I don’t suggest tracting at the state liquor store but….

One day I was up in Salt Lake City and got a ride that I had to pick up at the state liquor store on West Temple at about 17th South. Not exactly the pick up you would expect to lead to a missionary opportunity but I guess as you think about it, you could consider it fertile ground.

When I pulled up, a young lady began getting in the car. She had a box of wine and other spirits. As she got in the car, I asked how she was doing. She said, I’m doing fine. There was a tremendous feeling of desperation, sadness and despair that surrounded her, even though that is not what she said. We started to drive.

I got the impression that I needed to do some coaching here. Sometimes people need a pick me up and some positive words can be helpful. I felt very strongly that I needed to go in that direction. At this time, I had no idea that step-by-step it would lead me into a discussion about the church but sometimes it’s just like that.

When I had asked her how she was doing, she said she was doing fine. I knew it wasn’t true and so I decided to ask again. I said, how are you really doing? How are you feeling?

She said, I’m really struggling, I ordered the Uber because my foot is hurt and my podiatrist told me that I should not walk. Normally I would walk this distance instead of ride. I said, well, this is when you have your boyfriend or your husband pick you up. They should be glad to do that.

She said, I don’t have either of those and I’m pretty sure that no one would ever want to be my husband or boyfriend. She said, I don’t even know how I’m going to make it. I have so much trauma in my life. I asked her if she was willing to make changes to turn things around and she said, yes! I said, let’s figure this out then. I want you to look at life differently and do a few things I tell you to do.

All of a sudden a wholistic approach came to my mind and I dove right in. I started giving her these assignments.

1, look for positives. Spend every day looking for positives. Find five new positive things in your life every day. I said, people who look for positive things find positive things and it changes their outlook on life. I said, people who look for negative things find negative things and it puts them in a pit. Positive people draw positive people to them.

2, I said, be grateful for the things in your life. Thank people and look for reasons to be grateful and to thank people. Even if these are very little things, thank people and they will be comfortable around you. They will enjoy being around someone that recognizes them and appreciates the things they do for them.

3, watch people and notice something they do very well. Make it something they consciously try to do well and then pay them a very sincere loud and public compliment on that thing. I said, people know when they do something well and they love it when people recognize that. It makes them feel good that elevates them. I said that this would make those people seek for opportunities to be around you.

I said if you do these three things the people in your life and in your circle will be elevated and it will lift you along with them. It will improve your life and you’ll feel better about yourself. I said, furthermore, people will be attracted to you and your circle. They will feel goodness coming from you and they will want to be part of that.

This is stuff that you can find in a million articles in a million magazines but I started this way addressing her issues directly. I know that it was the spirit that told me to do it that way. I believe that if I had just started in with church teachings, this girl would have shut down to the spirit. Going through these three things made a difference. She had actually been taking notes of what I was saying. She had agreed with me and her heart had been softened to the words that I was saying.

Then the spirit said, “now the atonement”. I went right into number 4. I said, there’s no way that I can think of it being possible for me to make it through this life without the atonement of Jesus Christ. I said, the atonement of Jesus Christ is the thing that lifts us through our trials.

I said, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ suffered for all of us. Not only for the sins of the world but for our sicknesses, trials, tragedies and the unfairness of life. He suffered for injustice, inequity and pains of every kind including embarrassment and abuse. I said that last one after pausing for a few seconds because the spirit prompted me to say it.

She was silent. It was clear that no one had talked to her about the gospel of Jesus Christ for quite some time. I asked her if she was a member of a church and she said that she had just moved here. She said that she had been a member of a non-denominational Christian church where she had previously lived. She said that since she moved to Salt Lake, she hadn’t been part of any religious community.

I went on teaching about Jesus Christ. I said, he suffered all of those things so that when we are in our darkest hours, he can pick us up. He can help us feel the love of our Heavenly Father. I said that because he suffered those things, he can lift our burdens so that we don’t have to bear them alone. I said, it’s always better when somebody helps you carry your burden.

I said, it doesn’t matter if that burden is sin, caused by sin or not related to sin at all, Jesus Christ is there for us. He is the one that can bring us home.

I talked with her about the analogy I’ve used before about children in the cancer hospital. I heard this story told as a personal experience by Elder Neil A Maxwell. I told her that he talked about these children who had each received a devastating cancer diagnosis. He talked about their parents and those around them. He said, the parents were all distraught and struggling, as were the adult patients being treated, but the children were happy. The children had smiles on their faces and the children had the light of Christ in their eyes. Their faith in Jesus Christ and the atonement had made them happy and lifted their burden.

The parents and the adults on the other hand were all somber and angry. Many were in such pain that they struggled to deal with it, but not the children.

I said, children are always close to God. I said, Jesus said, suffer the children to come unto me and he told us to become like the little children if we wanted to return to our father. I said, they had faith, they believed and their burdens were lifted and assuaged. I said, the atonement works and it’s real.

She started to tear up and said, I haven’t felt like this for a long time. You’re going to make me cry. I didn’t think anyone cared. I told her that Jesus Christ cared and that her father in heaven cared.

I told her that she was a daughter of her father in heaven and that he loved her very much. I said that he sent his spirit there today. I said, think of it as a hug from your father in heaven. I said, what you’re feeling is his spirit and it’s here with you to comfort you and lift you. She said, it’s working already.

I told her that God puts people in my car to get messages and clearly this message was that God loved her and that Jesus Christ had paid the price for the pain and suffering she was going through. I said that God didn’t think she should have to do it alone. God wanted her to look to Christ and live.

By this time she was full on crying. She said, I love this feeling. She said, I’ve never felt it like this before. This is amazing. This must be what it feels like to be in the presence of Jesus Christ. I said, it probably feels very similar to this only a lot more intense. She laughed and said yes.

I have to tell you, I was on fire inside. I asked her again, what does it feel like? She said, I don’t know that I can put it into words. I am not in turmoil over all of my problems right now. I don’t feel the pain of all the tragedy and drama from my life. It’s like it feels better and I love it.

I told her that the atonement was like the medicine we rub on the injury to make it not hurt and she said, that’s a great analogy. I’ve never thought of it that way. I like that and I wish I could feel this way forever.

I said, you can. I said, you need to go to church. She said, I don’t know where my church is around here. I said, that’s OK. You can go to our church. She asked, would they let me go? I said, absolutely! They would love for you to go. I said, I can actually have people from the church come and meet with you and accompany you to church. That way you will have somebody there that you know. She said, I would really like that, I need to do that.

She said, could I go this week? Do you think we could make it happen that fast? I said, absolutely. I told her I would get a hold of missionaries and have them give her a call. I said they could set it all up. I told her that with the missionaries, she would feel the same spirit that she felt right now. She said, that’s what I want.

I said, I’m going to give you a gift. She acted very grateful but said, “no you don’t need to do that”. I said, I want to do that. She smiled and said OK.

I reached into my glove box and pulled out a Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists. I had her open up the front page and read the questions of the soul. She said, some of these are questions I’ve had all of my life. I said, the answers to those questions are in the book. The page number is right there next to the question and there is a tab indicating where it is in the book. She said this is great!

I said while you’re reading that book, you will feel the spirit. It will help you and the dark clouds will begin to depart. I said, as you do the things that we’ve talked about doing, read the Book of Mormon, pray, have the missionaries over and go to church, the dark clouds will begin to depart. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, he will be there to carry you through.

She said, I like that. This is what I’ve needed. She said, I guess you can only sit in your apartment drinking wine and Bourbon for so long without it doing serious damage to your soul. It’s time that I change my life around. She said, I’ve made notes of everything you’ve said and I’m going to do all of it. I promise.

Getting out of the car she said, make sure those missionaries give me a call. As she held up her box of alcohol she said, after all of this, I guess that now I probably won’t be drinking this.

I sent in the referral and got the phone number of the missionaries. I called them and told them the whole story. They told me that they lived in the same building, she lived in. They were really excited. I think this is going places.