car and started walking away. I felt like I had to testify one last time. I rolled down my window and I said,hey! Come here. He came over. I said, do you still feel that feeling and he said yes. I said, that feeling is how you know that the church is true, and that this is the right thing for you. I told him this is how you know that you need to be baptized. I said, this is how you know that the book is true.

He said, I know this is true. The spirit is pounding in my heart. He said, I can’t wait to get started and walked into his house.