On Halloween night Heather and I were going to a volleyball game. I had decided that I could take a couple of rides around Provo. It was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and I was picking up rides in Provo.
I took a ride, finished it and then got another ride. It was to the airport in Salt Lake. I thought to myself, “there’s no way I have time to get this and then get back in time to go to the volleyball game”. So I went to cancel it. As I reached for the phone, I received a tremendous impression that this was the most important thing and that it would all work out if I took this ride.
I pulled my hand back, looked at the clock and tried to figure out how that could work. Blowing up date night is not necessarily an advisable approach for a husband.
I decided to follow the prompting and picked up the young lady. I am glad I did. She had been trying to take the front runner up to Salt Lake City and then transfer over and go on to the airport.
She was a manager at her job and it kept her longer than she wanted to stay and because of that she wasn’t going to have time to catch the train. She was a little flustered and hurried.
She was pretty young. I’d say 23 or 24 and she seemed to be quite mature, guarded and in control. I asked her where she was going. She said she was going to Las Vegas to go trick-or-treating with the little boy she was going to adopt. I told her how cool that was and that I was really excited for her. I told her how important it is that we all have people in our life that love us.
As I was saying those words, the spirit whispered. some things for me to say and a way for this conversation to go. I kind of just had to light the fuse.
I asked her why Utah? She said that she just needed to get away from Las Vegas and everything down there. This was the prompting I had. She had escaped Las Vegas to get away from bad influences and to get away from an abusive family situation.
I asked her how it felt to live in Provo. She said she loved it. She said she loved the feeling inside and out. She said she loved walking down the street and looking in peoples eyes. She said this is exactly where she wanted to live for the rest of her life.
I got the prompting that she was a member of the church and said to her, you are a member the church aren’t you? She said, well, kinda. I said, well you either are and that means you’ve been baptized or you’re not. She said, I guess I am by that definition.
I said, I think it’s really cool that when I asked what you liked about Provo you led with what you feel. I told her that she feels like that here because people here follow God. I told her that it’s the spirit of God.
I told her that when she’s around the spirit of God, it makes her feel good. It makes her feel loved and right. I told her that before we came to earth we lived with our Heavenly Father for thousands of years. Our spirits know and crave that love and that feeling. I told her that this is why she felt like she was finally at home.
She said, that’s right! I do feel like I’m home. I’ve had people ask me what it feels like here and that’s the best way to put it. Home!
I told her that Heavenly Father has prophets on the earth and one of them lives in Utah. I said that the people in this area, for the most part, try to live according to the words of God‘s prophet. I told her that it’s a mean world out there and it’s amazing to have the support of your father in heaven and the words of his prophet to help us.
She said, that’s really cool! I never really thought much about why it feels that way. I told her that Heavenly Father has prophets on the Earth so that he can guide us. I told her that Joseph Smith was a prophet and he wanted to know which church was true. He was confused and he was looking for that same peace and love that she feels in her heart.
I told her that because of that search he prayed and God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. They called him to be the prophet. I said, he was the first prophet in the latter days and we’ve had a prophet since that day.
As I testified of Joseph Smith and the love of God the feeling grew in the car. I asked her what she was feeling and she said I’m feeling like I’m gonna cry. I’m going to be a mess. I didn’t want to be a mess!
I told her that there were bathrooms in the airport and that she can get all fixed up and everything would be OK! We laughed and continued with the conversation
I told her that I had some promptings of some things that I wanted to share with her if that would be OK. I told her that sometimes God puts people in my car and gives me things to say. She said that would be great! She asked me to continue.
I told her that the prompting that I received was that she had a non-loving abusive mother and that she was forced to grow up really fast. I told her I felt like she didn’t have the childhood she wanted and that she certainly didn’t have the love that she should have had from her mother.
I said that the reason why this little boy was so important to her is that she saw herself in him and she was going to do anything possible to save him from the horrible situation that she felt her life had been.
I looked in the mirror and she looked shocked. Tears were running down her face and she said, I never cry, why are you doing this to me? She said it with a chuckle so I knew she wasn’t angry.
I asked her, even though you’re emotional right now do you still feel the spirit in the car? She said that it was 100% the spirit she felt. She said, how in the world could you possibly know this thing? I just met you.
I told her that when we’re baptized, we get the gift of the Holy Ghost. I said, when you were baptized, you got the gift of the Holy Ghost. I said, the gift of the Holy Ghost helps us know what we should do. When we are worthy and clean the Holy Ghost can give us words to say, tell us what God would have us do and help us walk in his path.
I told her that God put her in my car today so that she could know of his tremendous love for her. Even though she had a tough time he had never left her. He had brought her to Utah and put her situation where she could feel his love and grow in the gospel.
I said, even though you consider yourself to be less active somewhat, the reason you’re here is to get active and enjoy the spirit of God in your life. She said, that’s amazing!
She said, I know 100% that I was supposed to be in this car and the things you are saying are exactly right. I need to listen because I’ve wondered why I was here in Utah. I’ve wondered why I felt compelled to be here. This has been a question of mine.
I told her that God brought her here for this purpose, but that she had some questions that she was afraid to ask anyone. I told her that she had those questions and the answers to those questions as something of a barrier to full participation. I told her she could ask me those questions.
She said, I don’t know, I’m a little embarrassed. I said, look, you don’t know me and I really don’t know you. I don’t know where you live and there’s really no way I can contact you. It’s safe to ask me those questions and the spirit is telling me that you really want to ask me those questions.
I said, the spirit is telling me that you’ve been dying to get these answers but you just don’t want to offend anyone. She was still crying and she said, yes that’s 100% true.
She said, here goes! She said, where I live there is a family ward and a singles ward. My roommates want me to go to the singles ward but I’ve been going to the family ward because my plan is later this year to finalize the adoption on this boy.
She said, I was baptized when I was eight but never lived in a home where I was loved or attended church. My mother physically and emotionally abused me and never made the gospel an option. She said, my mother was not a good person and she would never let me go to church. She always found some chore or responsibility that she made me to do so that I couldn’t go to church.
She said, when I have gone to church here I’m sad for what I missed but happy for what I feel. I said, what’s your question? She took a deep breath and said, the Word of Wisdom.
She said she lives with girls who are single and they drink Mate, a drink that everyone in Argentina drinks, and they drink Diet Coke. She said, they go to church and they have temple recommends so they go to the temple.
She said, I went to the family ward and they just got a new bishop. Last Sunday I met with him for the first time. He told me that if I drink Diet Coke or Mate that I am not worthy to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. She said that was something she really wanted to get worthy to do. She said that last Sunday he had told her this and it made her tremendously sad and she didn’t know where to turn. She said that she was considering whether or not to go back to church.
She said, I’m all alone out here but I have felt like that my whole life. He didn’t seem to want to help me. She said, I don’t feel like I have anyone to talk to about this. I don’t have anyone that I can ask the tough questions.
It’s not a coincidence that just at this moment God put her in my car. I let her know that this was no coincidence. I let her know that God knew she had this question and he put her in my car because he knew that she had struggled in that interview about the Word Wisdom.
She said, well, what’s the answer? I said, it’s important to understand a couple of things here. It’s important to understand that the Word of Wisdom is a law obedience, not a law of health. I told her that we are blessed for our faith and obedience to the Word of Wisdom.
I told her that there are a lot of members of the church that dissect the Word of Wisdom and try figure out why, scientifically, each thing is prohibited or encouraged. I told her that this is fine for people to do following their own revelation for themselves or their families. I told her that the church has a standard of what the Word of Wisdom is and then if people want to or feel moved by the spirit to add to or go deeper, that’s up to them. I told her that for worthiness purposes with regards to the Word of Wisdom, it was important for her to know that it was a law obedience, not a lot of health.
It’s a law of obedience it’s not a mathematical formula. I told her that some members of the church in their pursuit to purify themselves go to new levels. They feel personal revelation on things that they may do for themselves but the church says, and the missionaries teach, that tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, coffee, and black/green tea are the things prohibited by the Word of Wisdom.
I said, being a bishop is a really hard thing to do and when you feel something so intensely like I’m sure he felt about Diet Coke and Mate then you know he said what he said out of love. I tried to help her see a higher level.
I said, didn’t you say your roommates go to a singles ward? She said, yes! I said, why don’t you go to the singles ward? I said, when you’re in the singles ward and you go in for your temple recommend interview with that Bishop he will ask you if you obey the Word of Wisdom. When he does don’t ask for his explanation because you know what the church’s standard is. Go with the church’s explanation that I just gave you.
She said, then the answer would be yes. I said, that’s right and that’s the only thing that you say in answer to that question. I told her that as she studies the gospel and gets more deeply involved with the spirit, she may be able to receive other promptings of things that she could do to come closer to God, but those are for her and come directly from her Heavenly Father.
I asked her if she reads the Book of Mormon every day and she said that she didn’t. I told her if she did it would change her life. I told her that reading the Book of Mormon brings the spirit of God into every facet of your life. I told her that she will get answers to prayerful questions while she reads, even though the actual text she is reading might not contain the answer. She will get revelation from the spirit while she is reading the Book of Mormon.
I felt prompted that she had not developed the habit of praying frequently and had never been taught the importance of prayer. I asked her if this was true and she said yes. She said, I pray now and then. I told her she needs to pray multiple times every day and have a prayer in her heart. I said, walking with God is an amazing thing when we will do it. I asked her if she would commit to read the Book of Mormon and pray every day and she said yes!
By this time we had arrived at the airport and we were pulling in to where I was dropping her off. She was only going to have 25 minutes to make her flight , but the spirit had been so strong in the car. I wanted to end with my testimony. As we pulled up I testified to her that her Heavenly Father loved her and he put her there that day. I testified to her revelation is real and personal. I told her that as she matures in the gospel, that revelation will help her come closer to her father in heaven. I testified that father in heaven loves us and that Jesus atoned for us so that we could look to him and be free. I said that through the atonement we can have our burden lifted even those from our childhood.
She said, I’ve been struggling with this so much. This is just what I needed. Thank you so much. She grabbed my shoulder, smiled, got out of the car and went into the airport.
On my way home it was rush hour but somehow I miraculously hit every perfect turn and everything was just right. Even though there was a lot of traffic, it was like I cut right through it, almost at freeway speed as others were stopped. I got home in plenty of time to go to the volleyball game. I did not blow up the date night.
Sometimes God sends you a lift 