Born again, again!

I picked up a guy at a gas station in Springville and started driving him towards his home in Spanish Fork. He seemed like a good guy but a little bit of a wild soul. As we started to drive the spirit said that I needed to talk to this guy.

We chatted about where he was from. He was from Louisiana. My son is graduating from law school at Louisiana State University this Friday and so we had that in common and we chatted. (Shout out to Kenny) He talked about how he moved out here for a girl and he’s been here ever since. He mentioned that he was at work where I had picked him up because it was his weekend job, his second job. He said, there’s no way anyone can get ahead today. It’s just way too expensive. This was clearly a good dude and he had his heart in the right place. He just needed some guidance.

We talked about how he and this girl had a daughter but that it hadn’t worked out. He said, I’ll be sticking around here forever because my daughter‘s here. I’d love to go back, but I love my daughter more.

The reason why I talk to people about things like that many times is just to look for an opening when I know I’m supposed to talk to them. That was the opening I was waiting for. I asked, so what did you guys do for Easter?

He said that he and his new lady took her two girls and his girl to the aquarium and did some easter activities. I said, that sounds nice. I said, I went to church, did you go to church?

That’s a little pushy for the liking of the rideshare services but due to the fact that this was not a long ride, I thought it would push the discussion of religious things to the top.

I said, you know it’s all about Jesus and his resurrection and sometimes we let Easter eggs get in the way. He said, yes and we didn’t go to church. It is kind of a problem because it’s hard for me because I’m Southern Baptist. Around here there’s not a lot of us.

I was prompted right then that his girlfriend and his ex were members of the church and I said that to him. He said, yes they are and it’s kind of a sticking point with everybody. I said, so everyone wants you to become a member of our church? He said, yeah. I asked him what they had taught him about our church. He said, not really that much. He said that he had gone to church a few times but no one explained to him what the difference between the Southern Baptists and our church was.

I asked him if he wanted me to tell him what the difference was. He said yes, that would be awesome. I told him that the difference was all about love. I told him it was about his Heavenly Father‘s love for him.

I said, Easter is the ultimate sign of how much our Heavenly Father loves us. He sent his son and Jesus suffered for us, died for us and was resurrected. I said, that’s a beautiful plan, but it didn’t end there.

He asked, what do you mean? I said, God sent Jesus Christ to everyone because he loves everyone, no matter where they live. He said, I believe that. I asked him, how did God show his love to the people in the Bible. He said, well, he helped them and taught them. He said, he loved them and he healed them.

I said, that’s right. God sent his prophets to reveal his will and to teach the people. God sent his son to teach the people, suffer their burdens and pay for their sins. He said, I believe that.

I asked him if God loved everyone and he said yes. He had said this before, but I wanted to reestablish that fact. I said, well, if he loved everyone, how did he show his love to the rest of the people in the world? The people in America, the people in China or the people in Africa?

I asked, how did he show his love to these people? He thought for a minute and said, well all they have to do is hear the teaching of Jesus Christ and accept him as their savior and they can be saved. That’s what we believe.

I asked him how many people in China 400 years ago heard about Jesus Christ. He thought about it and said none of them. I asked him, how many people in India 400 years ago heard about Jesus Christ? He thought quickly and gave me the same answer, none of them. I asked him, how many of the people living in Saudi Arabia 100 years ago heard about Jesus Christ. He thought about it and said, none of them.

I asked him how they could come home to their father in heaven given his understanding. He said, I guess they couldn’t. I asked him, how many of the people in the world by that calculation have passed away without hearing about Jesus? He said, the vast majority.

I asked him if he thought God was perfect and he said yes. I said, you’ve got a perfect God with a perfect love for all of his children, and you believe that he created a plan that on the face of it would prevent most of his children from making it back home. I said, you’re not that kind of a father. You’re bending over backwards and sacrificing very much personally to be in the life of your daughter.

I asked him, would a perfect all powerful Heavenly Father do any less than what you are doing? He thought about it and said, I had never looked at it that way, probably not. He had to have someway to reach out to them. I asked him if he would be interested to know what that way was. He said yes. I said, we believe a lot like you do. We believe that God is perfect and that he loves all of his children but we believe that he has a plan so that every one of them can be saved and we know what that plan is.

I asked him if he believed that everyone needed to be baptized to go to heaven. He said, no. In our church, we believe that all you need to do is confess Jesus and you are saved. I asked him if he had been baptized and he said yes.

I quoted to him from the Bible where it said that a man must be born of the water and the spirit and I asked him what that meant. He thought about it and said that he didn’t know. I knew that he did know but he was just not wanting to give up that fast. I said, being born of the water is your baptism. I told him that being born of the spirit means that you’ve received the gift of the Holy Ghost so that you can walk with God and be one with God. This helps you be able to return to God. I told him that after people are baptized, they get the gift of the Holy Ghost so that they can do this. They can walk with God.

I said, that’s why Jesus was baptized, because he is our example. He showed us the way so that all righteousness could be fulfilled and we could return to our father. I told him that Jesus was perfect and he was the son of God so he didn’t need to be baptized because of sins, but he did it for us so that we could see the way.

He said, it is kind of funny that they call us Baptist if we don’t believe that but I guess you’re right. He said, that’s something that I had never thought about. I said, back to the question about all of the people who ever lived in the world. How about them?

Did a perfect loving father plan for all of his children or were the vast majority of them just an accident? He said, no! They weren’t an accident. He had to have a plan for them. I said, yes, he does and yes we do. He said, really?

I told him that everyone in the world was put here by God and that he didn’t forget them. I told him that God had prophets who helped and taught the people in other parts of the world, including America. I told him that they taught the gospel and preached about Jesus Christ.

I taught him that after Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected he said that he had other sheep and he was going to go to them. I said, he was talking about these other people. He finished the thought saying “they would hear his voice and be counted among his sheep.”

I asked him if he’d been taught about how that was supposed to happen and he said no. I asked him if that sounds more like the God that he believes in, a God that’s a loving father who would do anything to save all of his children. Again I asked him if a God that had all power would use that power to save his children and he said yes.

I said, after Jesus was resurrected and said those words, he ascended into heaven but then later descended from heaven to the people in America. His father announced him saying, this is my beloved son. He descended down and stood in front of them. They touched the prints of the nails in his hands. They knelt in front of their God and asked him for salvation. They asked to be saved.

I knew that this was an important word in his church. I said, they were in the presence of their God. They had accepted their God and they were worshiping their God and they asked to be saved. Can you relate to that? He said yes. I asked him what he thought Jesus would do as a response to that plea. He said, he would save them. They would be saved.

I said., That’s exactly what happened. Jesus called up 12 people gave them authority to baptized and commanded them to baptize everyone, even if they had already been baptized. He commanded them to be baptized with his baptism so that they could be saved in the kingdom of God. I said, it required a baptism. and he gave them that baptism and commanded them to receive it so that they could come home to their Heavenly Father .

He said, that’s so cool. I said, it doesn’t stop with that. You’ve seen our temples, right? He said yes, I asked him about all those other people that died without ever hearing the name of Jesus Christ. I asked him if an all knowing, all powerful, loving father would condemn all of those people and not allow them to come home just because they hadn’t had a baptism while they were on earth. Would he condemn them because they didn’t live in a circumstance where they could hear the word of God or know of his son Jesus Christ? He said, no, not a loving father and that’s what Heavenly Father is.

I asked him how his religion taught that these people could possibly be saved and come home to their father? He said that it didn’t. I said, that’s why we have temples. I told him that in our temples we are baptized for the people who have died and then they get the chance to accept that baptism. I mentioned to him that Jesus had gone to the spirits in prison. He said, yes, while his body was in the tomb. I said, that’s exactly right.

I said, he preached to those who hadn’t heard the gospel and organized the teaching of the gospel so that everyone who ever lived will get a chance to hear and accept Jesus Christ as their savior. He said, that’s amazing! I said, but they still need baptism and that’s why we have temples.

I said, understanding our religion is easier when you look at a loving father and think about what you would do. He said, I love that! The spirit was in the car but this guy didn’t seem like a touchy, feely kind of guy.

I asked him what he was feeling and he said, I feel good, really good. I asked another couple questions to try to get him to examine his feelings more profoundly, but I could tell really quickly that he wasn’t used to that. I asked, what do you think of the things I’ve said?

He said, I believe it’s true. As you said it, it made so much sense. Even though I’ve never heard this before it makes sense to me and it doesn’t sound weird. I said, it makes sense to you because the spirit of God has been with us in the car and has helped you. It testified to you. You understand it and God has helped your spirit receive it.

He said, that makes sense. I said, it’s all about our father in heaven and the fact that he will do what it takes to bring home as many of his children as he can. It’s about his love and that love is manifest by the fact that Jesus Christ suffered, was crucified and resurrected so that we can come home and live with our father again.

I said, the things you learned in your church were good but they were incomplete. We have the fullness of the gospel with all of the teachings of Jesus Christ. We have God‘s plan to save all of his children and that’s what we are about.

He said, now I know. I’ve been to your church several times and my family goes every week. I should be going with them. I think I will go with them. He asked, do you ever get the idea that people are put in your car for a reason? I think I was supposed to be here today to talk with you. He said that he would go to church the next day. He said, it sounds like I need to be baptized again. We pulled up to his house and he got out of the car, he smiled and waived and went into his house