Sometimes I’m blown away with how well people are prepared to receive the gospel and how much they already believe what we believe without having a clue. They are already looking but they just can’t see. One night I was in Spanish Fork and I picked up a kid that was going up to Orem. He was going up to see his girlfriend.
When he got in the car we started talking about where he was going and his work. He worked a hard laborious job and was looking forward to having a day off the next day. As he was talking about his work, I got the impression that we needed to talk about church. My thought process immediately went to, OK, how do I make that work?
Thoughts about going to church came into my mind so I decided to ask him if he goes to church. I said, your body needs rest but so does your spirit. Do you go to church? He said no! I don’t have a church. I really do not consider myself to be a really religious person, but I do believe in God and I am spiritual. (The classic cop out).
I asked him if he had ever been baptized or ever been a member of a church and he said no. He said his mom and dad didn’t really believe and as much of a heathen as he was, he believed in God more than his parents. We laughed as I told him that I didn’t think he was a heathen in any way. I said, you seem like a really cool dude.
I asked him what he meant by spiritual, not religious. I asked him again if he believed in God and he said yes. I asked him if he believed in Jesus he said yes. I asked him if he believed in the Bible he said yes. I asked him if he read the Bible and he said no. The answers to these questions gave me a good frame of reference. This kid had never been taught.
I could have left it right there, but the spirit prompted me to dive a little deeper into what he was looking for and what he believed. I dove right in. I asked him why he didn’t have a religion or hadn’t chosen a church. He said, there are so many of them and they teach such different things.
He said, they all share a core of beliefs. That’s pretty consistent, but they all have their own unique differences and their own unique beliefs. It doesn’t seem like it is possible to know which one is true. He said, unless someone can show me proof, I don’t know how I can know because all of the people seem to be good people. They all truly think they have the truth but they teach different things.
He said, they all say, read the Bible. I love the Bible but how do we even know the Bible is right? It’s been translated a bunch of times and sometimes it doesn’t make sense for me so I don’t know what to do I just keep being spiritual and not religious.
Wow! If this guy wasn’t begging to be told the Joseph Smith story, I don’t know what’s up. I love it when it lines up like that and you just flow with the spirit.
I started talking about Joseph Smith and how he had nearly the same exact question this young man had. I told him that he went to all the churches and talked to all of the preachers. I told him that as he talked to everybody, he just kind of felt like nobody had all of the truth and that’s what he wanted.
I told him that Joseph Smith was reading in the Bible, where he found out that he was supposed to ask God for wisdom. I said, he went and he prayed. God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet to restore the same church on the earth that Jesus had organized when he was here. The same church with the same authority and the same teachings.
I told him that when Jesus and his apostles were killed and were no longer on earth that the church was broken up and the teachings were dispersed and that’s why no one had all of the teachings when Joseph Smith was looking. I told him that most of all no one had the authority from God. They had killed the apostles and no one had the priesthood.
I told him that God called Joseph Smith to restore the church and he restored it under the direction of Jesus Christ. I said, that authority is really important. The church of God needs to have the authority of God. I said, from that day on down until today, we have always had that authority from God in our church. It’s called the priesthood.
I can feel the spirit in the car every time I tell the first vision and testify of the prophet Joseph Smith. It is the quickest way to get the spirit in the car. You teach the truth and then allow the spirit to testify of that truth.
I could tell he was feeling it so I had to ask, how does that feel? He said, it’s exciting to think that maybe there is a church that has the truth. I testified again that this was indeed the case. That this church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is his church on earth today.
I said, what you’re feeling right now is the Holy Ghost. It is his job to accompany truth and testify of that truth in our heart. I asked, do you remember when you said that you can’t believe any man? That’s right, you don’t need to. You believe God.
The spirit of God will testify to your soul and give you an assurance that no amount of proof or words of any person can equal. It’s how God lets us know his truth. It’s called revelation.
I said, we have a prophet today who speaks with God because things are changing all the time. God wants to guide us. We are his children and he loves us. He wants us to be safe from the things of the world and the sin in the world. That’s why we have a prophet and apostles. They speak to us for God. I felt that testimony touch him powerfully and I could tell that he accepted that. He said, that’s a great idea. I said, God has good ideas.
I said, God loves all of the people of the world. There were people in America before the Europeans got here. The ancestors of the native Americans. I said, God loved them too and they had prophets as well. God revealed his word to them and they wrote it down. These writings and revelations were kept and later given to Joseph Smith. By the power of God, he translated them and we have them today. They are the Book of Mormon another Testament of Jesus Christ.
He said, now, I’ve heard of that book. I didn’t know what it was, but I’ve been told about it a little. I asked him if he remembered telling me about the Bible being unreliable because of translations. He said, yes I just don’t know between Latin and Greek and English what we’ve got left of the original word.
I told him that the Book of Mormon was translated into English by the power of God. I said, it’s directly from the source. That book is a companion to the Bible and helps us understand the Bible. That book teaches the eternal truths that are found in the Bible. I said, that’s why we love the Book of Mormon because it contains the full gospel of Jesus Christ.
I said, the Book of Mormon also contains the visit of Jesus Christ to America. That’s why it’s called another testament of Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus was sent by his father to America and other places in the world because God loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem. He sent his son for everyone. In America he descended down from heaven and stood in front of the people. They touched the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet then asked for salvation.
I said, he taught them the gospel and invited them to be baptized in his church, even though they had previously been baptized in their churches. I said, baptism is the key to the kingdom of God and he gave them the salvation they sought through this baptism. I said, today he’s extending that same invitation to you and he’s extending that same invitation to us, all of us, to come home to our father in heaven.
The spirit was really strong in the car and he said, I think I was put in this car today to hear this. This is all making such sense and I feel so great. I’ve never had a ride like this.
He said, I had no idea that’s what the Book of Mormon was. The missionaries came by one time and asked me if I wanted one, but I was afraid they were going to make me pay for it and I didn’t want to pay for a book that I didn’t really know anything about. He said, maybe I can find those missionaries again. I’d like to have one of those books!
I said, as luck would have it, I have one right here. I reached into my center console and grabbed one of my Book of Mormons prepared by the Secrists. I gave it to him and said, this is your copy of the Book of Mormon. He asked, really? I can have this? I said, yes, it’s yours. If you will read that book and pray you will feel the same happiness and excitement that you’re feeling right now. When you feel that, you’ll know that the spirit of God is there with you letting you know that it’s true.
I said, it is a companion with the Bible and helps us understand the Bible. We believe, just like you do, that the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. That’s why we need help from both the spirit and the Book of Mormon to understand the fullness of the gospel.
I said, it’s just like you know that the things we’ve talked about in the car today are true. He said, that’s true and I can’t believe how good it feels. As I’ve been looking at this whole religion thing I’ve been missing a big piece. It was staring me right in the face. It’s about God‘s love for all of us.
I told him that now that he has a Book of Mormon he should find those missionaries. He said, I know exactly where they live. I see them all the time. I said, go up to them and show them your book and tell them what we’ve talked about and about what you felt. Tell them that you want to follow Jesus Christ.
I said, they’re going to give you that same invitation that Jesus gave us in the Book of Mormon. They’re going to ask you to prepare to be baptized by that same baptism and that same authority that he gave to the people in America when he visited. That’s what they’re going to want you to do, that’s how they’re going to bring you closer to God and that’s how you’re going to know where to find truth.
He said, I can’t wait to get going but I don’t want to get out of your car. It feels too good. I agreed with him and he shook my hand about five times then got out of the car and went into his girlfriend‘s house.
Sometimes God sends you a lift 