Get in the game

I picked up a guy at the University of Utah hospital who was in a wheelchair. Wheelchairs are dicey because you have to worry about how to fit them in your car or if they will even fit in your car. These rides are kind of a pain and a lot of times they put you in a bad mood. This guy got out of his wheelchair and into the car. I went to pick up his wheelchair and I found it was no lightweight wheelchair. It was 50 pounds! Not that I can’t lift 50 pounds, I can lift 50 pounds easy but when you’re expecting 15 ponds it comes as a shock. I picked it up and put it in the back of the car and we started off.

I noticed that this gentleman had use of his arms and legs, but he had a colostomy bag and seemed he quite weak. I think this is the reason why he had the wheelchair. It seemed like a top line wheelchair and he said he got it from Thailand or something like that.

Anyway, we spent some time talking about his situation. He had been in a coma for almost 18 months. He said that it wasn’t really a coma because he could remember hearing everybody and knew exactly what was going on but he couldn’t respond and they called a coma. One thing was for sure, he couldn’t move anything, he couldn’t open his eyes and he couldn’t speak for that whole time.

During that time his wife decided to divorce him. She got a no-fault divorce and sold everything they owned. She used the money from the sale to purchase a home in Maine and moved there knowing that by doing this, he would be totally out of the picture.

When he came around, he couldn’t remember the 2 years of his life before the hospitalization. He couldn’t remember a lot of things and so he’s learning them bit by bit while he gains strength. This is why he was in the wheelchair and this is why I picked him up at the hospital. I took him to his friend’s apartment because he had no other place to go.

He said that his wife moved to Maine because that way she could keep the kids away from him. She’s in a small town in Maine and she’s getting ready to start a Satanic club for kids. She seems to be a piece of work.

He said she is working full-time to turn those kids against him and in his condition he has no ability to confront or object. This was his situation.

I listened to him tell his story and all I could feel was God saying, he needs to know that I love him. He needs to understand the atonement. I felt rebuked for being in a bad mood and not being more perceptive to the spirit and compassion that should accompany a member of the church. The spirit sternly warned me to “get in the game”. When he got done telling me these things and after I had heard these words in my heart, I started to speak.

I told him, you need to get close to God. If you are close to God, it will change everything and give you an opportunity to have your family.

I had wondered what religion he was and I didn’t think it really mattered at that point. I told him that Heavenly Father is our father and he loves us and we are hardwired to the feeling of his presence in our lives. I told him that we crave that feeling and it makes us feel whole and it makes us feel better.

I asked him what religion he was and he said, kind of non-denominational. I asked him if he believed in God and he said, yes, I do. I told him, God loves you. God wants me to say to you that he loves you and that he’s given his son, Jesus Christ, so that you don’t have to suffer as much. He looked puzzled and said what do you, mean by that?

By this time I was getting promptings of things to say so I started saying them. I said, that same spirit that you’re hardwired to feel and desire and crave is the thing that can bring you together with your children someday.

I said, as you change your life and embrace God and his son, Jesus Christ, that spirit will be around you and in your countenance. When your children come to see you, they will feel that spirit and desire to be in the presence of that spirit. They won’t even know what it is, but they’ll know that they like it and they’ll know that they want to be around it.

They’ll know that they feel good in your presence and therefore they will want to be around you. I said, I feel like they’re probably already pushing away from the lies and evil that their mother is doing. He said, yes they are. They ask me questions all the time about what’s going on with the things she’s doing.

I told him that the spirit had let me know that this was the case. I felt prompted by the spirit to promise him in the name of Jesus Christ, if he would do the things I say, if he will go to the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, talk with the bishop and do the things he says, the spirit will be with him. His children will not be able to deny that.

I told him that this is real and that God loves him and wants to help. I told him that God knows what he’s been through and he has given him help.

I said, the atonement of Jesus Christ was the greatest gift ever given, and the only way we can make it through life in one piece. I told him that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be made clean through repentance and then we can have Jesus lift our burdens so that we don’t feel them as much. I asked him if he would like to have Jesus lift his burdens. The spirit was very strong in the car. I asked him if he could feel that and he said yes.

I asked him why he hadn’t let me know that he was a member of the church. I asked him why he said that he was non-denominational. He said that his life had just been really messed up and he had lost some faith. I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the church and told him that the atonement was the way that he could put himself in the position that he needed to be in.

I told him that it seems to me like his wife was making accusations about him that could not possibly have been true because he was in his coma. I told him that I felt like that was weighing heavily on him. He said, that’s right, that’s exactly what is happening. He asked, how did you know? I told him that the spirit of God, the Holy Ghost whispered it to my heart. I said, you remember the Holy Ghost?

He said, yes, I’ve been feeling it in the car. I told him that this message is for him and that he needs to understand that God can lift him through these burdens. God can help him with his family and that the only way he can be happy is if he surrounds himself with the love of God and uses the atonement to heal his soul and his heart.

I told him that in the Book of Mormon, there was a people that were with Alma. I told him that they were captive. He told me he knew the story. I told him that those people called upon God and accessed the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told him that the result was that their burdens were lifted to the point that they could barely feel them. I asked him if that sounded like a blessing he would like to have. He said, yes

I told him that since Covid, I lost my job and things have been really tight but I have relied on the atonement of Jesus Christ. It has made the situation bearable and helped me be happy while I worked this job.

I told him that because I’m happy God has given me ways that I could serve him by testifying.

He said, I really appreciate your testimony because it’s made all the difference for me today. He said, no one has tried to help me. I asked him if he knew where his ward was and he said, yes. I asked him where he needs to be this Sunday. He smiled and said, at church. I asked him if he would promise me and the Lord that this Sunday he would go to church and talk to his bishop.

I told him to lay out the whole thing to the bishop and let him know what’s going on so that the bishop could help. I told him that part of the way the atonement might work in his case is through the bishop and the hands of others the Lord sends to bless his life.

He promised me that he would go. I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon and he said, yes. I asked him how long it had been since he read it and he said, years. In fact, he said he remembers stories from the Book of Mormon but he doesn’t remember reading it for those 2 years that he lost. I told him it’s time to get in the game, t’s time to read that book.

I told him that when he reads that book he will feel the spirit of God, the peace of God and the love of God.

I got out the car and got his wheelchair and got it set up and got him in it. He was ready to go, but I said, in the Book of Mormon, do you remember when they talked about, the fiery serpents that were venomous? He said, yes. I said, Moses lifted up a bronze serpent for everyone to look at. If they they had been bitten and looked at it would be saved, and if not, they would die.

I told him that horrible things happen to people in this life and he knows this better than most. I told him that what is happening is a spiritual battle as well. Satan is there telling everybody to blame God, leave the church and be angry! God is pointing to Jesus, the bronze serpent, and saying look to Jesus. I told him that if we look to Jesus, we will live.

He apologized to me for not saying that he was a member that church in the first place. He said, I failed that test. I could see the pain in his eyes and I said, well, now you know and it’s time to look at the serpent and live. He said, I will never deny it again. He said, I’ve never felt the spirit like this in my life that I can remember. He said, I know for sure that God sent you here today to lift me up and give me hope.

Once again he thanked me for my testimony and promised he would go to church, meet with the bishop, pray and read the Book of Mormon. He said, after all this despair, I see a light and a pathway forward. I should never have doubted and I will never do it again.

Sometimes we are wounded in our hearts, in our souls and in our bodies all at the same time. The only hope we have for a full recovery is the atonement of Jesus Christ. By the way, one thing I noticed was that the wheelchair was lighter when I pulled it out of my car. It’s all about our attitude and whether or not we’re looking to Christ.