One time I was driving in Salt Lake City, up by the University of Utah. I was driving up by the dorms east of Fort Douglas. There are some of the “new” dorms up there that were created for the Olympics. I know the Olympics was a long time ago, but I say new dorms because of the fact that the old dorms up there are the actual officers residences from the old fort and they are very old.
I got a ride and pulled in front of the dorm to wait for them to come out. I waited for quite a while and then finally saw them. There were two girls and a guy coming out of the dorm complex. You know how you can tell that sometimes people are members of the church before they tell you? This wasn’t one of those times.
The two girls were dressed extremely, bordering on embarrassing, immodestly . There was skin everywhere in the backseat. With the two girls was a young man. He was dressed but he was only going with them part of the way on the ride. After dropping them off I was to end the ride by taking him home up at one of the fraternity houses.
The girls were going out to get drunk and they said that they drank at least 2 to 3 nights a week. The girls said that this was their first year at school and they were going to make the most of it. The guy was a junior and a member of one of the most notorious fraternities on campus. All three of them got in the backseat of the car with the boy in the middle. It was cozy.
We talked about going to school and making good decisions. I asked them if they thought they might be able to get better grades if they weren’t out getting drunk multiple times a week. The guy laughed and the girls seemed to just seeth a little. I asked them if they were true freshman. They said they were true freshman but that they weren’t in school last year. They said they took a gap year. I could tell that they felt uneasy with the question. I asked them if I should stop with my questions because they were uncomfortable and the guy said with a huge laugh, no! I’m paying for the ride so go ahead and ask questions.
I asked the girls where they were from. They said they were from Salt Lake Valley. I felt the impression by the spirit that all three of them were returned missionaries. I couldn’t believe it. As soon as I felt that, I looked at all three and while there was a little light in the guys eyes, the girls light was out. I hate to see that, especially when I know what kind of experiences they’ve had and how much their father in heaven loves them.
I asked if they were members of the church and the girls said, we are not Mormons. I started asking more questions about why they chose the University of Utah. I could feel the tension building behind me because of the questions I was asking. The guy was cracking jokes and laughing about the girl’s uncomfortability throughout the ride. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the questions at all and enjoyed the girls squirming. He was pretty open and easy to talk to so I kept going.
I looked in the mirror and I said to them, you are all three return missionaries, aren’t you? Keep in mind that most of the people you pick up there in the dorms are not members of the church. They come from California to ski. By the way these girls were dressed, I believe this was a little bit of an unexpected question.
The girls were angry at me for being pinned down but the guy jumped right in. He said, we are all three return missionaries. He said, these two just got back three months ago and I have been back a few years. He said, I remember you, you came to our classroom in the MTC and taught us about Samuel the Lamanite. He said, that was a really good lesson.
Just then the girls interrupted and said, we came right to school when we got home from our mission. I felt prompted to ask them how long it took them to decide to leave the church. They looked at each other and kind of debated about how long it took. They decided that they left the church between three and four weeks after returning home from their missions. They said that all of the girls in their dorm that had gone on a mission had quit going to church. They said it just didn’t fit in with the things they wanted to do.
I couldn’t imagine leaving the church 3 to 4 weeks after finishing your mission but I guess there is a whole dorm of girls at the University of Utah that don’t see it that way.
The guy looked at them and he said with a shocked look, it was that quick? One of the girls looked at him and asked, when did you leave the church? He put his head down and said, I like to drink and party, but I don’t consider myself having left the church. I loved my mission and I know the church is true.
The girls were annoyed and mocked him a little bit then he said, you shouldn’t tease me, you don’t want to pay for your ride or your own drinks from now on do you? They became very quiet but you could tell that they were very angry. They felt uncomfortable having been exposed like this. It’s funny that they seemed to not be uncomfortable at all being practically naked going to a party. I figured it was probably a good thing that my questions made them uncomfortable in the end.
I invited them to revisit their feelings from their missions by sharing an experience but it wasn’t going anywhere. It was like talking to a brick wall. It was like my words were just bouncing off an invisible wall between the front and backseat. They were having none of it. They started responding to me in a very confrontational and cynical way.
Even the guy seemed to be on the outs a little bit with them. What was great is that he just started ignoring them. He started telling me about the places he served and how awesome the people were. He told me about how much he loved the MTC and the spirit that was there. He shared a couple of mission experiences with me.
I asked him if he still went to church and he said he hadn’t gone for a while but that he still believed the church is true. I asked him why he parties. He said that he parties because he likes to drink beer. He said, it is as simple as that. He said, as a member and officer of a fraternity, it’s really hard not to party because you’re always around it. It’s kind of expected.
He said, I have one year left in school and then I plan on going back to Logan, living around my family and being active in the church. I thought in my head, that’s really not the best way to do this. About this time we were approaching the location where the girls were heading. It was a big party and lots of people were there. After dropping them off, I took the guy home.
As soon as the girls were gone, the car just became a brighter place. The negative antagonism that accompanied these two young women went to the party with them. We had light back in the car. I asked him if he could feel the difference. He said yes. I asked him what made that difference and he said the spirit. He said, it is pretty clear that you have the spirit with you and those girls don’t.
He went back to talking about his mission. I interrupted and said, Elder, what in the world are you thinking? You know better than this. He bowed his head in quiet contemplation and then, said I suppose you’re right.
I said, you told me that you remembered me coming to your class and talking to you about the Samuel the Lamanite. Do you remember what the point of that was?
I said that I taught a lot of missionaries about Samuel the Lamanite and how because he was worthy and courageous he stood up alone on the wall and said the words the Lord put into his heart. He did this even though they were trying to kill him. He did this even though by his standards these were probably pretty strange things to say. I always gave the missionaries the charge to stand on the wall in their mission and in their lives after their missions. I gave them a challenge to stand on the wall, just like Samuel, and say the words the Lord put into their hearts.
He almost repeated this right back to me. He said “you taught us to be worthy and say the things that the spirit whispers to our hearts. You told us to be ready to do it at any time”. I said, that goes for now too, even after your mission. I asked him, well, how’s that going? He said, well, I’m not killing it, that’s for sure.
He said, I got here and everybody else was partying and it just seemed like the thing to do. Once that ball started to roll and I already had friends, I figured I could do this right now and get back on the wall when I finish.
I felt prompted right then to say that he didn’t have time to wait. I told him that coming soon there would be challenges. If in these challenges he made wrong choices they would lead him down paths that he wouldn’t just be able to escape. I said, I feel that the decisions you make in the next little while will guide the next several years of your life and you need to choose right. You need to get back on the wall and you need to stay on the wall just like Samuel.
He said, that’s crazy because I’ve had that exact feeling of foreboding pestering me the last week. I haven’t been able to shake it and then here you are saying the exact same thing to me that I’ve been thinking.
The spirit was really strong in the car and I said, do you remember the spirit? Do you recognize what you’re feeling? He said yes. I know what I’m feeling and I know what it means. It means I need to straighten up.
I said, you need to get yourself right, you need to get on the wall. You need to get yourself to church and take care of business. You need to quit trying to live in the party world and on the wall. It doesn’t work.
I said, you need to not surround yourself with girls that are trying to live out their carnal freshman fantasies. I said, it breaks my heart to see these girls just returned from missions with those attitudes.
I said, anybody can make a mistake, that’s not the issue. That’s why we have repentance. The problem is that they were back there rejecting the spirit as hard as they could and I think it’s important that you realize that right now.
He said, that’s kind of interesting because I hadn’t put that together. He said, I think we were all a little bit further gone than we thought we were. I sure don’t want to get like that. Those girls and their attitudes really surprised me.
I asked him if he was going to make these changes and he said, well, considering I’ve been hearing it in my heart and now I’m hearing it from you, I think maybe I should. He said, when God sends you a messenger, shouldn’t you listen? I said yes.
I asked him if it would be impossible to live right while living in the frat house. He said, it won’t be easy but there are a couple of guys that are return missionaries who don’t party. Usually, we laugh at and tease them but I could join them. I asked, how shocked would they be if you did that? He said, very shocked but they would be happy. It would take pressure off of them for sure.
I said, you should call your dad and talk to him about this. I said, I feel a prompting that he knows what’s been going on and he’s been worried. He and your mother have been praying for you every day. He and your mother would love to pray for help to give you strength to do these things.
He said, I know 100% that’s true. That sounds like a good idea. I said, you need to go to church, get worthy, prepare the take the sacrament. You need to do that every week. It won’t be long at all before you’re back on the wall.
I said, I don’t think it’s a mistake that you are in this frat house. You are in the house because there are a lot of people who are not members of the church. There are also a lot of people who are less active members of the church and you have a very powerful and influential spirit when you testify. I said, if you testify, they will recognize the truth of the things you say and many will follow. He said, it worked that way on my mission and it references that in my patriarchal blessing. He said, man I feel the spirit strong in your car.
He thought for a moment and then he said, I can do that! I said, you can love those guys right into the church. I said, this whole experience will look better when you are standing on the wall looking at it. You can be Samuel right here in your fraternity. He said, I won’t forget that again. They may remove me from my position but it’s OK. This is clearly what God wants.
I have thought about this ride for quite a while. Even though we may have amazing spiritual experiences we can slip up. While we are serving God it is important to let him write his name on our hearts so that when we mess up he can pull us back in. We can’t be lost to him unless we won’t be found
Sometimes God sends you a lift 