I got a call to go over and pick up a lady by the cemetery in Provo (people are just dying to get in that place). The way I entered into the parking lot of her apartment complex was a little convoluted but I finally arrived.
I arrived at the side of the indicated building not in front of her building and when she came around the corner I recognized her. I had given her a ride before. I remembered that the time before when I had given her a ride we had shared crazy rideshare stories and it was pretty funny.
As she was getting in the spirit said, this time you talk about the church. I looked at the duration of the ride and it was a seven minute ride. I thought, well if I’m going to talk about the church, I’m going to have to talk fast about it.
I didn’t know what church she belonged to. I didn’t know if she was a member of our church. I didn’t know anything, but I’ve learned that when the spirit says we’re going to talk about the church, we talk about the church.
When she got in the car, she looked at me and said, I’ve had you before as a driver. I said, I remember you too. Now the pressure was on. I had to figure out how to get into the church discussion really fast.
I asked, do you remember what we talked about last time? I said this full well knowing what we talked about last time. She said, I don’t remember what we talked about but I remember I enjoyed the ride. I said I think we talked about church, didn’t we talk about church?
When I said this, there was an immediate wide eyed, mouth open, jaw dropped reaction on her part. When she said, “I don’t remember”, I knew something was going on. I felt prompted by the spirit to proceed as if she was not a member, although I had no information as to her religious leanings.
I asked her if she went to church yesterday. It was a Monday so that made sense. She said, no, I haven’t been for about a month. I’ve been in California helping some friends with their family and helping one of them move. I haven’t gone to church for a while.
Then she opened up. She said, I just recently found Jesus. I love him so much and it’s made a huge difference in my life. I can’t imagine being without Jesus.
I asked her how Jesus had made a difference in her life. She talked to me about how she had been in about 40 foster homes growing up and that she had suffered greatly in her childhood. She said, Jesus has helped me lose some of the anger and frustration from that situation.
I said, the atonement of Jesus Christ is an amazingly powerful blessing that we can each have in our lives. It helps us forgive and it helps us become better. She said, that’s right! I talked to her a little bit about how in our lives when bad things happen. Satan wants us to blame God and blame others. I said, God wants us to look to Christ and his atonement to live. She said, I like that.
I taught her that because of the atonement of Jesus Christ our burdens can be lifted and even in horrible painful situations we can be comforted and soothed by looking to Christ. I said, through the atonement of Jesus Christ he has the power to make us whole regardless of the adversity we face. I said, we are all at different levels but he fills our cup regardless of what level we are at. He doesn’t have to take from one to fill the other he just fills them all. I told her that in adversity, pain or persecution, looking to Christ is how we live.
I told her that in the Book of Mormon and the Bible they tell the story about Moses holding up a brazen serpent, representing Jesus Christ to heal them from poisonous snake bites. I told her that when they looked, they were healed immediately but many wouldn’t look because it seemed so silly and they perished.
I told her that this is how it is for us. All we have to do is look to Christ instead of blame God, other people or the church. If we will look to Christ, we will live. I said, looking to Christ helps us change our hearts so that we don’t seek revenge or proceed with anger. It allows us to become whole even when things are not going well. It takes the sword out of our hands as we kneel before the Lord.
I asked her if she had ever been taught about the atonement like that. She said that she had never heard it taught like that but that as I taught her it made her feel wonderful inside. I testified to her that it was true and that the spirit was telling her the same thing. I said, we teach this different than other religions because we have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the fullness of the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ and we have all of the covenants necessary for us to return to live with our father in heaven and Jesus Christ.
I said that the closer we are to Jesus Christ and become like little children the more easy it is to access the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s up to us to accept his invitation and come to him. I said, he gives us a lot of help.
I said, every week when we take the sacrament at church, it reminds us of the atonement of Jesus Christ and promises us that we can have his spirit to be with us. I said, having his spirit be with us is the key.
I said, when you feel powerless over your circumstance, having God’s spirit with you because of Jesus Christ is a great blessing. I said, turning to Christ is important and being his disciple brings tremendous blessings.
I talked about how when Jesus came to America he was announced by God the father and descended to stand amongst them. He came to be with those people to show them the way to his father. I told her that they asked him to save them and he gave them baptism. I told her, that’s why we all need to be baptized his baptism was an invitation to live a higher law and take a step up to a higher level of discipleship. I said, that’s what we try to do in the church. I said, people aren’t perfect, but in Christ, they can be perfected and come home to their father.
I asked, when were you baptized? At this time I still didn’t know that she had been baptized but I felt prompted to say those words. She said, well, I was baptized by some foster parents when I was eight but then quickly got transferred out of their home. I haven’t been back to church until a couple of months ago. She said, I went a couple of times and attended two other churches a couple of times. She said one was a non-denominational church and she kind of liked that one.
You know, at some point during these rides when you start to follow the spirit, it becomes apparent why you ask the questions you ask in the order you ask them. You see that God is guiding you to set things up for teaching. I asked her, what do you think about Jesus coming to America? She said, that was beautiful. I asked, how did you feel inside when I said that? She said, really good.
I asked her if she knew where she could read the story of Jesus coming to America. She said, no, where is it? I said, it’s in the Book of Mormon. Do you have a Book of Mormon? She said, yes. I was given one of them in one of the homes where I lived.
I testified to her that the Book of Mormon was true and that the spirit she will feel when she reads the book of Mormon would help guide her to know the truth of God. I said, Jesus invited all of them to be baptized just like he invited you to be baptized. he invited them to take that step up to a new level of discipleship.
I said, Jesus gave them authority to baptize which is why that baptism had the power to save those people. I said, that baptism because it was performed by the proper authority, has the power to save you as well. When you were baptized, you also got the gift of the Holy Ghost and when you live right you can have the Holy Ghost walk with you and help you on your way back to your father in heaven.
She said, that’s beautiful. I said, it’s really important that when you’re choosing a church you don’t choose the church with the best rock band. It’s important that you choose the church with the proper authority of God to do the things that need to be done so that you can go home to your father in heaven. You want to be able to live with Jesus.
I talked to her about her father in heaven and his love for her. I told her that when she felt the spirit, she would know that her father in heaven was near and that he was manifesting his love for her.
I asked her what she was feeling right then. She was weeping profusely in the backseat so I knew she was feeling something. She said through the tears, I feel an amazing peace and love in my heart. It makes so much sense what you say.
I asked her when was the last time she had been to our church. She said it was before she started seeking out these other denominations.
I told her that Joseph Smith had done the exact same thing. He had wanted to find the church of God. He wanted to find the one that had the truth and he wanted to find the one that had the authority from God. I told her that he prayed and God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet to restore the church.
As I testified, I could see the power of my testimony hitting her. I said, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only church that has the authority of God to give you the baptism and the covenants you need to go home to your father in heaven where you can live in that peace you seek. I told her that Joseph Smith was given the golden plates and that he translated them. This is the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon, it was written over 1000 years before by prophets of God. I said, that book contains the fullness of the gospel, including the baptism of Jesus Christ. I said, as a companion to the Bible it testifies of the divinity of the son of God, his power and love.
I said, we felt that love in the car today. I looked at her face in the mirror. She was dabbing her eyes. She hadn’t stopped crying. I said, that power and peace that you are feeling right now is the spirit of God confirming to you the things that I’m saying are true.
She said, I know they’re true. Right now they just make so much sense and my soul tells me that what you are saying is true. I asked her if she thought that she was in my car by accident today. I asked her how she thought I knew to bring up the church with her.
She said, I have those answers. She said, right before you arrived I knelt down and prayed that Heavenly Father would show me which church to join of the ones I was investigating.
She said, I was supposed to meet with the Mormon Bishop yesterday. He had reached out to me when my records came into the ward and had I had attended one time. He wanted to get to know me. I blew him off. I hadn’t decided that I wanted to go to the Mormon church. I really hadn’t decided which way I wanted to go and I didn’t want to meet with him until I knew that.
She said, I was thinking about this and that’s why I prayed. Then I come out and get in your car. The first thing you talk about is church. I felt the spirit in your car and the things you said touched my heart and I knew they were true.
I said, well, I guess you do know that God answers prayers. The answer to your prayer was the spirit and the witness you received during this ride. She said, this is an exact answer to my prayer. Now I know what I’m supposed to do. It’s very clear.
I asked her if she had the Bishop’s phone number. She said she did. I told her she should text him and see if she could reschedule. I said, he may even get you in before Sunday so that you can be ready to go. She said, that would be awesome.
She pulled out her phone and started typing out that text. I felt so happy that her prayer had been answered and that she recognized this.
By this time we had been in front of her work for about 15 minutes. She said, I just don’t want to leave the car. I love how it feels in here. I love that God sent you for me today and that he sent his spirit to be with us. Now I know what I’m supposed to do. I love this, but I have to go.
The topic of the Book of Mormon that she said she currently possessed kept coming to my mind. I was prompted to dig a bit deeper. I said, you told me that you have a Book of Mormon, do you know where it is? She said, truthfully, I don’t know. I haven’t seen it for years. I just know I have one. I reached into my console and grabbed one of the Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists and gave it to her. I asked her if she would take this one just to be sure. She said, I would love that! Please and thank you.
I showed her how it has the questions of the soul and is marked for easy access. I told her I read that book multiple times every year and I feel the spirit of God just like we were feeling right then in the car every time I do. I promised her that if she would read the Book of Mormon, she would feel that as well. She promised that she would.
I’m sure that the Bishop was very excited to get that text. I’m very happy that the Lord knew that this young lady was at a crossroads and lacked wisdom. I’m glad that she asked of God and received her witness.
Sometimes God sends you a lift 