A while back I picked up a college student in Sugarhouse who was doing Christmas shopping. It was October and I admired her early approach to the holiday. She was a student at the University of Utah and I felt like the spirit was prompting me to talk about the church with her. She looked like a member of the church in every way but the spirit assured me she was not. I proceded with that knowledge.
I saw an opening with the Christmas presents and I took it. I said, a lot of people complain about the commercialization of Christmas but I think that commercializing Christmas is a choice. She asked, what do you mean? I said, well, in my family I told people that if they ever gave me a list they would never get anything on the list. I told them that part of their gift was that I went to the store and spent time thinking about them and what they would like. That didn’t go over as so well with the children but they usually got things they liked and for me it was never about the commercialization but always about the gift and the person. That way, Christmas can be focused on my family and on Jesus Christ.
I said, far too many people don’t bring Jesus Christ into that equation. She said, I know and it really bums me out. I said that this year part of my family will not even be in the country. They are going to be in Argentina. She asked me if I had been to Argentina and I said, yes, I went on my mission to Argentina. She asked if I still spoke Spanish and I said, yes, I still do interpretation of church meetings.
She asked how I could still speak Spanish after all of these years since my mission. I told her that when I was in the MTC we had an apostle come and he promised us that if we would say our prayers and read our scriptures in our mission language that we would never lose it. I told her that a promise from one of the apostles is a promise from God and since that day I have never said a personal prayer in English and I read my scriptures in Spanish. I told her that my Spanish is better today than it was when I was on my mission. She was impressed.
She said her friend just got called to Argentina on a mission and she thought it was awesome.
This was the opening I was looking for. I asked her if her friend had told her what she would be teaching and why she was going. She said no but that she thought it was really cool. I asked, do you want to know what she will be teaching? She said I absolutely do!
I asked her who wrote the Bible, she said prophets. I asked her what they wrote and she said, the word of God. I asked her if God loved the people more who lived in Jerusalem more than the people who lived in other parts of the world. She said no.
I asked her if she thought that God was capable of giving his word to people other than the people who lived in Jerusalem and she said yes. I asked, her given that love why wouldn’t God bless them with his word as well? She thought for a minute and she said that she thought that he would.
I told her that Heavenly Father loved each of us and that he has given us prophets through which he reveals his will and his commandments. I told her that we have a prophet today that speaks with God for us and he had called her friend to go to Argentina.
When I talked about the prophet and her friend she began to tear up. She said, that feels so right! There has always been a special feeling around that girl and what you just said feels right.
I pulled out one of my Book of Mormons that was marked by the Secrists and I said, this book is what she will take to the people in Argentina. I asked, have you ever heard of the Book of Mormon? She said, I live in Utah, of course I’ve heard of the Book of Mormon. She laughed! I said, do you know what it is? She said no she didn’t have any idea. I told her it was the revelations that God gave his prophets who lived here in ancient America. It contains all of his truth and is another testimony of Jesus Christ and his divinity. It is a companion to the Bible.
I told her that her friend was going to take this book to Argentina and use this book to teach people that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he paid for their sins, sorrows and their oppression. He made it so that we could return to God again. I said, that is what is in this book and that’s the power of this book.
She asked, where can I get one like that one!? I handed it to her and said, that book is yours if you will do one thing. She asked what? I said, read it and pray about it with your friend who’s going on the mission.
She said she would and that that sounded like a great idea and a great way for her to understand her friends mission.
The spirit was really strong in the car and I told her that I know the book is true. She said, I believe it is too. I can’t wait to learn. I said that the Spirit of God will help her learn. I asked her if she knew what the Spirit of God felt like and she said she wasn’t sure. I asked her what she was feeling right then and she said warm energy. I told her, that is what the spirit of God feels like to you. I asked her what she was thinking right then and she said her mind was alive with questions and possibilities. I told her that that is how she felt when she was under the influence of the spirit and how God would reveal his will to her.
I told her to talk to her friend about that. I told her to tell her all about this ride and what she felt. I told her that her friend could help her understand the spirit as well.
She had to go to class but she thanked me. Then she reached out, touched my shoulder and said, I want you to know how much this ride has meant to me. It’s like I found a piece to my puzzle that I didn’t know was missing. Then she got out of the car and ran to class. I feel sure she will have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Life
Sometimes God sends you a lift 