Love and the spirit

One day I picked up a young woman down by Smith’s in Provo. She was going to Spanish Fork. It seemed like a really good ride for me so I was in a really good frame of mind going in. I became slightly annoyed when it took her a long time to get out to the car.. They have 5 to 7 minutes before you can cancel the ride so for at least that amount of time you have to wait or you don’t get paid anything.

After the 5 to 7 minutes, you cancel a ride and leave. Time was ticking away and I had almost decided that she wasn’t coming out and that I would be able to cancel. Once you’ve waited that time you’re almost better off canceling because you get most of the money for that ride and you can get another ride really quick.

With about 20 seconds left, I saw her. She was jogging down the path from her house to get to my car. I decided to wait even though the time had passed and I could the cancelation fee at that point. I think it’s the old coach in me but I like to see a little effort! It was like a windsprint at the end of practice. As she ran up to the car, I looked down at the ride duration and the spirit told me that I would need this time. The spirit told me it was the perfect amount of time to testify and teach. I was actually very excited to get the ride going at that point.

She got in the car and we started to drive. As we were driving at first, I wanted to find out if she wanted to speak English or Spanish. She was from Peru. She was doing really well with her English and I wanted to honor that. We decided to speak English and started chatting.

I asked her how she liked living here and she said it was amazing. She said that it was so much better than California. She said she had lived in California for a few years and that it just felt dark but here it felt peaceful and there was light. She seemed like a member of the church culturally but the spirit indicated to me that she was not a member of the church.

I asked her if she knew why it felt peaceful and why she thought she could see a difference between here and where she had lived before. She said, I think it’s because here they love Jesus. I said, that’s exactly right! I discussed with her the correlation between living God‘s commandments and having that light and peace in your life. She readily agreed.

I said, we also have a prophet who gives us God‘s will. I said that the words the prophet tells us are considered to be commandments. I said, it’s always been that way.

I asked her if she was a member of the church, knowing that she was not. She confirmed that to me. She said, I did date a guy one time who was a member of your church, before he quit going. She said, he was someone who held a position in your church. She said, “it was an important position, but I can’t remember what it was”.

I started running off the possibilities Bishop? No. Elders Quorum President? No. High Council? Yes She said, yes, that is it. She said, he quit going and told me all kinds of horrible things about the church.

For a second, I tried to decide where to go from there. Should I ask her what he said and trying to refute that? Should I ignore it and teach on? I said a little prayer and had a prompting that said, it’s about love and the spirit.

The spirit outlined to me how I should teach this. I said, you said before that you felt peace and light living here. She said yes. I said, did you feel that same peace and light when he said those things that were horrible? She thought for a second and said, no, no I didn’t. I asked, how did you feel when he said those things?

She said, I felt anxious, frustrated and bad. As she said this, it became clear that she was reasonably spiritually perceptive. I decided to ditch English altogether and speak with her in Spanish. I think she appreciated that and the conversation. started to take off.

I said, isn’t that interesting? Those things you learned didn’t make you feel good. They didn’t make you feel peaceful and happy. I said, you already identified to me that being around people who are members of the church makes you feel peaceful and happy. How do you compare those two feelings?

She said, I love the feeling I have around my friends who are members of the church and I very much disliked the feeling around that man. I said, what you felt and what you were feeling when you were with your friends and when you were talking about how you felt living here was the spirit of God. That’s how you feel in the presence of God. I said, the spirit of God protects us, helps us and testifies of truth to us. It guides us down the path to truth and back to our father in heaven.

As I said this, the spirit came into the car. I said, that spirit you feel right there is the spirit of God. I asked, how does it feel? She said, peaceful and warm. I said, when you feel that you know that the things you’re hearing are true, and your path is the correct path. She said, that makes sense, that’s why I feel it around my friends who are members of the church. I said yes.

I said, why didn’t you feel it when that guy who had left the church was saying all those nasty things? She thought for a minute and then said well, I guess it is because those things weren’t true. I said, that’s right. God does not play with us. He won’t send his spirit to test testify about something that is not true. I said, he loves us and he wants to bring us home.

I said, God is the God of everyone. We are his children and he loves us. I said, he wouldn’t give us a misleading feeling regarding something so important. I said, when we feel those negative feelings, we know that the things we’re hearing are not true or at least that we shouldn’t follow them. I said, it’s a way we can know to follow and trust the right people.

She said, I really like that! She said, I love God! I said, I think he knows that and he loves you too. I told her that we all lived with him before we came to earth. I said that what she was feeling right now in her heart was her personal reaction to how she felt in his presence. It’s how he lets her know what she should do. She said, I like that! I said, it’s how he brings us home.

I told her that our prophet gives us new commandments all of the time. I said, when we obey those commandments, we are free and we can have his spirit to be with us.

She said, I suppose I do have a lot of questions about the church. I just haven’t felt like I should ask my friends and they haven’t brought it up. I guess everyone was nervous to do it. I said, is your question right now, what is the difference between our church and your church?

She said, yes! That’s my question. I asked her if she wanted me to explain the difference and she said yes. I said it’s all about God‘s love and his spirit. I said, God loves us so he gives us commandments and he gives us prophets, so he can reveal his will to us. We are grateful that we have those commandments. When we obey, we feel his love and are then eligible to have his spirit.

I said, we believe God loves everyone in the world not just the people from Jerusalem. I talked to her about how Jesus had said other sheep I have. I said that he told the people in the Bible that he was going to go to those people, those other sheep. I said, the people he was talking about were your ancestors.

I asked her if God loved everyone and she said yes. I asked her if God loved her ancestors that lived here in America and she said yes. I asked her if God had prophets in America to lead and teach her ancestors. She thought about it for a minute and then said, well, I guess he should have had them. She said, I guess maybe he did. I just have never heard of anything like that, but it sounds right. It feels right.

I said, he did have prophets here amongst your ancestors. I told her that her ancestors were brought here by the hand of God and nurtured by his word and protected by his commandments. I said, God loves his children and shows that love through commandments and your ancestors were no different. I said, he had prophets here who taught his words and taught about Jesus Christ. I said that they taught that Jesus Christ would come visit them someday.

I told her that their religion looked forward to the day that Jesus would come. I told her it looked much like many religions do today. They taught of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, and they looked for Jesus to come and save them.

I said, this is who Jesus was talking about in the Bible when he said other sheep I have that are not of this fold. He went to her ancestors to do exactly what he was commanded to do. She asked, do you mean that Jesus came to America? I said yes. I asked her if she believed that God is an all powerful God? She said yes. I asked if he had children scattered all over the world? She said yes. Would he only go to a few of them or would he go visit all of them. She nodded her head and said I would think he would go to all of them.

I said, that’s what Jesus did. I said, your ancestors here in America were waiting for him. He appeared in the heavens and they heard the voice of God the father announce his arrival. He descended down until he stood on the steps of the temple.

I said, your ancestors were there. They touched the prints of the nails in his hands and his feet. They knew that he was their God. I told her that they prayed in that moment for salvation. As a direct answer to that prayer, he called 12 of them. I said, he gave them authority to baptize and he commanded each one of them to be baptized in the way he instructed. He commanded this even though they had already been baptized.

I looked in the mirror and I said your ancestors met and knew Jesus. I said, your ancestors were held in his arms and blessed. I said, he blessed them and their posterity, which includes you. I said, your ancestors knew that feeling of peace and light that you recognize.

She was sobbing, she took a shirt out of her purse that she had brought with her and started dabbing her eyes as tears were streaming down her face. I asked her, what do you feel right now? She said that she felt an overflowing joy and peace.

I told her that all of these revelations from the prophets here in America and the account of Jesus Christ visiting America were contained in the Book of Mormon. I asked her if she had heard of the Book of Mormon and she said yes. She said her sister had a copy. I told her that this book was her religious heritage. I said, that book teaches that her ancestors knew Jesus Christ. I said, that book teaches that you’re one of his sheep.

She said, I feel a profound happiness and joy that I can’t contain. She said I can’t believe that I’m crying like this. I said, it is the spirit of God telling you that the things I have been saying are true.

I asked her, how do these things that I’ve said feel? Do they feel good or do they feel like the words that the ex member man had said? She answered quickly saying, these things are true. I’ve never heard them before so they’re not familiar to me, but I know inside that what you’re saying is from God.

I told her that the spirit is being her guide. I said, the spirit testifies of truth and because I have spoken that truth you are feeling the spirit. She said, I know that is true. I told her that it is really important to understand that this was the answer to her ancestor’s prayer for salvation. Jesus gave them his baptism.

I pointed out that they had each previously been baptized but this time he was inviting them to be baptized by his authority and in the way he taught. He gave them his baptism to a higher level of discipleship and to a new covenant. I said, Jesus expects us all to have that baptism.

I told her that her friends had been baptized by that same baptism and so had many of the people who live here. I said that this is why she feels the spirit here. I said, obedience to the commandments, including the commandment, to be baptized brings the spirit of God into our lives.

She said, this is starting to make sense! I said, there’s more! I said, the invitation that Jesus extended to your ancestors to be baptized to that new level of discipleship and to that new covenant is also extended to you. I said, that’s what we do in the church. We teach of Jesus Christ and we invite people to accept the invitation to be baptized by his baptism.

I said, in the Church of Jesus Christ, we try to be disciples of Jesus Christ on that next level and follow his commandments. I told her that her friends knew this was true and that’s why she was drawn to them. I said, “you are drawn to light”.

I told her that when we are baptized, it makes it so that our sins can be forgiven. We can be clean and pure before God. I looked in the mirror and she was continuing to cry, and I saw a look on her face that I perceived to be concern.

I said, you are concerned because you don’t think that you are worthy. I said, we’ve all done things in our life that we need to repent for but God has given us baptism and repentance so that we can become clean and enter into his presence. I said, baptism is the key that lets us enter in.

She said, that’s awesome! I wonder why my friends haven’t told me about this. I told her it’s because they didn’t want to offend her. I said, they loved her as a friend and they didn’t want to say something that would drive a wedge between them. She said, this is a great gift. I need to have this in my life.

We were pulling into the place where I was dropping her off and I was trying to figure out a way forward for her. I asked her if she wanted me to have missionaries come over and she was a little hesitant. Then I thought about her friends. I said, when will you see one of your good friends who’s a member of the church? She said, in about a minute, that’s where I’m going right now. I told her to ask that friend about this.

I told her to tell her about the ride, what she felt and what the spirit had testified to her. I told her to ask her friend to help her be baptized. She said, that’s what I’ll do! I’ll do that right now as soon as I get out of the car.

She said, I feel like this might be the reason why I was brought to Utah. I’ve always wanted to have that peace like others seem to have. I said, this is how you get it. I said, today you have had a testimony born to you by the spirit of God. You know that Jesus came to America. She nodded. You know that we have a prophet on the Earth. She nodded and said yes. You know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it was translated by a prophet of God. She said yes.

I said, finally you know that you’re supposed to be baptized. She said, yes, I know that. I said, that sounds like a great place to start with your friend.

She said, God put me in your car today. I’ve never felt his spirit so strong and know so perfectly what I should do, but now I know.

She got out of the car and waved at me like five times between my car and the door where she went in. Heavenly Father loves this young lady and she will be a great addition to the church because she understands the spirit and she understands the love of her father in heaven.