We believe that too

One day I picked up a guy up at the University of Utah engineering building. I pulled through the parking lot and saw him standing there. He was a well-dressed man in a nice suit. He was from India and had been lecturing or giving a presentation that day.

He got in the car and we started talking about how his presentation went and I asked him what he thought about the area. He said that he thought it was beautiful and that he loved taking pictures from campus. It’s really nice from up there, you can see the whole valley and he was enjoying it.

I told him that I live down by Provo and he said that they had other people in their company who were going to BYU. They go down there to lecture so he had never been able to do that. I talked about the difference in the mountains between salt lake and Provo and the drive down Provo Canyon, which I think is gorgeous. It never ceases to amaze me, the high percentage of people that I drive from Salt Lake that have never been down to Provo Canyon. It’s like on the other side of that mountain, Point of the Mountain. They know there’s something down there but they don’t care to go see what it is.

I asked him what he was going to do tomorrow and he said that they were going to go to the parks in southern Utah. I told him that they would be driving through Utah County and they should go up Provo Canyon, it would only take a few minutes. He told me that they had all day and that might be a good diversion and he thought that was a great idea.

I asked him what else he wanted to see while he was here and he said that he wanted to see some of the more important historical things and asked if we could drive by any on our way back to his hotel. I knew exactly where I was going to drive.

I drove straight past the city county building on State Street, mentioning it briefly and headed towards Temple Square. When we got to the Lion House and the Beehive House, I told him that those were Brigham Young‘s houses and he thought that was really cool.

With him being an engineer, I pointed out that the temple was being retrofitted for protection during a seismic event. He thought that this was cool and he was very interested to see the temple. He said that when he was young, his family had gone to the temple and heard the Tabernacle Choir.

I pointed at the tabernacle, and said well, if you heard the Choir, it was probably in that building because the temples are special places. I asked him what he knew about our church and he said that he knew us to be people who believed in family. I told him that this belief starts in that building.

I told him that when Jesus was on the earth, he gave Peter the power to seal things on earth that will be sealed in heaven. We believe that because of this power, families are sealed and marriages are for eternity not just until death. I told him that this gives our families more power in our marriages and more lasting joy.

He said, you know, we believe in my Hindu religion that marriages last beyond this life as well. He said, I’ve never heard anyone else say that, but I think it’s obvious that this should be true.

I have to admit almost complete and total ignorance to the beliefs of the Hindu faith so I decided to take his word for it. I said, when Jesus was on the earth, he organized the church with all of the teachings. As his apostles were killed, and as he was killed and resurrected the foundation of the church crumbled. It fell and broke into pieces. It was like a mirror, falling off a wall. The people grabbed parts and took them because they were important to them.

I told him one of the parts of the church as it existed when Jesus Christ was on the earth was eternal families and marriages sealed for eternity. I told him that we have that piece and we have the whole mirror.

I explained to him that after Jesus Christ was resurrected he came to America and to the people here. Then he said, other sheep I have which are not of this land or the land of Jerusalem, or the land roundabout. He said that he had received a commandment to go to them, and that could be why you have the teaching of eternal families.

He said, oh, I know about this! I was a little shocked. He said, we believe that Jesus Christ came to India. I’ve been taught that all of my life. He said, most people believe he came to India during the 33 years before he taught in Jerusalem but I could really see how it could be that he came after his resurrection like this.

I pointed out to him that the gospel was an extension of Heavenly Father’s love for all of his children, and that God loved all of his children not just the people in Jerusalem. I said that he sent his son to many of his children in different places all over the world. He said, this makes total sense. I mentioned that Isaiah discussed many locations where Jesus would go. He said, I believe he came to India.

I said, one of the things that Jesus taught in America was that everyone needs to be baptized. I asked , were there a lot of people in the history of India that weren’t baptized? He said yes. I said that Christians believe you need baptism to go into heaven. I asked him if that would be fair? Would a loving Heavenly Father excluded the people from India because they hadn’t been baptized. He said, no! Not a God I believe in!

I told him that when Jesus was in the spirit world for three days after his crucifixion, he taught and organized the teaching of the gospel to the people who died without hearing the fullness of the gospel. The other thing we do in the temple is we are baptized for those people.

I told him that we go to the temple and are baptized for our family members. He said, that’s amazing! It’s so cool that you can provide that baptism for your ancestors. I said, not just for ancestors, but for everyone who has ever died. I told him we are about doing that work. I told him that everyone of God’s children will have a baptism and the opportunity to accept it, or reject it.

He said, it has to be that way! He said, you know, I believe in a loving God. He said, you know, I also believe in one God.

He said in Hinduism they believe in many gods, but he always believed that there was one God and had a hard time justifying it. He didn’t know how they got to the point where they worship so many gods but he knew that there was one God.

Motivated by this, I told him that Heavenly Father sent his son Jesus to save us. I said, I believe that Jesus was sent to your people, and some people there were really great leaders, maybe even prophets amongst his ancestors and they did really amazing things to worship God. I said, these people were close to God. Overtime the masses begin to reverence these people with such high esteem that they deified them.

He said, that could be!. I said, it’s much like the Catholics have their Saints, who have been so elevated to the point that they are almost gods. They believe that they certainly have more power than men. They are dearly loved figures in many aspects. He said, that makes sense, but there is only one God and they need to accept that. He said, “this explanation makes so much sense to me”.

I told him that in the Book of Mormon they had prophets too. Prophets who prophesied the words that God gave them and taught the things that God would have them teach. They wrote down these teachings and that is why we have the Book of Mormon. I told him that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and a testimony that Jesus Christ loves everyone and that Heavenly Father is the God of everyone and loves everyone. I told him that we have that book today.

I told him that those prophets wrote their prophecies on plates and Joseph Smith received those plates and translated it by the power of God.

I stopped and bore my testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet that he saw God the father and Jesus Christ, and that the Book of Mormon was true. The spirit was in the car and it was strong. This man was having the truth verified to him of the things that he had been taught by the spirit throughout his life. I wasn’t teaching that much new to him because he already believed these things. The spirit was confirming them to both of us. As we pulled into his hotel, he said, this has been amazing! I’ve never felt this alive and my brain is firing with thoughts and questions. I told him that this thing he was feeling was the spirit of god. I told him that God had sent his spirit so that he would know that the things I had said were true.

I reached into my glove box and pulled out a Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists and I gave it to him. I said, this book is the one that was written by these prophets. I told him that this book taught that Jesus Christ came to America and that he loved the people in America. I told him that this book teaches that Jesus went to other places, to other people. He interrupted me and said, to India! I said, this book teaches that God loves everyone from India to America to Jerusalem.

He said, I believe that and I want to read this book.

He said, when I was here before, when I was a child, we went and listened to the choir, it was so beautiful. I would love to do that again. The thing that blew me away was the power of that organ. I would love to see that organ played.

I told him that as luck would have it, Richard Elliott, the principal organist for the Tabernacle choir is a friend of mine. I told him that I would call Rick and ask him if there’s a way that he could go and see someone play the organ. He said, if you could arrange it for tomorrow morning that would be awesome. He said, but if he can’t, that’s OK but I really appreciate you doing this for me. I called Rick and got his voicemail. I left him a message and told him a little bit about what was going on. About two hours later, Rick called me and said that they had people playing the organ at 11 and that he would be more than happy to make special accommodations for my friend. Rick is always amazing to do missionary work with his talent and I appreciate his willingness.

I passed the message along to my passenger and he was blown away, touched, but saddened because those who were with him needed to leave by 9 AM. He said it just would not work this time but asked me if that might be something we could do in the future.

He responded, this gives me another reason to come back to Salt Lake. I told him to take that Book of Mormon and discuss what we talked about with his coworker who went to BYU. He said that would be fun and that he would do it . I asked him if he remembered what he felt in the car and he said it was an amazing surge of knowledge and power. I told him the spirit of God was there and he said he knew it was. He thanked me for taking the time to enlighten him. He said that truly he had been enlightened in that ride. I told him it wasn’t me that in enlightened him but the spirit of God. I know that someday he’ll be back to listen to that organ.

I know that if he will talk to his friends that went to BYU about the Book of Mormon, he will come back as a member of the church