Lately I’ve been doing a lot of deliveries. It kind of happened out of necessity and it’s been a different approach. You don’t have people in your car as a captive audience.
One thing I do know and that I have a testimony of is that if you’re willing to open your mouth God will put people in your path. If he can trust you to receive and act on revelation, you will get it.
The deliveries go all over the place, from one business to the next. The company has a store and from that store deliveries are done all over Utah County. Many times drivers pull up to that store and wait in their car until they get an order. I have found this especially during the slow times that this is the most profitable approach.
One day, I was sitting there and I looked next to me to the right. There was a lady in a silver Infiniti and she was shining. I looked at her for a second and thought, if I was giving her a ride, I would teach her the gospel.
Then the spirit said, well why don’t you teach the gospel then. I thought, yeah, why don’t I teach her the gospel. Approaching someone in their car, especially a young lady is fraught with danger, but the spirit indicated that I should go and so I did.
I walked up to her window and she rolled it down. I started with small talk about orders and strategies. I asked how long she had been doing this. She said she had been doing it for a few months and that she likes to deliver from the store. I said, I think I’ve seen you here quite a bit. She said, I think this is the best place for me to work. I like the system with the pick ups here, it’s pretty easy.
She was clearly Latina and I asked her where she was from. She said she was from Venezuela and she was working hard hoping to find a basement apartment.
I asked her if she was part of any religious group that could help her and give her a network of friends to help as well. She said no. I asked her if she was a member of the our church. She said, the Mormons? no! I said, you mean, not yet. She smiled wide and said, I guess not yet. I could tell from the conversation that she was open to discussion.
Just then I got an order and she got an order too. I said, I’ll catch you next time. We’ll talk some more. She said OK and we went. The thing is I don’t think it’s very common to see the same person there. To run into the same driver is certainly like finding a needle in a haystack but the spirit indicated to me that we would indeed be talking some more.
It didn’t take long! About two hours later, we were both there again. We picked up right where we left off. I asked her what religion she was and she said Catholic. I asked her if she had friends that were members of the church and she said yes. She said that she had been to our church a couple of times, but that she was Catholic.
She said she was Catholic because of the traditions of her family and she just didn’t see throwing out those traditions. I said, so it’s important to you to honor the traditions of your ancestors. She said, absolutely. I said, I have a story for you!
I asked her if she had heard of the Book of Mormon and she said yes. I asked her if she had read the Book of Mormon and she said no. I asked her if she knew what was in the Book of Mormon and she said not really. I said, I think you would like what you would learn about your ancestors in the Book of Mormon. She asked, my ancestors? I said, yes. She said, no one ever told me that.
I asked her if she believed that God loved everyone the same no matter where they were from and she said yes. I asked her if Jesus died for everyone not just the people in Jerusalem and she said yes. I asked her if God was all powerful and could do anything he wanted to do and she said absolutely.
I said, why would an all knowing all loving father in heaven that has the power to do anything, only send his son,Jesus Christ, to the people in Jerusalem? Why would an all knowing all loving father in heaven only have prophets in Jerusalem? Why would he only give his word to the people in Jerusalem? Does that seem fair?
I said, nowadays that may be fair because we have television and satellites plus the internet. You can be in one place and minister to the world. Back then Heavenly Father had to send prophets. It is God’s way to do things. He ministers to his children one by one.
She said, yeah, that makes more sense. I said, we believe that God had prophets in America that blessed, taught and guided your ancestors in the things that God would have them learn. God loved them and he blessed them with his word through those prophets.
Jesus said in the Bible, other sheep I have which are not of this fold and that he said he was going to visit them. We believe that when he said that, he meant that God had other children in other places, not just in Jerusalem, and he was going to send his son to minister to them because God ministers to each people and each nation.
We believe that Jesus Christ came to America and visited your ancestors. He blessed them, he taught them and he gave them baptism and commanded that they all be baptized.
This is all in the Book of Mormon. It’s the spiritual heritage passed down from your ancestors about your ancestors and their relationship with God. I said, each one of them was blessed by the word of God. Jesus Christ descended down from heaven in front of them. They touched the prints of the nails on his hands and feet. He blessed their children and wept as he held them in his arms. This is your religious heritage, not human sacrifice, not Catholicism but a true connection to the God of Israel, who paid for our sins and blesses our lives to this day. That is your religious heritage and it’s found in the Book of Mormon. She said, I never knew. We the each got an orders and off we went.
Two days later there she was again. I have to impress upon you that this just doesn’t happen but there she was. Picking up where we left off, I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said that she had been given one once by a friend. she said that she was not sure if she knew where it was. I pulled out one of the Book of Mormon’s that were prepared by the Secrists and gave it to her. I had her look at the questions of the soul and how to find the answer. She said, this sounds like it’s going to be fun reading. I love to read.
I said, do you find it to be strange that we keep ending up here together? She said, I was just thinking that. It is really strange.
She said, but not strange in a bad way. I have a really nice feeling when we’re talking. I actually have found myself hoping you’ll be here.
I said, that’s the spirit and when we’re talking about these things, your spirit recognizes the spirit of God in the words that I say because they’re true. I said, your spirit hungers to know the truth of its connection with Jesus Christ and the religious heritage of your ancestors. This is why you’re here. This is why you’re in Utah. I held up the Book of Mormon. I said, you’re here to receive this.
I told her, if you will pray, when you read this, your spirit will react, you’ll be happier and you won’t know why. God will bless your life If you will follow through with the things you have learned here.
She said, should I go to church? I said yes. Then we got orders and off we went. I didn’t see her for a week but then I saw her again. I asked her if she still wanted to go to church and she said, yes, I want to learn more about this.
We looked up her ward in the meeting house locator. Then I gave her my phone number just in case she had any questions. She asked, could I come to church with you someday? I said, yes, but you might want to go to your church because that’s where the people that live by you go. She said, that sounds awesome.
I felt prompted to promise her that this is why she was here at this time to receive this message. This is why we kept being put together here in this parking lot. I said that it is clear that this message will bless you, it will honor her ancestors and it will bless your family through the generations going forward. I said, that’s why God put you here so you could be ministered to as well.
She said, that’s a beautiful thought. I said, remember, we believe in Jesus and the Bible so you don’t have to give up anything. We celebrate Christmas and we honor the great people in the Bible like Mary. We just don’t pray to them. I said, you don’t have to give up your traditions. Bring your love of God and your love of Jesus and your love of the Bible with you and we will add onto it another chapter and another testament from your ancestors here in America. I said, now you’ll get the full picture.
I said, when you read the Book of Mormon, the spirit you will be feeling is the spirit of God. You will feel that spirit guide and direct you in the things that you should do. I said, when Jesus was in America, he commanded all your ancestors to be baptized and he extends that invitation to you. I asked, does that sound like something you would want to do? Would you consider being baptized, like Jesus instructed, by the authority he gave them to baptize? To be baptized just exactly like your ancestors were? She said, that sounds pretty cool. I think I would. I said, that is what this is all about. This is how we come to Christ, by learning his word and doing the things he has commanded us to do.
She said, I like that. Let’s do that. I asked her if she knew any missionaries and she said they live just two houses down from where she lives. I said, take this Book of Mormon and show it to them and tell them what you felt here and that you want to learn more. She said, I’ll do that. This is great.
I asked her what she felt and she said she felt very happy like she had just received a surprise that she had not been expecting and she didn’t know what it was.. She said, it’s a very deep and profound happiness. I said, that’s the spirit of God witnessing to you that these things are true. She said, as you said these things I’ve had no doubt, I didn’t feel weird or like they were wrong. She said, I think you’re right.
We got another order and off she went. Keep an eye open for her in church Sunday
Sometimes God sends you a lift 