I picked up a guy at a hotel in Park City He had just gotten off work. He was on an internship B1 visa. They use these visas in tourist destinations to staff hospitality businesses in the high season. The people work the season, travel for two weeks then go home. In the winter there are thousands of these workers in Park City and 90% of them are from Latin America.
Earlier in the evening I had taken a couple from that hotel who had gone there to eat at the restaurant where this man worked. The restaurant had big problems in their ability to charge credit cards that night. The system was down. They ended up giving everybody free dinner. I’ll let you know if I ever find out that’s happening again.
I picked him up and he said that it was crazy at work. I asked him if he liked his job and he said he liked his job a lot. He said the people here in Utah are really nice and he loves the area because it’s so peaceful. The spirit wispered to me, “ here you go. Tell him why”.
I followed that counsel and asked him if he wanted to know why it feels so peaceful here in Utah. He said yes. I told him it’s because the people here try to follow Jesus Christ. I told him that the people here treat each other well by comparison with other places because many are trying to do the things that Jesus Christ would do and be more like him.
I told them that Jesus Christ gave us commandments and when we obey those commandments we are happy When we obey the comandments we have God on our side and in our hearts. He said, I believe that. I told him that the people here try to obey those commandments given by Jesus Christ and so they have God in their hearts. He said, that makes total sense.
He was from Columbia and I asked him what he knew about the church. He said he really didn’t know anything. I asked him if he had ever seen the church or missionaries from the church in his home town in Colombia. He said he didn’t know anything about the church until he got here but that he had felt a tremendous curiosity to learn more. He asked me what the differences were between what he had been taught and what we believe.
I told him that we believe that God is a God of all of the world not just Jerusalem. I said that God sent his son Jesus Christ to America because God has all power. I asked him if he had ever heard this. He said no. I asked him if he believed that God loved him and he said yes. I asked him if he thought that God loved his ancestors as much as he did the people in Israel. He said, yes, for sure. I asked him why God would deny his son to the people in America when he had the power to send him here to visit the people. I said, if he loves them the same why would he do that. He said he couldn’t think of a good reason
I told him that God sent his son Jesus Christ to his ancestors here in America. I testified that he descended from heaven full of resurrected glory and stood on the steps of their temple. He let the people worship him. I said that these people, this man’s family, touched the prints of the nails in his hands and feet. They knew that he was their God that they had been waiting for. He blessed them, taught them the gospel and loved them. He blessed them and their posterity which included him.
The spirit was in the car and I asked him how he felt. He said he felt really warm and good. He said that it felt like the sun was shining on his soul. I said, the reason why you feel that way is because God is testifying to your heart and telling you that the things I am saying are true.
I told him that if I wasn’t telling the truth, the spirit of God would not be here. I told him that God does not lie to his children. He said, that makes sense. I asked him how it felt to know that Jesus came to his ancestors. He said, it feels amazing and it feels right. He said it was almost like something he had know but forgotten over time. I told him that this is exactly what had happened.
I told him that before he was born he lived with his father in heaven. He loved how it felt there. I said that he and God had a real relationship of love. I said, when you were in his presence, it felt something like what you are feeling right now. When you lived there, you were taught these things and you knew all about the visit of Jesus to your ancestors. Due to this knowledge, your spirit recognizes it now as I teach it. This is why you were feeling the spirit of God.
I told him that when Jesus was done teaching and blessing the people here in America, he went to other places around the world because he is the God of the whole world not just Jerusalem.
I told him that God had prophets in America just like he had prophets in Jerusalem because he loved the people that lived here. He said, that makes sense too. I told him that God gave revelations to them and they wrote them down. I told him that they also wrote down the account of the visit of Jesus Christ to America and the things he taught while he was here to his ancestors. These writings talk about the blessings he left with them and on their posterity.
He said, I love this. I told him that all of those teachings were written on plates, golden plates in the language that they spoke. I told him that they were buried in the ground and that Joseph Smith, who was called to be a prophet by God, was given power by God to translate them into English. This is the Book of Mormon.
I told him that God always used people who were not necessarily capable of doing things so that he could show his power through that person. He didn’t call a world renowned translation specialist, he called a boy. He called Joseph Smith when he was only 14 years old.
I told him that God sent David a young boy to slay the mighty Goliath. He said, yes. I asked him if a small boy should have been able to defeat the greatest warrior in the world. He said, no. I asked him how he did it and he said the power of God.
I told him Joseph Smith had a third grade education and there’s no way he could translate a book like that except for by the power of God. I told him that God uses his power working through us to accomplish miracles and that the translation of the Book of Mormon is one of them. He said, that gave me chills. I said, Joseph Smith was called as prophet to restore the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth in our day. This revelation has continued. We have a prophet of God on the earth today who God works through to give us the knowledge he would have us receive.
He looked at me with his mouth open and his eyes filled with excitement. He said, that’s amazing! I said, just like God loved the people that lived in America he also loves us and that’s why we have prophet. He said, this is good! I asked him if he wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon and he said yes quickly followed by, your sure? I reached into my glove box and pulled a Spanish copy of the Book of Mormon prepared by Secrists. I explained to him that this book was the spiritual heritage of his family. I told him that Abraham was told that his seed would be scattered throughout the world and this book tells how part of that happened.
I told him that this book is also the way that we are going to gather the house of Israel and prepare for the return of Jesus Christ. I told him that this book is the cornerstone of that restoration back to the actual church of Jesus Christ. I said that along with the Bible, this book teaches us how to act and how to show our love to God.
I told him that this book teachers about the blessings given to him and his ancestors. It shows them the love God has for them. He said, I’d love to read it. I said, that is why God put you in my car tonight and why I have this Book of Mormon for you. He wants you to read it. He wants you to know how much he loves you.
He asked me if we could sit for a while. We did and we talked about the importance of having revelation and the importance of that feeling that he was feeling and how God had given that him so that he could know that these things were true. I told him that he will feel this feeling as he reads and that’s how he will know that the Book of Mormon is true. That is how God will bear witness to his soul of its truth. I said that this is how God guides us.
I showed him Moroni 10:3-5 and told him that if he will pray to God while he is reading this book and feel, he will know its truthfulness by the spirit. I said, it’s a promise from one of your ancestors and from God.
He asked me how we pray. I instructed him on the four steps of prayer that we taught on our mission.
Address our Heavenly Father.
We thank him for everything we have.
We ask for the blessings we need including his spirit as a guide to know that the Book of Mormon is true
We end in the name of Jesus Christ.
I told him that it’s kind of a free form thing where you can open your heart and discuss anything you want with your father in heaven. He can bring the spirit to bear on any circumstance and help you throughout your life.
I told him we have prayer, we have the Old Testament, the New Testament and now we have this book which is another testament of Jesus Christ. I said, this testament, the Book of Mormon, testifies that God loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem. This is why he sent his son Jesus Christ to them. He said, what an amazing message. I can’t wait to read this book. I love to read and I promise I will read it.
I asked him if he knew where there was a church house in his hometown. He said that he wasn’t sure. I asked for his address and plugged it into the meeting house locator. The result was very surprising to us. When the page came up, it had a picture of the church house and the name of the bishop of the ward. He said, I live really close to that building. When he looked at the bishops name, he said, I know who that man is. I know his kids. They are awesome!!
I said, when you get back, you need to go up to these kids you know who are the bishop’s children and tell them about our ride tonight and what you learned. You need to show them your Book of Mormon and tell them that you know this is true. Ask them if they will go to church with you.
He promised me that he would do this. He said that he really wanted to go to church because he wanted to be part of this, this feeling, the feeling he felt in the car, the feeling he felt in Utah and the feeling he felt with God.
He reached out shook my hand, thanked me again and left the car.
Sometimes God sends you a lift 