I was picking up a rider up in Holiday and was taking him down by 72nd south west of the freeway. As I pulled up I saw a short man with a hair that was four different colors in stripes. He had some piercings and tattoos. I received the impression that I was supposed to start talking to him about the church but sometimes you look at the roughness of the character and you have to prayerfully consider your next move. The spirit said go, so away we went.
When he got in the car I found out quickly that he was very friendly and we started talking about things we had in common. He was from Puerto Rico and so I spoke some Spanish with him. He loved that I could speak Spanish. He asked me how I learn Spanish and I told him that I had served a mission in Argentina. He said, that’s awesome! I asked him if he had any friends that served missions and he said not that he knew of but that he knew some members of the church.
I told him that I love Puerto Rico and that I’ve been there several times. He seemed pleased.
I knew we had about 20 minutes so I jumped right in. I asked him if he had ever seen any missionaries in Puerto Rico, he said yes. I asked him if he knew what they did and he said no. I told him that they go when they’re 18 to 20 and spent two years, paying their own way teaching people about Jesus and helping people.
He said, I haven’t been to church since I was a kid. He thought that was am amazing thing to do. I asked him if he knew what they taught about and he said no. I told him that they teach about Jesus Christ and his atonement and how that blesses all of our lives. I told him that we have a prophet on the earth today and that there were prophets in America anciently. I told him that those prophets wrote their prophecies and we have them today. They are compiled in a book called the Book of Mormon.
I asked him if he thought God loved everyone equally all over the world and he said yes. I asked him if God would favor one set of children by giving them instruction while leaving out the others. He said he didn’t think so. I told him that’s why there were prophets in America so that God could bless and help his children in America. When I started talking about the prophets in America the spirit noticeably came in the car and I could tell that he was recognizing it.
I also told him that God had sent his son Jesus Christ to America where he blessed the children and taught the people. I told him that all of these revelations to the prophets as well as the visit of Jesus Christ to America was recorded anciently and translated by Joseph Smith. I told him we have the Book of Mormon which is that record.
He said, Jesus Christ coming to America? I have never heard of that! I described to him how in Latin America the tradition of the natives is that there was a bearded white God who came and blessed the people. He taught the people and he said he would return. I said, that’s who they were expecting when the white Spaniards showed up. I told him that it was quite different than what they were expecting and he laughed. He said, they missed that by a mile.
I told him the representations of this God are found all over in the hieroglyphs and ruins of Central America. I testified to him that Jesus did come to America and then he went to other children because God loves everyone.
I told him that Joseph Smith was called as a young man to restore the church of Jesus Christ on the earth because it had been corrupted. He interrupted me and said, yeah I totally believe the church has been corrupted. I told him that God didn’t use a faulty foundation to restore his church, he built it from the ground up through a prophet. I told him that Joseph Smith was seeking the truth, he wanted to find the church of God and he couldn’t find one that he believed had all of the truth. He read the Bible where it says to ask God and so that’s what he did.
He went to a grove of trees and knelt and prayed and God the eternal father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet to restore that church. The spirit was powerful and there was a quiet reverence in the car. I asked him what he was feeling and he said power and clarity. I told him that this was how he felt in the presence of God and how he knew truth.
I told him that the message of those missionaries is that people need to repent of the things they’ve done and make changes in their life to reflect the will of God and then they need to be baptized. He said, I’m Catholic! I’ve been baptized.
I asked, when were you baptized? He said that he didn’t remember it but that he knew he had been baptized. I told him that this was awesome and it showed that his parents loved God. I explained to him that when Jesus came to America everyone there had been baptized as well but that Jesus taught them his way of being baptized and gave them authority to perform that baptism. I told him that we have that authority and that’s how we baptize. I told him that it is a baptism that brings you to a new level, it brings you closer to God and brings you more blessings. I told him that just like Jesus Christ invited the people of America to be baptized, He was extending that same invitation to him.
Another wave of the spirit came through the car and I could tell that he understood the truthfulness of this concept. I asked him, did you feel that? He said, yes, it’s the same feeling I felt before. I asked him, what does it mean? He said, it means that what you are saying is true. The feeling just keeps intensifying as we talk.
I gave him one of the Book of Mormon‘s prepared by the Secrists. He took that book and looked at it. Now these books have colorful tabs and he laughed and said, this book looks like my hair! It’s got the same color as my hair does! I told him that the book was his and he asked me if I was sure, I said, yes, God put you here to receive this.
I told him that it is important to follow the spirit and seek the power he was feeling in the car that day. I told him that he needed to go to church where he could learn about taking the sacrament and making covenants with God, including baptism. He said, I would like that, but I don’t think I can do it because I have to work on Sunday.
I asked him, what time do you work on Sunday? He said that he works at noon. I told him that I was sure we could work that out. I asked him, if we can work it out, would you be willing to go? He said, absolutely!
We looked up the church he was supposed to attend and drove there. It was perfect! Church started at 9 AM on Sunday and was walking distance from his house. Then he said that after church he could walk down to his barber shop that he owns. He was so happy.
I bore my testimony of Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. I could tell he was feeling the power of testimony. I told him that he was put in my car to receive that message and that God wanted him to act on it. I told him if he would, it would change his life, make him a more happy person and provide the meaning and purpose that he felt he had lacked. He told me that this had been the most amazing ride. I called missionaries I know in his mission and got the phone number of the missionaries for that ward and I set them up.
What I know is that this day I saw the hand of God reach out and hug a child who barely remembered that he existed. You could see the love and you could see him desiring to have that love in his life. God is great! He led me to a golden contact under the rainbow (hair)
Sometimes God sends you a lift 