Author Archives: Driveronthewall

One day I was driving in Utah County and I picked up a guy at the train station in North Orem. He was coming home from work and he was very dirty. He worked in construction and was very apologetic for the damage he was doing to my car. He looked a little bit wildContinue reading “Lilo and Stitch say “Ohana” means no one is left behind.”

Through various interactions I became friends with a really cool guy. He owned a brand new home and lived in it with his three cousins. He was divorced and had a child from his marriage but pretty much it was just him and these three guys being total bachelors. They were all members of theContinue reading “Milkshakes and pizza strike again”

When I was helping the Spanish ward in the Alpine stake, I was driving down one of the residential streets. There was a family that I saw walking down the street. They were a cute little family, they had seven kids under 10 years old. They had clearly been to the grocery store and wereContinue reading “We are much happier when we drink in the spirit not the spirits”

One of the things I do as a rideshare driver is rent a car to drive. It is expensive and it is horrible. You just can’t destroy your own cars by putting that many miles on them. I’ve been renting cars for years as I traveled for business so I was kind of used toContinue reading “Free rides don’t pay well but they sure pay off”

I used to drive this one man to a stake center where they played indoor soccer on Thursday nights. One night I hung around to watch for a minute. There was a guy who came and was just watching. He was hanging out alone in the corner all by himself. I walked up to himContinue reading “Do you want to know why your church has a gymnasium? Soccer of course!”

In a previous experience “the sweetest smell of unfinished buisness” I referenced a man I baptized from an area in my mission. This whole story led me to additional understanding regarding what it means when we say that God is all knowing and all powerful. Every Mission President I’ve ever met has a big boardContinue reading “Now that’s a heavenly transfer board. No one is left behind and everyone is exactly where they need to be”

There was a family in a north Orem ward that seemed to generate an unusual amount of interest with the ward members. They had three children, two of them were teenagers ages 19 and 18 and the youngest was nine years old. These kids were well liked but everybody was afraid to talk to themContinue reading “Jesus loves effort so let’s do that”

When I was serving with the language, missionaries, I was helping out In an Orem ward. I was helping them do more than just write a ward mission plan. I was showing them how to implement one. I have always believed that you can’t implement a ward mission plan without receiving revelation about those youContinue reading “It almost makes you feel like you should look in people’s backyards more often”

I have several friends who live close that I have had the privilege of teaching. I love going over to one of my friend’s house because it has became quite a good way to do missionary work. They rent rooms in their house and have lots of nonmembers around there all the time. It isContinue reading “Waiting upon the Lord can take a while yet he always comes through but maybe not until you wield the hammer and break some glass”

I had a church calling that required me to attend meetings and trainings all over Orem and Vineyard. I would go to these meetings on Sundays and they were held in several different chapels. Due to this I got to know the different wards, stakes and Spanish wards quite well. One Sunday, I was drivingContinue reading “It’s good on those days when we are not the priest or the Levite”

I have a friend who lived over near me from Latin America. If you look in the dictionary under a man of few words, you see his picture. He never really had much to say, but he had good vibes. He would go to church with his wife but he wasn’t baptized. I asked theContinue reading “God can change troubled waters to living Waters”

One day I had a pick up at Primary Children’s Hospital. When you have at pick up at Primary Children’s Hospital, it can be either someone just commuting home from work or someone in the greatest crisis of their life. With the people who are in crisis sometimes you don’t know how to handle theContinue reading “Sometimes you need to be fed and we aren’t talking hospital food. Say hallelujah!”

I had a friend from Latin America who had been very less active. I worked with him a lot to get him active in the church. After many months we were there and he was getting ready to go to the temple. He was on fire. Then tragedy struck. He was in a very seriousContinue reading “Their crazy cousin always has a plan”

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 dormsContinue reading “It is not possible to party like that on the wall”

There was a time when I was ward mission leader and also a language missionary in our ward, I was working hard in my ward and we were being blessed. One day I received a call from the stake president. He told me that there was a Spanish-speaking family in their ward that might haveContinue reading “This family will be together forever, it’s Heavenly Fathers plan.”

One evening I was driving back from Lehi after dropping someone off. I was hoping to catch a ride down to Orem or Provo. You love to get down to Provo or south. It just seems to me that I can be more profitable down there sometimes. As I got to American Fork, I gotContinue reading “Get rid of those garbage bags. Now, that’s a story”

One time I was in Nashville, Tennessee. It was in the fall and we were going to be there over the weekend. The big problem with that was Brigham Young University had a football game against Arizona State and I did not want to miss it. I looked all over town to find a restaurantContinue reading “We are all Mormons tonight”

.God has a plan for each of us and it doesn’t involve quitting. God’s hand moves in his time. In one of my wards as a ward language missionary, there was a man named Ruben. Ruben was a great guy. He worked long hours at Target but was very generous with his time to everyone.Continue reading “Nine years, 28 sets of missionaries and one amazing baptism”

In the basement of a family I know, there are four rooms that they rent to people. Most of the time these people are from outside the United States and speak Spanish. When I go over to their house to visit, I always stop in and talk to the people who live downstairs. One dayContinue reading “Rotors? Check. Flaps? Check. Guidance system engaged and operational? Check Check”

When I was a language missionary, I was helping out in the Suncrest Ward. There was a man and his family who were originally from Mexico. They were living with his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law was second counselor in the Elders Quorum presidency but this man and his family were not members. His wife and childrenContinue reading “Sometimes it comes down to a wing and a prayer.”

I went to Argentina to help Karen get her visa worked out at the embassy. It was a great trip. We got to go out to President Baroni‘s house and have dinner. President Baroni was my mission President when I was young. The trip was all organized very well and went smoothly. She got her visaContinue reading “The water in Argentina feels just right”

One day during the covid craziness I went to church and a lady came to me and asked, “Are you Bruce Nilsson?” I said yes and she became very clingy. She was Venezuelan and we were speaking Spanish but this clinginess had more to do with something else than with the language. I interpreted the meetingsContinue reading “God will deliver us from the rollercoaster”

One time I picked up a guy in Orem very late at night. It had been a long day and it was like 3 AM and he was going home. It was a short ride but we seemed to hit it off really well. He was from an area in Argentina where I served. DuringContinue reading “The sweetest smell and unfinished business”

One time I was working with language missionaries in Orem. I was helping a struggling branch establish missionary work. I went door to door in their branch, house to house. I asked the people questions with regards to their membership or activity. Many had been baptized before in other places and we had no ideaContinue reading “Power in the book”

This is an experience that happened to me some years back. It was one of the most amazing and impactful missionary experiences I have had. God is great and his love is eternal. One Sunday, I had an assignment to be at the Spanish speaking ward down just off Geneva Road. It was a reallyContinue reading “Sometimes God needs you to lock your car, now!”

It’s really interesting that when you are doing deliveries you run into the same people. It’s almost a little community or several little communities. Over about a three week period I had noticed a couple doing it together. Sometimes couples do deliveries together so one can drive and one can deliver. I’ve even taken HeatherContinue reading “The Hokey Pokey lady”

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 willContinue reading “God will deliver his spirit to us so he can deliver us. He has a plan”

One night I got a late pick up from Lindon to the airport. It was a good ride financially and I was excited to get it. I picked her up at a really nice house only a few blocks from the Lindon Temple. You could see the temple was almost in the back yard ofContinue reading “God weighs in for a family”

One night I was driving in Park City and it was about that time when everyone picks up and goes out to socialize and drink. It was during spring break and there were lots of people taking advantage of the drinking establishments around town. College kids everywhere. I got a ride to go up andContinue reading “Can trash talking lead to conversion?”

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 thereContinue reading “Serving up the spirit in Park City-no charge!”

In my driving people have always commented on how much they enjoy the cleanliness of my car and the service i provide. They come and go frequently to Park City. Some have asked me to kind of be their permanent ride. I like this because they pay me in cash and everyone’s happy. I haveContinue reading “Heads up Bishop Rick”

One day I was in Orem and I picked up a ride for about $25 going north. I thought, that’s a pretty good ride to Salt Lake payment wise. I was excited to take it. They don’t give you very good foresight as to where you’re going just a quick view of a small mapContinue reading “Man, there’s no way I want to go to Mantua”

One night I was coming from Salt Lake and I was looking for a ride. You’re always looking for a ride on your way home from Salt Lake because you don’t want to pay for that gas all by yourself. You would rather have a rider contribute. Usually when I do this, I get toContinue reading “There is no such thing as unworthy of gods love, he is your father after all”

One late Friday evening I was working downtown. I have discussed here before that Friday evenings are one of the times you make all of the money you didn’t make the rest of the week and so they’re very important. I got a ride down to around 45th South. My thinking was that I wouldContinue reading “Hearts full of the spirit and stomachs full of barbecue!!”

One night I was driving in Salt Lake and I picked up somebody in Millcreek. I pulled up in front of the apartment complex and waited a few minutes and then she came out. I could tell that there was a problem because she was crying as she slammed the door of the house. SheContinue reading “Trade in those friends for a loving Heavenly Father and a new ward family”

One night I was driving in Salt Lake and I got a trip down to the south end of the valley. A lot of times if that happens you want to just get right back up to Salt Lake as fast as you can. That particular night there was a Real Salt Lake soccer gameContinue reading “Sometimes it’s your turn to stand and testify, but you never stand alone”

One day I was driving in Salt Lake and I picked up two girls from the capital. They were dressed in nice dresses and they were headed over to. Millcreek where they had an Airbnb. They were from the East Coast and were here for the wedding of their girlfriend from college. They had goneContinue reading “They didn’t catch the bouquet but coming to the wedding changed their lives anyway”

It’s interesting to see how confused people are in this world about what makes them happy even as they do the things that aren’t making them happy. They listen to people who lie to them and it sets them up for a life that is less than what their father in heaven would have itContinue reading “Don’t focus on the shiny objects”

When I first started driving more down in Utah County I was trying to learn where to be to make the most money. I learned really quickly that rides from Provo took you south and rides from Orem took you north. If you want to stay in Utah county you don’t want to go toContinue reading “A Journey back”

One night I was driving in Provo and I got a ride to pick up a guy and take him to Springville. I picked him up just off the south east side of BYU campus. As I pulled up, I saw this huge man. He was about 24 years old, at least 6’2” and probablyContinue reading “Sometimes it is good to be taken to the cleaners.”

One day I was driving around in Salt Lake City trying to get some rides. I mean I was looking for pretty much any ride and it was very slow. One of the issues that we have had over the last few years is that the immigration community has been encouraged by the state toContinue reading “Just when you thought all airline delays and system shutdowns were bad….”

I picked up a girl at the Marriott downtown who had been visiting some friends from out of town. It was the birthday of one of her friends. She got in the car and was acting excited and happy. While she was acting excited and happy the spirit told me that she was over playingContinue reading “When you eat an elephant you have to start somewhere, let’s get started!”

I got a call to go over and pick up a lady in a trailer park by the Maverik on Redwood Road and 400 south. On the way over to pick her up I got a message from her saying that she wasn’t at the trailer park anymore. Ahhh, a moving target. We get thoseContinue reading “If we’re going to live up to our privileges, it helps to remember who we are”

One Monday night, it had been unusually slow. I had been out quite a while and it was very late. I was in Salt Lake trying to get as much money as I could but it was no use, there were not a lot of rides. I got a ride to Tooele. I never wantContinue reading “God will find you, even in Tooele”

One night it was very late and I was on my way home. I had a ride take me out to West Valley and I thought that would pretty much do it for me. I forgot to turn off my app so that presented a problem when this particular ride was sent to me. IContinue reading “Sometimes we just need to know he is there for us”

One night I was driving and I had a pick up in Springville. I picked up this guy by an apartment complex just off Main Street. He had a giveaway member of the church name. It was Moroni. When I pulled up, my first thought was, well this is going to be a member ofContinue reading “Can’t Wait to get those covenants”

I picked up a guy over in Rose Park off of Redwood Road. He said he used to live in Orem and so we talked about Utah County and how he wished that he could afford to own a house in Orem. We talked about where you would have to move to afford a house,Continue reading “If something teaches you not to pray, don’t just stand around listening to it. Fight back!”

One day I had just finished washing my car. It was a little earlier than I usually turn on but I decided to turn on anyway. I thought, maybe I could get something quick. Usually that early in the morning it’s pretty quiet and normally it doesn’t make any sense. I wanted to head toContinue reading “He knows where to find us, how to fix us up and get us to work”

One evening I was just about to go home for dinner and I was coming down I-15. I got a call to go to Walmart and pick up some people. Walmart this time of year is a mess just in case you didn’t know. It took me a minute to find them but I eventuallyContinue reading “Safety in his peace”

One day I was down in Lehi and trying to go to Salt Lake. I like to be hanging around in the Sandy/Draper area because you can get good rides there sometimes. I was offered a ride to go to Orem and I was trying to reject it. As I touched it, it wouldn’t reject.Continue reading “Breaking away from your prison”