One Friday I had just started work. I got up into Salt Lake on the east side by the avenues so that I would be sure and get short rides. On Friday, you sure don’t want to be out on the freeways.
As I drove down the road, I got an opportunity for a ride. It was to South Jordan and I mean way out in South Jordan. That is like the most inconvenient place to go and I wasn’t going to go.
Once the ride shows up we’ve got about six seconds to accept it or not, I decided not to take it. The spirit insisted that I take it. Finally with about 5 1/2 seconds gone of six seconds I relented and took the ride. It turned out that I was going to the Huntsman Cancer Institute to pick up a mother and a daughter. The daughter was obviously having profound and aggressive cancer treatments.
The daughter was in her 20’s and they were Tongan. We started to drive and I was playing my music, ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, INXS and so on. The mom was commenting on how much she loved the music because that was her era.
She said that she was from Northern California and grew up on that music. I told them that my dad and mom went on a mission to San Francisco and they were really excited. The church has a huge Tongan community out there and she was very proud of it.
Then the spirit started talking to me and I knew that even though the mom talked like she was a member that she had separated from the church and quit attending. The spirit prompted me to know that she had been offended and left some time ago.
I decided to work into talking about the church by talking about my experiences working with Tongan missionaries in the MTC. Knowing they were members of the church I felt strongly that this would open the door to the conversation I knew we were supposed to have.
I told them about one time when I was serving in the MTC that there was an elder from Tonga who had been promised in a blessing by his stake president that he would be asked to sing throughout his mission, even in the MTC. The Lord wanted him to use his voice in his ministry. He didn’t speak English and he didn’t know how that would work. He was in his class relating this story when I walked by.
I was out gathering missionaries for a special choir. These were missionaries that were pre-approved and I was sent to get them. As I walked by I saw that Elder and he just glowed . The spirit told me to go in and get him and bring him to choir even though I didn’t know anything about music and I wasn’t in charge.
I went and knocked on the door, went in the room and said, I’m gathering missionaries for a special choir and he’s supposed to be in it. Everyone’s jaw hit the floor. Later that teacher told me the other part of that story but it was amazing how God grabbed that elder and put him in that choir to fulfill the words of the stake president.
The mom said, it’s good that you listened to the spirit!
Then the spirit laid out the program and just like every program in the church, we started with an opening hymn. I turned off INXS and went into my Vimeo and played my video of the Tongan missonaries singing, Folofola Mai ‘a Sīsū is a link to the song. I have shared it here before but here it is again https://vimeo.com/578265270
The spirit came over the car and started working on everybody. During the song several stories that teach principles came to my heart and I knew that I was supposed to share them.
I had the impression that the mom was a very proud woman and that this pride had been hurt by members of the church. I felt like members that were family had been harsh with her regarding this and I knew that a frontal attack was not the way to go.
I started talking about how much I loved that song and she started talking about how that song makes her cry every time. She said that song is the song that her father used to sing. She sang along with it too.
When the song was done, she said she loved music and that she is a member of the church which was her first declaration of that. She said, I am a member of the church but I don’t go and haven’t gone for a very long time. I like the church but I very much dislike the people.
There it was! The thing the spirit had told me. I said, that’s really hard! It’s a challenge to go to church when you don’t feel like the people want you there. It’s hard to go to church when you don’t feel like you belong. I said, I know what you are saying.
I told her that there was a time when someone in our ward told me that they wished I wouldn’t come because our kids were so noisy. What I did instead of quit was I went early every week to find out where they were sitting so I could sit behind them. I told her, I walk up to people that I know don’t like me and tell them I love them and they are great. I told her normally that changes everything.
I told her that I just can’t allow other people to decide whether or not I’m going to worship my savior. I told her that I’m not about to let other people take me away from what I know to be true.
I told them about my great grandfather. The stake president stole two of his horses so he left the church in protest. I told her that as of today over 100 years later that stake president’s family is likely serving God and are productive members of the society as well as faithful members of the church. I told her that on the other hand, the descendants of my great grandfather are mostly miserable drunken lost souls. I told them that it was a huge penalty my great grandfather paid for his pride.
I told them that today that president’s family has no idea about those horses but we still hang on to it as a justification. I said, it wasn’t a reason, it was a test and my family failed it. Satan got control and has been thrashing that family ever since.
I told them that God puts people in my car to receive messages. I told them that the spirit whispers to me the things to say sometimes. Almost always God puts people in my car so that they can hear that he loves them. More than anything he wants them to cling to him and his son rather than the bitterness, anger, hatred, and sin. I told them that when people are in the car, I feel the love of God for them, regardless of where they find themselves in their lives.
I told them about my father becoming active in the church once he got away from home, in the military. I said that God reaches out through other people to grab us and bring us back in if we will come.
I told them that God never leaves us and he watches over us. I shared the story of how God had protected me in my car. I told them about the guy that attacked me and God shocked him like he did Laman and Lemuel.
I testified about the importance of staying close to the spirit. I told them about the importance of the sacrament to me. I said that when I was on my mission in my first area I was overwhelmed. I have shared that story on here before. When I went to church that Sunday, my tank was empty and I didn’t know what to do. I told them that when I took the sacrament my tank and my soul were filled. Then I had the strength to go on.
I said that this was the hardest thing for me during Covid. The fact that I couldn’t take the sacrament was devastating to me. Along with losing my job, my financial security and many friends, the most devastating part was not being able to take the sacrament more than once a month.
I told them that God had commanded us to take the sacrament and there is a reason for that. I said, things don’t go well when you don’t take the sacrament.
At this time I realized I was going down a checklist of things the Lord had put in my mind to talk about so I kept going. I kept saying the things as they came to my heart.
I asked them if I could pray for the daughter. I said, you have no idea how much your father in heaven loves you and wants to bless you. I would love it if you would allow me to pray for you. She teared up and said yes and her Mom was tearing up as well.
Anyone reading this, her name is Sena and she could use your prayers in this cancer battle. I told her that her father in heaven loved her and that his spirit was there in the car. We could all feel the spirit. It started with the song and it hadn’t stopped.
Then I pulled it all together. I said, Heavenly Father put you here today to answer your prayers. He put you here today to tell you how much he loves you, both of you. He put you here today so that you can know that he wants to be there to help.
I asked, has she had a priesthood blessing? The mother lowered her eyes and said, no. The girl said, that’s right I haven’t! I looked at the mom and I said, you take her to church on Sunday and get a blessing from the bishop. This girl needs that priesthood blessing.
At the first of this ride the mother could not have been approached like that but as we drove the spirit worked on her. She became more receptive to suggestions and she embraced that. She said, I’m going to do that. I said, you go to church for you not to please other people.
I said, you go to church to build your relationship with Jesus Christ and your father in heaven. That is the purpose. You build relationships with whoever else might happen to be there as you serve them. If you build those other relationships that’s a bonus but that’s not the purpose. You go to church to fill your tank.
By this time they were both crying 10 times more than they were during the song which I thought was a lot. Then the girl asked , do you know why I’m crying so much? Just last night I was praying that God would send somebody to help me know what to do. I was praying that God would send someone to know how I could do better and get closer to him. God really did put us in your car today. I said, you know I don’t come out here on rides very often. I usually try not to. I almost didn’t come but the spirit insisted.
I felt like I was supposed to run down the list of miracles and challenges we discussed in the car so I did.
I said, the spirit insisted I take this ride because you prayed and God wants to bless you. This is how it happens. You prayed me into the ride.
When we played the song you felt the spirit of God and you felt the spirit of your grandfather in the car. She said, yes I did. How did you know that? I said, the spirit whispered it to my heart. I said, God wanted to tell you that he loved you so he sent me to say it.
I said, God wanted to tell you that you needed to have a relationship with him, regardless of the other things going on in your life or with other people in the ward.
He wants you to go back to church. He wants you to take the sacrament.
I said, God wants you to get a blessing.
I said, God wants you to come back. You’ve been gone way too long so he sent me here today. By this time their eyes were full of tears, the spirit was working in the car and working on the people in the car, everyone of us.
We pulled up in front of their house and the mother said, it’s time for us to go back to church. The daughter said, I’ve never had a prayer answered so specifically and powerfully.
They thanked me and got out of the car.
They went to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for healing but there was a whole lot more healing than that going on. They thanked me and got out of the car. As they were walking the daughter turned around and waved goodbye.
Sometimes God sends you a lift 