Sometimes God sends you a lift

I gave a ride to a young man from Jamaica. He works at a restaurant in Park City. I picked him up and we talked about how everybody in Park City is from somewhere else. As the drive went on we talked about how his dad doesn’t like it here. I asked him why his dad doesn’t like it here in the Utah. He said that his dad would trade it all to live in New York. He gave New York up to live here and has been salty ever since. I said I would give up on New York in a heartbeat.

I said that his dad should learn to like it here. He said, I think he would like Utah if he gave it a chance because it’s so peaceful. I asked him why it’s peaceful? He said, that’s easy, because the people are so nice. I asked him why the people are nice. He said he didn’t know.

I said it’s because they obey the commandments. He said, ah man! That means you can’t do anything fun, that’s a buzz kill. I laughed and asked him to think about it differently. I talked about obedience and how obedience to God‘s commandments isn’t a buzz kill or handcuffs in any way. Just the opposite, they’re the only way to be free. I used drugs and alcohol versus sober and in control as an example and he agreed. I said, another example is having sex with lots of different women or out of marriage with diseases and out of wedlock pregnancy versus relationship in marriage with love.

In each case I asked him which would be the happier person. He said, the one who was obeying the commandments. I said, which would be the more peaceful person in their soul. He said, the one that obeyed the commandments. I asked, if you had a lot of these people who obey the commandments together would you feel that peace? He said yes.

I talked about how God gives us commandments and he reveals them through prophets. I testified to him that we have a prophet today who reveals God’s will to us because we face new challenges that didn’t exist in Bible times more than a thousand years ago.

I asked him if he had friends who were members of the church. He said yes. He said he had one that went to Brazil on his mission who is a very good friend. I asked him if he knew what he did while he was in Brazil and he said no.

I talked to him about the Book of Mormon and how there were prophets in ancient America and they taught the people God‘s word. I talked to him about Jesus coming to America and how he commanded people to be baptized. I taught him that Jesus invited everyone to be baptized with his baptism and that this invitation is still being extended today. I told him that extending this invitation to receive the baptism commanded by Jesus Christ is what his friend did in Brazil. I taught him that as we are baptized, we can become clean from the sins that we commit and be pure before God. I asked him if he would like to be clean and feel that peace. He said yes! He said, it would be amazing.

Earlier as we talked about commandments I received the impression that he had much experience with and some hard times due to the breaking of these commandments. When he said it would be amazing, he lit up and I could tell it struck a chord.

I taught him about how in Jerusalem Jesus had said “other sheep I have”. I said that those sheep were in America and other places around the world When he got to America he said that those were the sheep of whom he spoke but that there were still other sheep and that he had received a commandment to go to them. Jesus said that these sheep were not in America or Jerusalem or the lands roundabout.

I asked him where he thought the other sheep might have been. He was pensive and didn’t answer right away. I asked again because I wanted his response. He said, possibly in Africa? I said, I believe so. I said, the Book of Mormon is proof positive that God is an all loving God. It shows that he loves everyone no matter where they were born, no matter when they were born just the same. He sent his son to all of them. I asked him, if an all powerful God had lots of children which one would he visit? He said, all of them. A perfect father would show love to all of his children

I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon and he said he did. I asked him if he knew that this is what it taught in that book. He said he had no clue but he couldn’t wait to read it.

The spirit was powerfully testifying at this point. I asked him what he felt in his heart right then. He said, this is crazy, it is so powerful, emotional and peaceful at the same time. I love this feeling. I asked, do you know what that feeling means? He said, no, what? I said, it means these things that I have said are true. I asked him if he doubted the truth of what we were saying in that moment with the spirit in his heart as a guide and he said no. We talked about how God sent his son to his ancestors and to my ancestors. I said, we all have an inner part of us seeking to connect with the Savior and when it recognizes the spirit it latches on.

He said that was awesome. I asked him if he would call his friend who went to Brazil and tell him about the ride when he got out of the car? He said, absolutely. He said he was going to do it right away. I told him that when he called his friend he should tell him what we had just talked about. I said his friend would know what to do from there. He said he was going to make the call as soon as he got out of the car. I told him to tell his friend what he felt in the car. I told him to tell him that he had heard that he could become clean through baptism and ask him if he could help him do that. With a huge smile, he said that he would ask those questions.

I asked him again what he was feeling and he said that he felt joy, happiness and peace. I asked him what that joy happiness and peace was telling him. He said, it’s telling me that this is true.

I told him to tell that to his friend and he said he would. I told him to ask his friend why he didn’t explain this to him in the first place. He laughed and said, that’s exactly what I’ll do. This kid was awesome and what a great experience it will be for them.

I picked up a man named Israel one morning about 3:30. It had been busy that day and he had been waiting for about an hour for a ride. He was depressed thinking that no one would be able to take him home. He said that he thought it was a blessing that I was there! I love it when the story starts like that!

He was Latino but he didn’t speak Spanish. His family was from Mexico but he was not raised Catholic, his family was Penecostal. He was very proud and well-versed in his people’s heritage and history. It was kind of a passion of his.

Over the years he had lost touch with his faith a bit because of questions he had that were never answered. Due to of this he quit going to church. I asked him if he was open to hearing another perspective on God. He said, absolutely!

He started by asking me if I wanted to know what the problems were that he found with his religion. I told him I didn’t want to get into talking bad about his religion or what his problems were because I wasn’t there to tear that down. I told him that it’s not what his religion did wrong that was his problem, it’s that his religion didn’t address everything and that left him wanting.

I asked him if God loved everyone in the world that lived now or had ever been born. He said, absolutely, God loves everyone, he is our father. I asked him if God loved his ancestors who lived in Mexico hundreds of years ago and thousands of years ago. He said, yes!

I showed him a picture of Tulum. He was familiar with Mexican archaeology and recognized it right away. I pointed out that there are three doors at the top of the tower in the temple. I also pointed out to him that above those doors there were three spaces for engravings. I showed him that in the first space on the left there is a king God with a crown. The middle space is a descending God, descending from heaven to visit the people. The third space is empty. I asked him why that last one would be empty, he said he didn’t know.

I asked him if he had ever heard of Kulculcan or Quetsacoattle. He said yes, he was familiar with the history of the bearded white God. He knew that’s how Cortez tricked and conquered the Aztec empire. I told him that this descending God on that temple was the same God that they were waiting for when Cortez arrived. He said, that makes sense because the stories of the bearded white God indicate that he descended from heaven.

I asked him what more he knew about that. He said that this great white God came and taught good things, blessed the people and said he would return and that’s why they were caught off guard with Cortez.

I asked him if he would like to know about or read a book that contained an account of the visit of that great white God. He got physically excited and said, yes!

I pulled out a copy of the Book of Mormon. I said, this book has the answers you’re looking for. He was a little shocked and said, I knew you were Mormon, I could feel it but I had no idea that the Book of Mormon would have that information. Can you show me where it is so I can get the book and read it? I handed him the book in my hand and said, this is your copy. It was one of the copies prepared by the Secrists.

I explained the Book of Mormon and its origins. I testified of Joseph Smith and the translation of the Book of Mormon. The spirit fell on the car and his interest increased. I noticed the spirit and said, what is that you’re feeling? He said that he was feeling euphoric and had an assurance that what I was saying was true and that he should listen to me.

I opened the book to third Nephi 11 and talked to him about what had been going on up to that point. I told him that this is where Jesus came to his ancestors, this is where Jesus rescued them and this is where his people saw and touched the Savior of the world. I asked him how that made him feel and he said, amazing!

I went back to talking about the tower at Tulum and said, so if the middle one is Jesus, then who is the king God on the left? He said, God the father. Then I said, given the middle one is Jesus and the one on the left is God the father why is the third one empty with no image? He thought for a minute and said, that must be the Holy Ghost. In his Pentecostal church they talked a lot about the Holy Ghost.

I told him that the Holy Ghost is a very important part of the Godhead. I told him that the Holy Ghost is given to us so that we can discern truth. I told him it also comforts us and teaches us how to walk with God. I told him that a pursuit of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost will inevitably lead us back to God. I told him that’s why the gift of the Holy Ghost is very important. That way when we’re worthy, we always have the right to have him with us.

I testified to him that the Book of Mormon was true, that Jesus did come to his ancestors, that his father in heaven loves him and that the Holy Ghost bears witness of that. I told him he would never look at Tulum the same ever again. I said, that is evidence that your ancestors saw Jesus Christ and he taught them. I asked him again, is the spirit telling you that’s true or false? He said, I feel it’s true.

I talked to him about Jesus then going amongst the people and instructing them to be baptized even if they had already been baptized. He commanded that they be baptized in the way he taught with the authority he gave them. I asked him if that was important. He said, yes. You can’t go to heaven and be saved unless you are baptized. I told him that this is why Jesus himself was baptized, to set the example that we all needed to be baptized.

I asked him, “given that Jesus gave authority to baptize and indicated a proper baptism, would that be the baptism you would think was the correct baptism?” He said, yes. I asked him if that was the baptism he received in his church. He said no. I asked him if he would be interested in having that baptism and he said yes.

I asked him about the people who had died without receiving this baptism. He said he didn’t know what would happen to them. He said, that’s one of the things that always bothered me. The plan we teach in my church seems incomplete. I told him that the true indication that God loves everyone is not only that he sent his son to them but that he provided a way for them to be baptized. I said that in our temples we are baptized for those people. Then they have the opportunity to accept that baptism and it opens the gates of heaven so that they can enter. I told him that in Ephesians it mentions baptisms for the dead and that this is how God has prepared a way for everyone to come home. It shows God loves everyone. He said, that’s perfect

I said, the Holy Ghost testifies of truth just like it has here tonight. I told him that after the people who lived here in America were baptized, Jesus then gave them authority to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost on the people so they could have its constant companionship.

He said, this is amazing. I love that this is the religion of my ancestors. I asked him if he would read the Book of Mormon and he said that he would. I asked him if he knew any church members and he said yes. He said that his two best friends were Mormons and returned missionaries. He wondered out loud why they never told him these things. I told him to walk up to his friends with that Book of Mormon in his hand and ask them that question.

He seemed like a guy who just found a brand new restaurant and was bursting at the seems to tell everyone about it. He commented out loud on the spirit that had testified that night about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He had always been taught to look for the spirit. Fortunately the spirit was with us that night.

A testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith born by that spirit had changed his life. I would have loved to be watching when he talked to his friends the next day! Hurrah for Israel.

One night I was in Utah County and I picked up a lady out in Palmyra. I’ll bet you thought that was in New York, not so fast!

Palmyra is west of south Springville, kind of between Springville and Spanish Fork out towards the lake. It’s out there!  I actually like driving out there because it’s country. There are ditch banks, hay stacks, cows and fields.  It makes me feel like I’m at home in Idaho.

One thing about being in the country is that you see a lot more stars and when there’s a moon, it lights everything up. When there’s not a moon, you can’t see anything.

This night there was no moon and there are no street lights per se to light things up. It took me a bit to get to this young lady. I couldn’t find her. I decided to stop on the indicated spot and wait for five minutes and cancel if she didn’t show up.

I waited for about three minutes and then she just popped in the back of the car behind me. I couldn’t see her, both because she was behind me and because it was so dark back there. I had no idea what she looked like or anything about her. 

Sometimes that’s kind of scary because you just don’t know who’s getting in your car if they get in behind you and when it’s dark like that, it’s pure faith.

We started driving and the first thing out of her mouth was “your Mormon aren’t you?”  Not hello, not good evening.  I said, yes! Of course 100%! She said, I had my daughter baptized in your church. My grandpa baptized her. I told her, that’s so cool!

I asked her if she went to the baptism and she said yes. I felt like I should ask her what she felt at the baptism and she said she felt calm and peace. I said, I’ll bet you don’t feel too much of that in your life. I’ll bet that was something you really enjoyed feeling. She said, absolutely.  There’s not too much peace in my world.

I still hadn’t seen her but I followed the spirit down that road. I said, life’s crazy but that’s so good that you took the time to get your daughter ready to be baptized. I asked, so, you are a member the church too?

She said, I guess you could say that. I was baptized when I was young but it was a bad situation with my parents.   I ended up back here with my grandparents. I haven’t ever really gone to church. I let my daughter get baptized because she goes to church with my grandparents and she seems to really enjoy it. She said, I guess it’s the thing to do around here.

She asked me, do you like it here? She said, I mean here in Utah do you like it here? I said, absolutely. I said, I like it here but I believe I could be happy anywhere because I know my Heavenly Father loves me.

I said, there’s a calm and peace here that I like because the people here obey the commandments of God in large part just like your daughter. The people here get used to that peace and calm, but the cool thing is that you can take that with you when you go other places. Because of this, you can be happy anywhere you go.

I told her I was from Idaho but I had that peace and calm (and cold) in Idaho.  I said that  I was born in Las Vegas and we had that peace in our home in Las Vegas. I told her that God gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost when we are baptized and his spirit can go with us so that we can have that peace and calm.

She said, I don’t believe in God per se. She said, I believe there’s something out there but a person? No way! I don’t believe that. I felt strongly in this case, as I do in most cases when people say something like this, that what she meant was, if there is a God, then there are commandments and if there are commandments, there are restrictions on my unbridled lifestyle that I don’t want to adhere to. Therefore, if I do not recognize God, there is no guilt or responsibility. That’s what I think she was saying and that’s what I think most people with this attitude are saying.  They just don’t want to be told that they are wrong. 

I felt strongly prompted that this was a time to bear a firm testimony of our father in heaven and his love for us. I testified to her that our father in heaven is a real person and that he loves us. We call him father because he is our father and the whole purpose of this life is to learn how to make good decisions and live right so that we can come back to live with him.

I told her that Heavenly Father loves everyone that was ever born because they’re all his children. She said, how can someone love so many people. Most of them don’t even know about the church. I said, God is all knowing and all powerful.

I told her that his son, Jesus Christ, set up the preaching of the gospel to everyone that dies without hearing it so that every one of his children will be taught how to come home. I told her that we go to temples to do baptisms for the people who have died and been taught so that they can choose to accept or reject that baptism. I said, that baptism is the key that unlocks the door so that we can return home to our father.

I told her that when we are baptized, we are clean and able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I told her that the Holy Ghost walks with us, protects us, comforts us, teaches us and bears witness of truth to our hearts. I told her that this is why she felt the peace at the baptism because the Holy Ghost was there.

The spirit was in the car and I could tell she was feeling it. I asked, what do you feel right now?  She said that she felt that same peace. I said, that is your father in heaven, testifying to you that the things I’ve said are true and that he loves you. You are his daughter and he wants you to come home just like he wants your daughter to come home.

I said, he is a father. He is a just father and he he has made a way for all of us to be able to come home if we will. I told her in that same temple we can be sealed as families and not be separated permanently by death. She said, I know about that and I think it’s beautiful. My grandparents were sealed in the temple and it’s very important to them.

I said, that should be very important to you as well. God wants all of us to live with him along with our families.

We were heading to American Fork and we were just passing the Orem Temple and I said, here is a temple. That’s where we do these important things. She said, that temple is so beautiful. Every time I go by I this feel same peace.

I said, that peace is your father in heaven inviting you to come home by the influence of his spirit. I said, your daughter knows this, your grandma knows this and now you know it too.

I told her that God puts people in my car so that they can get messages and hear my testimony sometimes. I told her it’s not a lot of times as a percentage, but I’m glad that he gives me the chance to testify because I get to feel the spirit like we were feeling it right then. She said, I love this. I told her a couple of stories of people that had been in my car that came to my mind to share and she liked them.

When I finished the stories, she said, I noticed that you were told by the spirit what to say to those people. I said, yes! Heavenly Father will help us minister to his children and sometimes if we listen, he will put into our hearts the things that we should say.  These are the things that they need to hear and he will give us those words.

She said, that’s cool. I said, the question is, why are you in my car? The question is, what are the things that have kept you from going to church? Clearly your grandparents believe. What has been the thing that’s kept you away?  She said that she had already said that she didn’t believe that God was a person but that now she was wavering on that thought. 

Then she said, it’s kind of one thing that my grandmother says all the time that really kind of frustrates me. She says you’ll never be given a trial that is beyond your ability. You’ll never be given something greater than you can handle.

My rider said, that’s just not true. People have trials all the time that are too much. She said sometimes they commit suicide. I don’t know why my grandma would say something like that to me and it drives me crazy.  It sounds a bit self-righteous.

I said, your problem is that you don’t understand the atonement of Jesus Christ and you don’t have a testimony of the atonement of Jesus Christ. She said, I suppose you are right but I’m not talking about my sins.  I said, in reality that’s only part of what I’m talking about.

I told her that she’s only using a small portion of the atonement and that the atonement of Jesus Christ was all encompassing. I told her that the atonement happened when Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross, and later was resurrected. He not only paid for our sins, but he suffered all of the pain, anguish, unfairness, oppression, and evil that could be inflicted upon us. I told her that because of this, he has the ability to help us and lift us.

I told her that because of this we can do more than we are able to do and be happy. I told her that it had been a rough 4 1/2 years for me since my professional life came crashing down but this said, I had been happy and able to deal with all of the emotions and pressures.  I had relied on the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I told her that it made it so that I was able to not just sit here and focus about how unfair it was or look around and develop hatred for other people who hadn’t been affected and who didn’t understand, but I was able to do like Jesus would do and turn out, bear my testimony and say the things the Lord put into my heart and be his instrument.

I said, in return for me doing that, he has lifted me and blessed me and I have been happy in this trial. I said, God is great and he loves each one of us. He knows who we are individually and he has a plan to save us not just in the end, but all the way through.

She said, you said he gives you things to say like he did in those stories. What has he said to you about me?

I think we all know that’s not how this works. It’s not something that you just do on demand. When the Lord whispers the words to your heart, then you say them, but you don’t try to make it up or do it on demand.

As luck would have it, it just so happens that I’d been receiving a prompting for a while that this girl was in trouble with drugs and had a severe addiction problem. I felt like the reason why I picked her up at her grandparents in Palmyra was that she had taken her daughter there, and she was going to go to rehab.

I said to her, you know, this isn’t really how this works. We don’t ask for signs. This is how God lets you know that he loves you and the rest of the things I’m saying are true.

Then I told her about the impressions that I had about her addiction and everything like I said above. She said, amazing! And then there was silence for about a minute and she said that was just amazing again and then she was silent a third time and again she said, that was amazing. I can’t believe that you knew all of that.

I said, I didn’t know it, but your Heavenly Father knew it and he gave that to me to share with you so that you can know that the rest of the things I say are true. He gave that to you so that you can know you need to go to church, read scriptures and say your prayers.

I told her that Satan had convinced her that God does not exist, but he does exist and so does Satan. Satan is fighting you and God is fighting for you. I told her that God wants her to walk with his spirit just like she feels it right now and that it could help her fight the war that is her addiction.

She said, when I do drugs, there’s a thrill, but it’s not lasting. This seems like such a better path. I told her that if she will bring God into her life, have him there always, if she will read the Book of Mormon and say her prayers multiple times a day God could help find that peace by having his spirit in her soul and she will feel filled.

She said that’s exactly what I need. I think I will do that. I’m going into rehab tomorrow but I don’t have a Book of Mormon. I pulled out one of the Book of Mormon’s I have prepared by the Secrists and gave it to her. I said, read this every day, anytime you feel your addiction cravings. Read the Book of Mormon and pray. She said, I am desperate! My daughter needs me and I need to do this.

She said, I will! She said it’s amazing that you knew to say that thing. Someone had to tell you and I think it was God. I said, he’s your father and he loves you and he wants to have you feel his love and this is how we do it. I said, when you get ready to take the sacrament, that will be a way that you can fill your tank with the spirit as well.

I told her God has given us so many ways to walk with him. We need to reach out and do those things so that we can have the power to overcome the counterfeits that Satan throws in our path, like your addiction.

I asked her, so are you craving your addiction right now? She said, no! You know, I was just thinking that same thing right before you said it. I said, it’s because the spirit is here and that’s why. Satan can’t be here. The spirit is here and satan’s influence is muted.

I said, it’s important for you to know that I don’t need to be here for you to feel this spirit. Read the Book of Mormon, pray and get ready to take the sacrament by going to church. If you do those things, God can help you and God will help you.

By this time we had arrived and she got out of the car and headed inside waving on her way to the door. Right before she went in, she held the Book of Mormon up and waved it like a trophy. I hope that she grows to understand the power of the words and the spirit that accompanies those words that are in her hand. She’ll find out that her grandmother was right. She has a daughter counting on her. 

A while back I picked up a college student in Sugarhouse who was doing Christmas shopping. It was October and I admired her early approach to the holiday. She was a student at the University of Utah and I felt like the spirit was prompting me to talk about the church with her. She looked like a member of the church in every way but the spirit assured me she was not. I proceded with that knowledge.

I saw an opening with the Christmas presents and I took it. I said, a lot of people complain about the commercialization of Christmas but I think that commercializing Christmas is a choice. She asked, what do you mean? I said, well, in my family I told people that if they ever gave me a list they would never get anything on the list. I told them that part of their gift was that I went to the store and spent time thinking about them and what they would like. That didn’t go over as so well with the children but they usually got things they liked and for me it was never about the commercialization but always about the gift and the person. That way, Christmas can be focused on my family and on Jesus Christ.

I said, far too many people don’t bring Jesus Christ into that equation. She said, I know and it really bums me out. I said that this year part of my family will not even be in the country. They are going to be in Argentina. She asked me if I had been to Argentina and I said, yes, I went on my mission to Argentina. She asked if I still spoke Spanish and I said, yes, I still do interpretation of church meetings.

She asked how I could still speak Spanish after all of these years since my mission. I told her that when I was in the MTC we had an apostle come and he promised us that if we would say our prayers and read our scriptures in our mission language that we would never lose it. I told her that a promise from one of the apostles is a promise from God and since that day I have never said a personal prayer in English and I read my scriptures in Spanish. I told her that my Spanish is better today than it was when I was on my mission. She was impressed.

She said her friend just got called to Argentina on a mission and she thought it was awesome.

This was the opening I was looking for. I asked her if her friend had told her what she would be teaching and why she was going. She said no but that she thought it was really cool. I asked, do you want to know what she will be teaching? She said I absolutely do!

I asked her who wrote the Bible, she said prophets. I asked her what they wrote and she said, the word of God. I asked her if God loved the people more who lived in Jerusalem more than the people who lived in other parts of the world. She said no.

I asked her if she thought that God was capable of giving his word to people other than the people who lived in Jerusalem and she said yes. I asked, her given that love why wouldn’t God bless them with his word as well? She thought for a minute and she said that she thought that he would.

I told her that Heavenly Father loved each of us and that he has given us prophets through which he reveals his will and his commandments. I told her that we have a prophet today that speaks with God for us and he had called her friend to go to Argentina.

When I talked about the prophet and her friend she began to tear up. She said, that feels so right! There has always been a special feeling around that girl and what you just said feels right.

I pulled out one of my Book of Mormons that was marked by the Secrists and I said, this book is what she will take to the people in Argentina. I asked, have you ever heard of the Book of Mormon? She said, I live in Utah, of course I’ve heard of the Book of Mormon. She laughed! I said, do you know what it is? She said no she didn’t have any idea. I told her it was the revelations that God gave his prophets who lived here in ancient America. It contains all of his truth and is another testimony of Jesus Christ and his divinity. It is a companion to the Bible.

I told her that her friend was going to take this book to Argentina and use this book to teach people that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he paid for their sins, sorrows and their oppression. He made it so that we could return to God again. I said, that is what is in this book and that’s the power of this book.

She asked, where can I get one like that one!? I handed it to her and said, that book is yours if you will do one thing. She asked what? I said, read it and pray about it with your friend who’s going on the mission.

She said she would and that that sounded like a great idea and a great way for her to understand her friends mission.

The spirit was really strong in the car and I told her that I know the book is true. She said, I believe it is too. I can’t wait to learn. I said that the Spirit of God will help her learn. I asked her if she knew what the Spirit of God felt like and she said she wasn’t sure. I asked her what she was feeling right then and she said warm energy. I told her, that is what the spirit of God feels like to you. I asked her what she was thinking right then and she said her mind was alive with questions and possibilities. I told her that that is how she felt when she was under the influence of the spirit and how God would reveal his will to her.

I told her to talk to her friend about that. I told her to tell her all about this ride and what she felt. I told her that her friend could help her understand the spirit as well.

She had to go to class but she thanked me. Then she reached out, touched my shoulder and said, I want you to know how much this ride has meant to me. It’s like I found a piece to my puzzle that I didn’t know was missing. Then she got out of the car and ran to class. I feel sure she will have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Life

One day I was working down in southern Utah County. It’s kind of interesting that I was pulled down that way late at night because I started my day attending the Payson Temple with President and Sister Gilbert! They’re doing awesome and they love serving in that beautiful temple.

Anyway, later that night I found myself out in Santaquin picking up a young lady and taking her to Orem. It was way out in South West Santaquin almost Goshen to be exact! We’re talking way out there!

I picked her up and we started driving towards Orem. The road takes you through Santaquin and as we drove through town, she pointed out a business that is considered to be haunted. There is a show on TV called Ghost Adventures that went out there to verify the veracity of the haunting claims.

I think most of the time people make up stories, then call those people so that they can come in and give them a verification that allows them to do haunted houses or other Halloween centric events. It’s a total money play and scam.

She told me that a friend of her family owned that business and asked if I was familiar with it. I said that I had heard about it and I had heard that the ghost adventures did a show there. She said, that’s right! My parents are friends with the guy who owns it.

She said, I find that very interesting. My friends and I go in buildings and spend time in spaces where they say there are spirits and ghosts . I just really have fun doing that.

By this time we had gone all the way down Main Street in Santaquin and were up on the freeway heading north and you could see the Payson Temple on the right hand side of the car. It sticks out like crazy. The brightness cut through the darkness. It looks and feels very inviting. I said, talk about your places where there are lots of spirits!

I said, in that place there are a lot of spirits. I told her that this is the place where we go to do things to help out the people who have passed. I told her that we go there and their spirits go there because it’s a house of God, their Father in Heaven.

She said, really? I had never thought about that! I asked her if she’d ever been in a temple and she said that she went through a temple open house in Ephraim. She said it was a beautiful building, but she didn’t remember being taught much about what they did there.

I told her that it’s where we go to feel God‘s love. I told her it’s where we go to help people who have passed on so that every one of God‘s children can have the option to make the choice to dwell with him forever if they want to.

She said, that really sounds cool, how does that work? I told her that when Jesus was in the tomb, his spirit went to the spirit world and set up the teaching of the gospel to those who had died without the opportunity to accept it. He taught the gospel to the spirits who were there so that they could understand the importance of the gospel and believe in him. .

I told her that this was found in Peter in the Bible, and the Bible also teaches about doing baptisms for the dead. I told her that these two things go hand-in-hand.

I told her that we go to the temple and are baptized for those people and then they have the opportunity to accept that baptism or rejected it. I said, if they accept the baptism we do for them, it’s just like they had been baptized when they were on the Earth. I said that baptism is necessary and a requirement to enter into the kingdom of God

She said, so they have the option? You don’t force anything on them? I said, that’s right! Our Heavenly Father gives us the right to choose and that’s an eternal principle. We will never be forced to be with God if we don’t feel comfortable or if we’re not willing to make the covenants that he wants us to make.

I told her that God loves every one of us and we are his children. I told her that God has created kingdoms for his children based upon the level of obedience they desire to embrace. I told her that the things we covenant in that temple make the top kingdom available to each one of God‘s children if they want to embrace it.

I told her that every one of God‘s children will have the chance to be baptized and have the chance to be sealed to their family forever. I asked her if she remembered the cl sealing room from her tour of the temple in Ephraim. She thought about it for a minute. While she was thinking I described it as a room with an altar in the middle and mirrors on each side so you can see forever. She said, oh yeah, that was a really cool room.

I told her that we are married in rooms like that but not just until death. We are married for eternity. I said that we also go in those rooms to be sealed in behalf of our ancestors so that they can also have the blessing of being married for eternity. They can also have their children sealed to them in an eternal family unit.

She said, that’s beautiful, I love that. She said, I was baptized when I was eight, but I only went to church one more time after that. I haven’t been back to the Mormon church since.

She said, I do go to church every Sunday in my current church but I have become very disillusioned with this church because no one can answer the questions I have and no one helps me know where I can turn to get the answers to those questions.

I told her that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not full of mysteries and that the Holy Ghost helps us understand the kingdom of God. I said, the closer we get to God, the more we want obey. The more we go to church and the more we read the scriptures the more we understand the kingdom of God. We begin to desire to be in the presence of God. If we learn to dwell in his presence on earth, dwelling in his presence for eternity will be a natural step and exactly what we want to do.

She said, that’s cool! She said, the preacher has been getting on my nerves in my church because I’m not perfect”. He says that if I repent for something and then return and do that thing again, the angels will not save me. She said, he told me I will not be picked up by them and saved.

She said, being perfect is hard, and I believe that my father would want to forgive us. She said, I believe Jesus would want to forgive us and help, us not threaten us and throw us out.

I said, you’re right. I said, you’re a daughter of your Heavenly Father. What kind of a father throws his daughter out when she makes a mistake? She said, not a very good one. I said, your Heavenly Father is perfect and his love is perfect. A perfect father doesn’t ever throw his daughter out for a mistake if she wants to make it right. She said, you’re right, that’s how I think. I said, that is your Heavenly Father and that’s what repentance is all about.

I told her that when Jesus suffered for our sins he paved the way for us to have our sins erased even if we trip up and do it again. He has made it so that we can repent again and come back to him. He said he would forgive 70×7 and that’s pretty cool because I need all the leeway I can get.

She laughed and said, me too. I said, when your baptized, your sins are washed away and you are clean. The cool thing is that if you’ll pray and repent during the week and prepare to go to church and take the sacrament you will renew the covenants of your baptism and you become clean again.

I said, repentance and the sacrament allow us to keep clean and keep progressing. I told her that Heavenly Father knew we were going to make mistakes and this was his plan because he wants us all to be able to come home.

She said, that’s pretty cool. That’s very loving. That’s not at all what my preacher says about Mormons. She said, he always rips on the Mormon church and I’ve noticed you haven’t ripped on my church at all. I think that’s how it should be.

She said, one time in a youth activity our preacher wanted us to do Mormon bashing, but I refused. I didn’t think that Jesus would run around bashing another religion and it didn’t feel right.

I said, Heavenly Father gives all of us the influence of the Holy Ghost to help us know right from wrong. What you felt was a confirmation that tearing down the church of Jesus Christ was not right. That’s awesome!

I said, now it’s time for you to learn what’s right about the church of Jesus Christ. You can learn how, in the church, you can find those answers that you have been missing. The ones that your preacher cannot answer.

She said it’s not just this preacher. I’ve been to three different churches and not one of them can answer my questions but you seem to have been nailing it tonight. These answers are much better than any of the answers given to me before by my church leaders and I never even asked you the questions. Maybe my search for religion has led me right back to where it started when I was eight.

We moved away from Utah and I never went back to church. We started going to different churches and I never gave the Mormon church a second thought. Once I was back in Utah, I was kind of already on a different path. She said, that path doesn’t work for me anymore and I need to find God‘s path.

The spirit was in the car and seemed to be guiding her along through the progression of thought that she was experiencing. I also knew that it had been testifying to her as she easily accepted the things I said.

I asked her what she felt in her heart as we discussed these things. She said, she felt an incredible peace and “it’s like knowledge bombs, exploding in my brain”. She said, it all makes so much sense. It seems like Heavenly Father would have a plan that works. This plan seems like it’s perfect. That’s how God‘s plan would be. I said, what your feeling is the Holy Ghost and it’s testifying to you of the truthfulness of the things we have discussed. This is how you feel in the presence of God and it’s helping you see the truth, that’s why it makes so much sense. What you’re feeling in the car tonight is a manifestation of God’s love for you, his daughter.

I said, one of the main differences between our church and these other churches is the authority we have to perform baptisms and to perform marriages for eternity. This is the same authority that authorizes what we do in the church and it comes from God.

I told her that in ancient America, they had been anticipating the arrival of Jesus after his resurrection. I told her that he descended from heaven and they asked him to save them. I told her that as a direct response to that plea he gave them authority to baptize and commanded that everyone be baptized, even though they had previously been baptized in their other churches.

I told her that even though he had told them that they needed to be baptized in his church, he didn’t spend any time badmouthing their previous churches or commitments to him. He looked forward and invited them to take a step up to a new level of discipleship and a new level of commitment.

I told her that later he touched the 12 he had chosen and gave them authority to give blessings and to give the gift to the Holy Ghost. I told her that this authority is very important and we have that same authority in our church today. I told her this is the baptism we have and that you had. I told her that this is the baptism and the authority that everyone is invited to receive. We invite everyone to take that step up to that new level of discipleship.

I told her that that authority is the authority that our bishops have and that the father’s in the home have. Our prophet who lives on the Earth today and speaks with God holds all of the keys and authority to act and speak for God today. This authority is the difference. I told her this authority is the key that opens the doors of heaven and that’s why heaven and earth meet in that building. Coincidentally, I said that as we were passing the Orem temple and it was there just at the perfect time.

I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said no. I gave her a copy of the Book Mormon prepared by the Secrists and I asked her if she would read it. She said, I love to read and I know a little bit about the Book of Mormon, so this would be great.

She said, my grandma goes to church all the time and she will help me out. She said, my grandma thought I was lost with regard to religion. I said, once you were lost, but now you’re found! She laughed and said, nice!!

By this time we had arrived at the house of her friend that she was going to visit. She said, I’m going to go to church with my grandma and I’m gonna read this book. This is what I need to do. She said, I feel very strongly right now that this is the path that I need to be taking and that I was brought back to this path and put in this car to learn and feel the spirit so that I could do just that.

She shook my hand, gave me fist bumps and opened the door. She got it out of the car, waved and went in the house.

The day before Thanksgiving I was in Provo picking up a few rides. On that day, you never know where your rides are going to come from or go. The normal patterns are all disrupted and so it’s kind of potluck. I’d hoped to stay down in Utah County because I didn’t want to get far away and I didn’t know how good the nightlife was going to be in Salt Lake so I just thought I’d stay down in Utah County.

I got a ride on 100 North in Provo that went to the airport in Salt Lake. At first, I was a little disappointed as this was totally not my plan but I felt that I should take it. I have about 10 cancellations a month that I can use and I had used plenty of them so I had a second thought. Then I felt prompted that I needed to take this so I did. I drove up to the sidewalk where he was and I couldn’t process what my eyes were telling me.

The guy I was picking up was very rough looking and I started to doubt the prompting that I had received and thought again about canceling the ride. Dpending an hour in the car with someone that brings a bad spirit is hard. On top of that it was pure 100% rush-hour and it was going to be bumper-to-bumper and stressful.

As I considered canceling it the words of President Mortensen, who was the first branch president that I served with at the MTC, came back to me. He would say “always trust your revelation”. That impacted me because sometimes we doubt our revelation and then dismiss our revelation.

I decided to trust my revelation and the thought came to me, you just need to change the spirit in the car.

He got in the car and we started chatting about where he was going. He was going to the airport in Salt Lake to get on the Salt Lake Express shuttle going to Idaho Falls for Thanksgiving. I lit up when he said that because my dad used to drive for Salt Lake Express after he retired and finished his missions. I decided to tell him a little about my dad.

I talked about how my dad had a very difficult life as a young man. Then how he had found the church and turned it all around. He raised a family in the gospel, served three missions and in the end, was called home by his Heavenly Father through the power of the priesthood.

I told him about my father’s passing and the revelation I received about the blessing I gave him. I told him that in the blessing I commended my father to his Heavenly Father and told him about the mission that he was to perform on the other side.

He said, my parents both passed recently and it’s been very hard for me. I said, where are you from? He said, I’m from Florida originally but when I was four my birth parents died. I was taken out of foster care and adopted by a family in Springville. He talked about that family and I mentioned to him how much I admire people who adopt like that.

I told him, “my goodness I was a handful when I was four!” He laughed and said, I guess I never thought of it like that. I could hear the pain in his voice and knew that my discussion to this point had been guided by the spirit. I knew God had a plan.

I started talking about how much our father in heaven loves us and that he loved him enough to put him in a home where he could be taken care of. This family had lots of members. The sister in Idaho Falls that he was going to visit was another adopted sister in this family.

I said, that’s cool that you can be with family on Thanksgiving even though both of your sets of parents have passed. He said, “me and her get along really well. “

I said, you were raised in the church, right? This would have been a long shot if the spirit hadn’t been with me because he had tattoos, big piercings, a rough exterior and no outward appearance that would indicate membership or discipleship. There was no light in his eyes.

He said, yes, I was raised Mormon but I don’t believe any of that stuff now. He said, I believe that it’s important to be spiritual but I do not believe in any religion. He seemed very adamant about that.

It’s kind of one of my pet peeves when people say this. To me, it means, I am committing sin and have committed sin that I do not want to straighten out and rectify. They think that by saying this they get the ultimate pass. They think that they can say hey, I’m a good person and I think everyone should be a good person and no one should judge what a good person is. It’s the ultimate copout because in this thought pattern, sins are not sins, good is not good, bad is not bad and everything is reduced to a preference. I could see this is how he had gone in his life.

The spirit indicated to me that he had done some things and he didn’t want to face up to it. I looked at him in the mirror and said, I think you’ve had some rough situations in your life. I think you really don’t remember God and you certainly don’t remember how much he loves you.
You don’t remember Jesus Christ and the things he did for you.

I felt very strongly that I should speak to him about the Garden of Gethsemane and how Jesus suffered all of the sin, inequities, pain, embarrassment, unjust behavior and problems that we would ever suffer.

I explained to him that a lot of people talk about the atonement as repentance and that’s all. I said, the atonement IS about repentance but so much more. I said, there was never an experience you had that your father in heaven was not able to help you through because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I said, the vilest sinner and the most oppressed person can both find healing from their affliction in the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I told him what happens is that when we are wronged, treated unjustly or we treat someone poorly we get angry and Satan is in our ear telling us to blame God. I said, God points to Jesus. Jesus through the atonement can heal our hearts, heal our minds and heal our souls.

I told him that the atonement is like a medicine that we can put on our soul to soothe it so we love and crave being in the presence of God. I told him that I felt like this had been the case with him. I told him that Satan had been in his ear saying blame God and he had done exactly what Satan told him to do.

I told him that he had gone through some tremendous suffering but God had never left him and would never quit loving him. I said that Heavenly Father is like an earthly father that never quits loving and never quits trying to bring us home. He just needs us to look to Christ so we can be healed.

I could tell I was starting to gain his attention. I had seen a spark in him and he was starting to engage. I felt prompted to share a story from my blog that happened in my car. I told him the story about a young man who I picked up in Salt Lake a couple years ago. This story is one of my previous stories called the spirits in prison https://sometimesgodsendsyoualift.com/2021/08/22/the-spirits-in-prison/

I talked about how this guy got in my car and during our conversation I had impressions that I needed to share with him. He said that was OK and I talked to him about how three weeks before he had been in jail, abused and hopeless. He was about to succumb to the darkness in the middle of the night. He prayed and he looked up and saw a beam of light and he held onto it like a lifeline. I told him that the young man wondered how I could possibly know that. I told him that God had given me those words so that he could know that the things I was saying were true. I testified of Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon then gave him a Book of Mormon.

I told my passenger that a month later this young man was baptized. That night he realized that his father in heaven was reaching out for him. He reached back.

I have mentioned this a couple of times in other rides, but very rarely, maybe one or two other times. This time I felt very impressed to share that story.

As soon as I finished that story, he said, that could be me. That was me! He said, I was in jail because of some bad decisions that I had made. I was drug addicted, abused, and looked at myself as a victim. I hated the world and I laid there in the darkness about to succumb to evil.

He said, I prayed and I saw that same glimmer of light and it gave me hope. He said, how did you know to share that with me? I said, Heavenly Father gave me these words today so that you could know that the rest of the things I say are true and that they come from him.

He said, it seems like you’ve been reading my history to this point. I believe what you just said. I said, it’s not just that, it’s the feeling of the spirit that’s in the car. I could tell that the spirit was very active in the car and that he was feeling it. I wanted to get him to talk about it.

I asked him what he felt. He said, I feel like the things that you said are true. I didn’t feel like he was going to go any deeper than that about how he felt but I was prompted to testify more.

I talked to him about Joseph Smith being called to be a prophet. I talked to him about how Joseph received the keys of the restoration. I told him that we have the same keys and authority today to run the church. Those keys give us authority to bind in heaven and on the Earth. I told him that those are the things that make our belief different than any other church. I told him we have a prophet and we have the authority that God has given us so that we can do the necessary things in order to return to him.

I said, one of the things that you have been concerned about with regards to religion is that it seems very exclusionary. I told him that this is not uncommon in his generation. I explained to him that through temples, God provides an opportunity for every one of his children, no matter where they were born to be baptized and returned to him. I told him, our religion is the church of God, the church of Jesus Christ, and it has the mission and capability of saving every one of God‘s children who was ever born.

I told him God is a perfect father and a loving father and he wants all of his children to come home. I asked him if he would like to go home someday to be with God and he said yes.

I told him that Jesus Christ came to America when he came, he gave that same authority to the people here so that they could be baptized because that baptism was so very important.

I mentioned that all of the people had previously been baptized in their previous church but that there is only one faith one baptism and one church. Jesus wanted everyone to be baptized with his baptism in his church. I told him that Jesus loved them, he helped them and he blessed them and he gave them salvation through baptism.

I asked him how he felt about that and he said, I feel like that’s true. He said, I’ve never felt that in my life like I feel it right now. I asked again, how does it make you feel? He said, I don’t talk about my feelings but I will say that I know that it’s true based on those feelings.

I said, I feel impressed that you were on the outs with your parents when they died and they very much want you to come back. I said, I feel like their prayers are guiding this encounter of ours.

He was quiet for a minute then he said that his parents had died while he was in prison a couple of years ago. The last few conversations they had were not loving or friendly. He said, it left a hole in my heart. I don’t know that I have anyone to turn to.

I told him that his parents had taken advantage of the atonement that I spoken of before. It had healed their hearts and they wanted to reach out to him, he was still in their prayers. I told him that they prayed him into this car so that I could testify to him. I told him that he now had the opportunity to turn over a new leaf and change his ways.

I felt to ask him if he had felt the presence of his parents in the car even though I had not felt their presence. I went ahead and ask that question. He said, yes, I have and it’s kind of mixed feelings for me because of the way we left things.

I told him that one of the amazing things about the atonement is it not only forgives us of our sins and helps us in our suffering, but it also makes it possible for us to forgive others. I told him that we need to learn to forgive, look to Jesus and quit blaming God. I told him that if we looked to Jesus, the sword will be taken out of our hand and we will be able to forgive people.

I told him that we’re all just down here doing the best we can and that included his parents. I asked him if he would like to forgive them and he said yes. I asked him if that was a burden on his shoulders and he said yes. I said, look to Jesus and you can do that, he will lift that burden and help you.

The car was full of the spirit and I said, God put you in the car today because he wants you back and your parents have been praying for you. He said, there’s no way you could’ve known these things if that wasn’t true. I asked him again, do you want to go on through your life in bitterness and sorrow or do you want to throw that off and walk uprightly before God? I said, do you want to be clean? Do you want to be clean and worthy before God?

He said, I really do but I don’t think that’s possible anymore. I said, that’s Satan talking. I told him that Satan whispers those words in his ear and he whispers words like that in the ears of every single person. I told him that he needs to learn to throw off Satan and quit listening to Satan and his lies. He needs to read the scriptures and pray. He needs to come back to his Heavenly Father and listen to the words that God puts in his heart.

I said, listening to the words of God in your heart is so much more powerful than listening to the whisperings that Satan puts in your ear.

I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon and he said yes. I asked him if he downloaded the app onto his phone and he said no. I helped him do it. I said, you should put those headsets in and listen to this. It will lift you so that you can feel like you’re feeling right now anytime you want.

I said, what you are feeling right now is how you feel in the presence of God and your spirit will crave that. I said, that will fill the holes in your life and make you feel full and whole. I said, that will help you avoid drugs and that will help you come home to your father. It’s like a homing beacon.

He said, I sure would like to have this with me. I sure would like to feel like this. I told him if he would pray and read the Book of Mormon every day he could feel like this and it would lift him. I asked him if he knew where the ward met near him. He said no. We looked it up and found the church and time.

I told him to go to that ward and feel for this spirit. I told him not to go there and judge people really fast before they judge him. I told him not to focus on what the other people are saying or doing but to focus on the spirit and how it feels. I told him that there are people at church that do judge and they shouldn’t. That is their sin but we want to be just as tolerant of their sin as we expect them to be of ours. I said, go there and feel.

I said, the most important thing to remember is that the church is a hospital not a museum for perfection and everyone there is sick. I told him that Satan told him he couldn’t go to church because he had sinned. I said, that’s what Satan does. He says, blame God and blame the church. He whispers things in your ears to dissuade you from taking this step.

I said, you’re strong and independent. You tell Satan to get lost and you do what you know your father in heaven wants you to do. After today, you know he loves you. After today, you know that the church is true and after today you know that you need to make some changes.

He said, I’ve got some serious things to change and some decisions to make. He said, I know God put me in your car so that I could learn what I need to do. I said, will you commit to going to church on Sunday? He said, it’s going to be hard but I will, I will go and feel.

I said, look at the light in everyone’s eyes. That light is not there because they’re perfect. That light is there because they’re trying really hard to do the things their father wants them to do and they’re trying to come home. I said, that could be you too.

He thanked me and said he would do this. He got out of the car and got on his bus.
I believe that this is the Thanksgiving weekend that his parents have been praying for. Just another ride to the airport! Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

One night I was out driving and I picked up a young man in Vineyard . He was heading out to do some work. He was an apprentice at a job and he was looking to have an opportunity with this company.

I asked him if he lived here all of his life and he said no, he wanted to get out of here as quick as he could. I asked him why he wanted to get out of here and he said that he thought he would be more happy in another place.

I took that opportunity to get on one of the soapboxes that I get on quite frequently. I talked to him about deciding to be happy and that if you’re not happy with where you are, you won’t be happy with where you’re going. You can’t stand around and expect other things to make you happy.

I talked to him about not being happy. I really got the prompting that his lack of happiness had more to do with his disobedience and the fact that he had left the church than any other factor. I looked in the mirror and he only looked like he was about 22 or 23. I felt that I needed to start discussing the gospel with him but I didn’t know how to begin.

Then he started talking about corruption and how there is a lot of corruption everywhere. As an example he said, think about P. Diddy. Am I a conspiracy theorist to think that a lot of people helped him out to do the horrible things he did?.

I said no, you’re not a horrible person at all to think that! Then I felt the words pop into my head that I should say. I said, you look at Epstein and his Island and P. Diddy and what you see are a lot of people that do horrible things and they protect each other from being found out or punished. I said, in the end after doing much damage, they finally get caught.

He agreed then I said, you know about the Book of Mormon don’t you? He said, yes, I was raised Mormon, my parents are still Mormon, but I’m not Mormon anymore. I asked , do you believe in the book of Mormon? He said, no.

I said, will let me tell you about something that is in the Book of Mormon. I talked to him about secret combinations and how the Book of Mormon prophesied that they would be amongst us. I talked to him about how the whole purpose of those secret combinations was so that those people could do horrible things like seek power,have whoredoms, take away peoples rights and freedoms and steal. They made themselves rich off the backs of other people and they did it in the secret combinations.

I told him that they got together and swore oaths to each other. These oaths were from Satan and were passed down for hundreds of years.

I told him that these things sound exactly like what’s going on today. I told him that these people did horrible things and were protected by the law and protected by governments and protected by wealthy people for years and years.

I said, the one problem is that Satan won’t stick with you to the end. I said, Satan uses you until he’s used you up and then he drops you off on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Then you die. I told him that I always tell people that Satan will drop you off somewhere between Battle Mountain and Winnemucca. He had driven that stretch road and really like that analogy.

I told him that the Book of Mormon warned that in our day secret combinations would be around so that we can look for them and fight them. I said, the Book of Mormon was written for our day and you have stumbled on the fulfillment of a prophecy from the Book k of Mormon.

He said, I left the church several years ago but I still remember a lot of the things from the Book of Mormon. I asked him, what were the things that made you leave the church?

He said, my parents pushed it really hard on me and I just rebelled. I don’t believe it anymore because I didn’t think it was right the way they taught me about it. This explanation made absolutely no sense to me. The spirit told me that the problem with this young man was that he didn’t have a testimony. The spirit told me that this young man had a sin that he had committed and it bothered him tremendously He didn’t have a testimony and he left the church rather than face it.

I decided to start with the Book of Mormon. I testified that the Book of Mormon was true and that it was the only book on earth that presented a vision of God that was loving and all inclusive.

I asked him if he believed in God and he said yes he did. I asked him if he believed in Jesus Christ and he said absolutely. I told him that our father in heaven loves every one of his children, no matter where they live, no matter when they live, and no matter how far they stray. I said, our Heavenly Father wants us all home.

I said, most of the world believes that Jesus was born and raised in Israel, died in Israel, was resurrected in Israel and everything happened in Israel. The world believes that all the prophets were Israelites and that’s why we have the Bible.

I asked him if thought that was fair. Is it fair to think that a loving Heavenly Father paid all his attention to one part of the world? He said, I never thought of it like that, but no, you would think that God would be the God of all of the world and love the whole world.

I asked him how God showed his love. He thought for a minute. I said, God shows his love by giving us prophets. He gives them revelation and commandments for us. When we obey those commandments, we are happy. I said, it’s all about us being happy. The whole purpose for is for us to be happy. I said, happiness is a state of being, not a spot or a location.

I said, when we listen to the prophets and obey the commandments we can be happy. I told him that there had been prophets here in America and they taught the ancient people of America their prophecies and the commandments of God. Then I testified about Jesus coming to America, descending from the heavens. As I was doing this the spirit fell over the car, it felt electric. I told him about how Jesus stood before them. They touched the prints of the nails in his hands and then they begged him for salvation. He gave them authority and commanded that they be baptized.

He commanded that they all be baptized so that they could go home and live with their father in heaven. I told him that this was the way that we make it home. I told him that God wanted all of his children, not just in Jerusalem, but in other places to be taught by his son Jesus Christ.

I told him that Jesus held the children and blessed them. Then he wept. As I was telling him this, I looked in the mirror and he looked like he’d been hit by a train. I could tell the spirit was working on him and he said, I keep getting chills. I haven’t felt like this for a long time. I said, it’s the spirit of God and you were put in my car tonight to feel that.

I said, you were put in my car tonight so that you can know that God loves you. You were put in my car tonight so that you can know the Book of Mormon is true. I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon. He said he had one that his mom gave him when he was baptized. I said, have you ever read it? He said, no.

I said, God has given you a witness that it is true. I said, when you were a young man, you sought a witness from God and didn’t believe that you had received it. This is what it feels like when you received that witness and you have received it tonight here in this car and that’s why God put you here.

He said, wow, this is pretty amazing. I asked him, do you have any doubts right now that the Book of Mormon is true? He said, no, it just seems to make sense to me and feel exactly right. I keep getting those shivers.

I told him that this was the spirit of God and this witness was given to him so he could follow the truth and it would lead him back to his father. I looked in the mirror and said, the spirit has given me some promptings and one of them is that you committed a sin. In your eyes this sin is pretty bad and you are not able to forgive yourself and you don’t think God will forgive you either.

I told him that God wants to forgive him and wants him to come home. He was a little bit emotional and had a shocked look in his eyes. He told me that he had never told anyone that and asked me how I knew. I told him, God gave me those words to say just like he put you in the car today. He gave me those words so that you can know that the rest of the things I say are true.

He lowered his eyes and said, yes that’s true. I told him that Satan, the same one that pushes those people into those combinations also works on us one by one. I told him that what Satan does is he gets us to make a mistake and then he lies and tell us we can’t be forgiven.

He lies. He tells us that our father in heaven can’t do anything about it and that we are lost. I told him that he felt lost. I told him that this was why he left the church because he didn’t feel worthy.

I told him that’s just exactly what Satan wanted him to believe. I told him that Satan hates the atonement of Jesus Christ, and if you will believe his lies to the point where you don’t take advantage of it, he wins.

I told him that Satan‘s whole game is to get people to not look to Christ and not take advantage of that atonement. He lies to them. He tells them there’s nothing they can do. He tells them that they can’t be clean and he is a liar. He is the father of all lies and you believed him.

I said, God gave you a witness that the Book of Mormon is true. If the Book of Mormon is true, what does that mean about Joseph Smith? Does that mean he was a prophet or not? He said, now that I know the Book of Mormon is true, I know that Joseph Smith had to be a prophet or he couldn’t have translated it.

I said, that’s exactly right! Truth cannot come from a fraud. It had to be a prophet of God who translated that book. He agreed and I said, we also have a prophet of God today and listening to these prophets is how we know how to stay on the path and look to Christ. He said, I need to do better. I need to start doing that again.

He said, I don’t want to go to church with my mom and dad. I don’t even know if I want them to know I’m going. I said, in time, you’ll work through your issues with your parents, but in the meantime, you’re 22 and single. There’s a singles ward you can go to and you don’t need to go with your parents.

I told him to go and talk to the bishop. I told him to tell him his story and include the miracle that happened in this car. I said, it’s very important that you don’t say, I know the Book of Mormon is true and just leave it at that. You need to read and study the Book of Mormon and you need to go to church and pray.

He said he would do that. He said, I will read the whole book. I promise you. I said, will you commit to go to church? He thought for a minute and said yes he would. I found the location of the young adult ward for him and they met later on in the day. You know, sleep is important for kids at that age.

I guess I kind of need to change my happiness spiel. I said that happiness cannot be found in a place. The thing is, we know that happiness is found in the presence of God. That day in the car in the presence of God’s spirit we were happy and we knew that truth was being revealed.

The key is living with the spirit so we can take our happy place with us wherever we go. I guess deciding to follow Christ, love God and serve him is deciding to be happy.

One afternoon I was in Salt Lake up by the University of Utah. I had to pick up a girl and take her up above the capital to a home on the top of the mountain. She had long red hair and was very friendly. She got in the car and we started talking about her being Irish and me being Swedish and laughing about blondes and redheads. It was a lot of fun.

She was an artist and I told her that my neighbor is an artist. I told her about Liz Swindle and how she painted pictures of Jesus. She said that the church had beautiful art that she loved but it’s too bad that some of the people act like they do.

Then we started talking about where we lived. I said I lived in Orem. She misheard what I said and thought I said Ogden. She said, I like Ogden, it’s so much better than if you were from Utah County. I laughed and showed her the logo on my Orem high school football coaching shirt. I said, I live in Orem.

She had a shocked look on her face and began to scramble and backtrack. I said to her, don’t worry about it, it’s all good. She said, I just don’t like the kind of people that live in Orem. I like it up here so much better. I asked her what was wrong with the people in Orem and she said that they were all judgmental. It always amazes me when people dislike people they don’t know for being judgmental because it is the pot calling the kettle black in a very real way.

Then she said, besides, I’ve left the church a few years ago and I don’t do that anymore. She said she couldn’t be part of a church that hated all the other churches. I stopped her and said, well that’s not how it is at all.

I said that we don’t tell people from other churches that their belief in Christ is evil. We tell them to bring what they believe and we’re going to give them additional blessings, an additional level of discipleship and more understanding. I told her we have the full gospel but it doesn’t discount the truth that they already know and feel in their hearts.

I asked her if she remembers about when Jesus came to America. I asked her how much time Jesus spent criticizing and belittling the people for their current beliefs and practices . She said she would imagine that it would be zero. I told her that all of those people had been baptized before. All of these people had worshiped Jesus before. When Jesus came he brought a new understanding, new commandments, a new baptism and a new level of discipleship with the full gospel and he taught them.

I asked her to visualize being there in darkness for three days and nights after tumultuous earthquakes, tsunamis and destruction of your land. Then you hear a voice that breaks the silence as you lay there in pain and suffering. The voice touches you to your heart and soul and introduces Jesus Christ. Later you look up to see Jesus Christ descend from heaven and stand on the steps of the temple.

I said, that’s what happened. These people were laying there in their misery for three days and three nights. Finally the darkness broke and they saw Jesus descend from heaven and he stood in front of them. They went up to him and they touched the prints of the nails in his hands and his feet. They bowed before him and in one voice they all said “Hosanna” . I asked her what the word “hosanna” meant and she said “glory to God?” In a questioning voice.

I said no it means save us! It is a plea for salvation.

I told her that these people asked God to save them. Their God, who stood right before them, heard their plea and in a direct response to that plea he called 12. He instructed them how to baptize and gave them authority to perform this baptism that he authorized. He did this so that these people could take a step up to the next level. These people who had previously been baptized were given a ladder to heaven. The first step up was the the baptism given to them by Jesus Christ.

All these things happened without him ripping on their previous religion or discounting their faith or the love they had shown him in their previous worship.

I told her that this is something we get wrong sometimes. Sometimes we are over sensitive and closed. She agreed big time. I said, it happens when members of the church feel like they’ve been persecuted, they circle the wagons and turn inward. Jesus Christ would always have us turn out. She asked, why don’t other people talk like that? I said, a lot of people do talk like that. This is the way God would have his children interact with each other. He would have them do it with love and understanding.

She said, there are so few members of the church. How can it be the only true church when only a small percentage of people even know about it? What about the people that don’t get the opportunity like people in the Middle East? I’s not fair. I said, we look at life and opportunities as single events in a small sphere with no context. God looks at it from the beginning of time to eternity and our opportunity will be a perfect opportunity for us. Every one of God’s children will have a perfect opportunity. No man can tell you when you’ve had your opportunity, that’s between you and God. By this time she was crying I could see that the spirit was touching her and the feeling of the love of God was like a flood of emotion.

I said, do you remember what it feels like in the presence of your Heavenly Father? She looked puzzled and said no? That’s what you’re feeling when you feel the spirit. When you feel the spirit, God is testifying of the truth that has been spoken. You can feel the spirit anytime truth is being taught because it testifies of the truth.

I felt inspired to tell her that she had left the church because some people had made some personal harsh and unjust judgments about her. I told her that was on them and that she needed to show more love and develop love like our Heavenly Father has for us. I said that she needed to follow the example of the savior and forgive. I said that their judgement hurt so bad because she felt guilty for the sins that she had committed. She felt called out and resented it. I told her that Heavenly Father would have them love her. Everybody sins, both those who judge as well as those being judged.

I asked her if she had nieces or nephews and she said she did. I asked, when you look at their eyes what do you see? She said that she sees pure love and innocence. I said, what do you think when you look in those eyes? She said I think I love that child so much. I said, what would you do for that child? She said, I would do anything for that child. I said, what would you do to save that child? She said, I would do anything to save that child. I said, what would you do if a child was disobedient? She said I would try to help that child and teach that child. I told her that this is just like our father in heaven. We are each his child and he loves us more than she loved that niece or nephew. 1000 times more than she loves that child and he wants to teach us and help us. This is what the church is about.

The spirit was bearing witness of the love of our father in heaven for each one of us. I asked her if she could feel the spirit right then. She was very emotionally engaged and said, yes, I needed that so much today. I really needed this. I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said yes. I told her to read about Jesus coming to America and to feel for this spirit because God would manifest the truthfulness of that book to her. I said that this is how she would feel in the presence of the spirit. She said she would do this.

I said to her, I started driving about four years ago and the one thing I found is that God puts people in my car when they need to hear a message. I told her that today she was put in my car to hear this message, that God loves her and that the church is true even though the people are imperfect. I testified that the Book of Mormon is true and that the truth of it has nothing to do with how the members of the church act. It only tries to help them be better.

She said, I believe that. I bore testimony that the church was true and the spirit was there with us. I asked again, did you feel that? She said yes. I could tell she had to go and I said, before you go I have one last thing. Do you know what feeling that spirit means? She thought for a minute and smiled and said, I guess I need to start going back to church, don’t I? I laughed and said yes. She said, OK message received.

She thanked me and said once again, you don’t know how much I needed this today. She got out of the car and went into her home. It never ceases to amaze me how God knows where we are even when we have strayed and he understands the moment when we need help or can be touched. He is the father that looked into our faces and feels that love. He will never let go of that love.

On Halloween night Heather and I were going to a volleyball game. I had decided that I could take a couple of rides around Provo. It was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and I was picking up rides in Provo.

I took a ride, finished it and then got another ride. It was to the airport in Salt Lake. I thought to myself, “there’s no way I have time to get this and then get back in time to go to the volleyball game”. So I went to cancel it. As I reached for the phone, I received a tremendous impression that this was the most important thing and that it would all work out if I took this ride.

I pulled my hand back, looked at the clock and tried to figure out how that could work. Blowing up date night is not necessarily an advisable approach for a husband.

I decided to follow the prompting and picked up the young lady. I am glad I did. She had been trying to take the front runner up to Salt Lake City and then transfer over and go on to the airport.

She was a manager at her job and it kept her longer than she wanted to stay and because of that she wasn’t going to have time to catch the train. She was a little flustered and hurried.

She was pretty young. I’d say 23 or 24 and she seemed to be quite mature, guarded and in control. I asked her where she was going. She said she was going to Las Vegas to go trick-or-treating with the little boy she was going to adopt. I told her how cool that was and that I was really excited for her. I told her how important it is that we all have people in our life that love us.

As I was saying those words, the spirit whispered. some things for me to say and a way for this conversation to go. I kind of just had to light the fuse.

I asked her why Utah? She said that she just needed to get away from Las Vegas and everything down there. This was the prompting I had. She had escaped Las Vegas to get away from bad influences and to get away from an abusive family situation.

I asked her how it felt to live in Provo. She said she loved it. She said she loved the feeling inside and out. She said she loved walking down the street and looking in peoples eyes. She said this is exactly where she wanted to live for the rest of her life.

I got the prompting that she was a member of the church and said to her, you are a member the church aren’t you? She said, well, kinda. I said, well you either are and that means you’ve been baptized or you’re not. She said, I guess I am by that definition.

I said, I think it’s really cool that when I asked what you liked about Provo you led with what you feel. I told her that she feels like that here because people here follow God. I told her that it’s the spirit of God.

I told her that when she’s around the spirit of God, it makes her feel good. It makes her feel loved and right. I told her that before we came to earth we lived with our Heavenly Father for thousands of years. Our spirits know and crave that love and that feeling. I told her that this is why she felt like she was finally at home.

She said, that’s right! I do feel like I’m home. I’ve had people ask me what it feels like here and that’s the best way to put it. Home!

I told her that Heavenly Father has prophets on the earth and one of them lives in Utah. I said that the people in this area, for the most part, try to live according to the words of God‘s prophet. I told her that it’s a mean world out there and it’s amazing to have the support of your father in heaven and the words of his prophet to help us.

She said, that’s really cool! I never really thought much about why it feels that way. I told her that Heavenly Father has prophets on the Earth so that he can guide us. I told her that Joseph Smith was a prophet and he wanted to know which church was true. He was confused and he was looking for that same peace and love that she feels in her heart.

I told her that because of that search he prayed and God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. They called him to be the prophet. I said, he was the first prophet in the latter days and we’ve had a prophet since that day.

As I testified of Joseph Smith and the love of God the feeling grew in the car. I asked her what she was feeling and she said I’m feeling like I’m gonna cry. I’m going to be a mess. I didn’t want to be a mess!

I told her that there were bathrooms in the airport and that she can get all fixed up and everything would be OK! We laughed and continued with the conversation

I told her that I had some promptings of some things that I wanted to share with her if that would be OK. I told her that sometimes God puts people in my car and gives me things to say. She said that would be great! She asked me to continue.

I told her that the prompting that I received was that she had a non-loving abusive mother and that she was forced to grow up really fast. I told her I felt like she didn’t have the childhood she wanted and that she certainly didn’t have the love that she should have had from her mother.

I said that the reason why this little boy was so important to her is that she saw herself in him and she was going to do anything possible to save him from the horrible situation that she felt her life had been.

I looked in the mirror and she looked shocked. Tears were running down her face and she said, I never cry, why are you doing this to me? She said it with a chuckle so I knew she wasn’t angry.

I asked her, even though you’re emotional right now do you still feel the spirit in the car? She said that it was 100% the spirit she felt. She said, how in the world could you possibly know this thing? I just met you.

I told her that when we’re baptized, we get the gift of the Holy Ghost. I said, when you were baptized, you got the gift of the Holy Ghost. I said, the gift of the Holy Ghost helps us know what we should do. When we are worthy and clean the Holy Ghost can give us words to say, tell us what God would have us do and help us walk in his path.

I told her that God put her in my car today so that she could know of his tremendous love for her. Even though she had a tough time he had never left her. He had brought her to Utah and put her situation where she could feel his love and grow in the gospel.

I said, even though you consider yourself to be less active somewhat, the reason you’re here is to get active and enjoy the spirit of God in your life. She said, that’s amazing!

She said, I know 100% that I was supposed to be in this car and the things you are saying are exactly right. I need to listen because I’ve wondered why I was here in Utah. I’ve wondered why I felt compelled to be here. This has been a question of mine.

I told her that God brought her here for this purpose, but that she had some questions that she was afraid to ask anyone. I told her that she had those questions and the answers to those questions as something of a barrier to full participation. I told her she could ask me those questions.

She said, I don’t know, I’m a little embarrassed. I said, look, you don’t know me and I really don’t know you. I don’t know where you live and there’s really no way I can contact you. It’s safe to ask me those questions and the spirit is telling me that you really want to ask me those questions.

I said, the spirit is telling me that you’ve been dying to get these answers but you just don’t want to offend anyone. She was still crying and she said, yes that’s 100% true.

She said, here goes! She said, where I live there is a family ward and a singles ward. My roommates want me to go to the singles ward but I’ve been going to the family ward because my plan is later this year to finalize the adoption on this boy.

She said, I was baptized when I was eight but never lived in a home where I was loved or attended church. My mother physically and emotionally abused me and never made the gospel an option. She said, my mother was not a good person and she would never let me go to church. She always found some chore or responsibility that she made me to do so that I couldn’t go to church.

She said, when I have gone to church here I’m sad for what I missed but happy for what I feel. I said, what’s your question? She took a deep breath and said, the Word of Wisdom.

She said she lives with girls who are single and they drink Mate, a drink that everyone in Argentina drinks, and they drink Diet Coke. She said, they go to church and they have temple recommends so they go to the temple.

She said, I went to the family ward and they just got a new bishop. Last Sunday I met with him for the first time. He told me that if I drink Diet Coke or Mate that I am not worthy to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. She said that was something she really wanted to get worthy to do. She said that last Sunday he had told her this and it made her tremendously sad and she didn’t know where to turn. She said that she was considering whether or not to go back to church.

She said, I’m all alone out here but I have felt like that my whole life. He didn’t seem to want to help me. She said, I don’t feel like I have anyone to talk to about this. I don’t have anyone that I can ask the tough questions.

It’s not a coincidence that just at this moment God put her in my car. I let her know that this was no coincidence. I let her know that God knew she had this question and he put her in my car because he knew that she had struggled in that interview about the Word Wisdom.

She said, well, what’s the answer? I said, it’s important to understand a couple of things here. It’s important to understand that the Word of Wisdom is a law obedience, not a law of health. I told her that we are blessed for our faith and obedience to the Word of Wisdom.

I told her that there are a lot of members of the church that dissect the Word of Wisdom and try figure out why, scientifically, each thing is prohibited or encouraged. I told her that this is fine for people to do following their own revelation for themselves or their families. I told her that the church has a standard of what the Word of Wisdom is and then if people want to or feel moved by the spirit to add to or go deeper, that’s up to them. I told her that for worthiness purposes with regards to the Word of Wisdom, it was important for her to know that it was a law obedience, not a lot of health.

It’s a law of obedience it’s not a mathematical formula. I told her that some members of the church in their pursuit to purify themselves go to new levels. They feel personal revelation on things that they may do for themselves but the church says, and the missionaries teach, that tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, coffee, and black/green tea are the things prohibited by the Word of Wisdom.

I said, being a bishop is a really hard thing to do and when you feel something so intensely like I’m sure he felt about Diet Coke and Mate then you know he said what he said out of love. I tried to help her see a higher level.

I said, didn’t you say your roommates go to a singles ward? She said, yes! I said, why don’t you go to the singles ward? I said, when you’re in the singles ward and you go in for your temple recommend interview with that Bishop he will ask you if you obey the Word of Wisdom. When he does don’t ask for his explanation because you know what the church’s standard is. Go with the church’s explanation that I just gave you.

She said, then the answer would be yes. I said, that’s right and that’s the only thing that you say in answer to that question. I told her that as she studies the gospel and gets more deeply involved with the spirit, she may be able to receive other promptings of things that she could do to come closer to God, but those are for her and come directly from her Heavenly Father.

I asked her if she reads the Book of Mormon every day and she said that she didn’t. I told her if she did it would change her life. I told her that reading the Book of Mormon brings the spirit of God into every facet of your life. I told her that she will get answers to prayerful questions while she reads, even though the actual text she is reading might not contain the answer. She will get revelation from the spirit while she is reading the Book of Mormon.

I felt prompted that she had not developed the habit of praying frequently and had never been taught the importance of prayer. I asked her if this was true and she said yes. She said, I pray now and then. I told her she needs to pray multiple times every day and have a prayer in her heart. I said, walking with God is an amazing thing when we will do it. I asked her if she would commit to read the Book of Mormon and pray every day and she said yes!

By this time we had arrived at the airport and we were pulling in to where I was dropping her off. She was only going to have 25 minutes to make her flight , but the spirit had been so strong in the car. I wanted to end with my testimony. As we pulled up I testified to her that her Heavenly Father loved her and he put her there that day. I testified to her revelation is real and personal. I told her that as she matures in the gospel, that revelation will help her come closer to her father in heaven. I testified that father in heaven loves us and that Jesus atoned for us so that we could look to him and be free. I said that through the atonement we can have our burden lifted even those from our childhood.

She said, I’ve been struggling with this so much. This is just what I needed. Thank you so much. She grabbed my shoulder, smiled, got out of the car and went into the airport.

On my way home it was rush hour but somehow I miraculously hit every perfect turn and everything was just right. Even though there was a lot of traffic, it was like I cut right through it, almost at freeway speed as others were stopped. I got home in plenty of time to go to the volleyball game. I did not blow up the date night.

One night I picked up a guy at the airport in Provo. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to that airport but it’s really slick and easy. We started to drive and he talked about how his company usually had him fly out of Salt Lake but he really had enjoyed the Provo Airport.

We started to drive and talk about all of the time he was going to save not driving from Lehi  all the way to the Salt Lake airport and being there so early.

He told me that he had been traveling for business and he absolutely loved his job. He said that he wished he could have been smarter about his life in the last little while but that his job had helped pull him out of his situation.

I asked, what kind of a situation is that? He said, I had a couple of deaths close to me that shook  me up. Before that I owned a couple of companies and was doing really well, but after these people passed, I just shut down for about three years and blew all of my money.

He said, all of a sudden I got lots of stress, and it was hitting me hard. He said that the way the world is going with regards to politics it had also become an obsession for him.  It made it hard for him to see clearly. It made it hard for him to feel like he had a future.

He said that the people are so corrupt, the government is so corrupt, everyone lies, and they’re trying to take what we have. He said, I don’t know how to deal with it and I don’t know what to do.

I asked him if he had ever heard of the Book of Mormon. When I said this, I didn’t say it as a question to garner information. I said it kind of as “well that proves the Book of Mormon true” kind of comment.  In response to this  I received a very distinct prompting that this young man had been IN some churches, but not OF our church for sure! 

He said that of course he heard of the Book of Mormon and that he believes God is really important in our life. He said, that’s why I read the Bible. I want to be close to God. I told him that “close to God” is where he needed to be. 

I told him that in these difficult times we need God our lives. I told him that if he wants to feel the presence of God, the Bible is important but the Book of Mormon brings us closer to God and brings his spirit closer to us than any other book we could read. I told him that’s what he needs.

I told him that Joseph Smith had a lot of turmoil in his life and was looking for the truth. He was looking for the church of God and couldn’t find it. I told him that he read in the Bible that he should pray so he did.  God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet. I told him that later an angel, who had been a prophet in America, gave him the sacred engravings that contained the writings of the ancient American prophets. He was called by God to interpret those writings from those ancient prophets.

I told him that he did exactly this and that is how we got the Book of Mormon. I told him that the ancient prophets who lived in America saw our day and that this book had been given to us in our day so that people could take advantage of it. It was written so that we could see their mistakes and learn from them.

I told him that when we read that book, we can feel the spirit of God. As I talked about the Book of Mormon, the spirit of God clearly manifested itself in the car. What had been a generic conversation had become very focused. I asked him if he could feel that, and he said, yes. He said, I feel like I should listen to you. I feel like the things you are telling me are true.

I told him that God sends his spirit to testify of truth. He sends his spirit to us so that we can be guided in this life. He said, I felt the Holy Spirit many times in my life. I said, how did it feel? He said, a bit like what we’re feeling right now, but not as intense.

I said, the Holy Ghost testifies of truth wherever it is found and this is how God testifies to us.  I said that this is how God comforts us and this is how God helps us. He sends us the Holy Ghost so that we can be one with him. He said, that’s great!

I said, before you were really worried about the political situation and all of the dishonesty and corruption. He said, yeah, it kind of freaks me out a little bit. I asked, how do you feel right now about that?

He thought for a minute and then said, I feel like it’s still a problem but it’s not freaking me out right now. I feel peace about that. I told him that was because the Holy Ghost brings peace. I asked him if he remembered when Jesus said, my peace I give to you and he emphasized that it wasn’t peace as the world sees peace, but HIS peace .

He said, oh, that makes sense. I said, when you read the Book of Mormon, you’ll feel that peace.

I have to admit that at first I judged this young man as being a member of the church. He certainly was a cultural member of the church. He was from Brigham City. He had worked at Maddox, which makes him awesome.

Everything he said, the way he talked and the way it felt led me to assume that he was a member of the church. The spirit let me know otherwise.

I told him that in the Book of Mormon they had a lot of political upheaval and issues. They had people who wanted to install a king. People who were elitist and thought they were better than the other people, and they thought that they were superior and that should give them the right to rule.

I told him that there were other people who participated in what they called secret combinations. I said, they made and took oaths to protect each other and to help each other commit sin, to steal,, to participate in iniquity, whoredoms and to take the freedoms away from the people.  He said Epstein island? I laughed. 

I told him that these people caused the downfall of their society.  I told him that we are warned in the Book of Mormon to watch out for them in our day and fight them in our day.

I told him, we don’t have to worry if we have the power of God. I said that if we fight with his power, we will always be victorious. He said, that’s amazing. Is that what’s in the Book of Mormon? I said, among other things. I said, the Book of Mormon is principally a testament of Jesus Christ. I said, we have the Old Testament, we have the New Testament, and we have the Book of Mormon another testament of Jesus Christ.

I told him that the Book of Mormon was written by those prophets so that we could learn from their times. The Book of Mormon was written by their prophets so that we could know of God‘s love for us and for everyone.

I said that the Book of Mormon is where we learn that God loves everyone no matter where they live, and he sent his son to his other sheep scattered all around the world. He said, that’s beautiful! I told him, a God that’s all powerful would certainly want to share the good news of his son with all of his children and he said, absolutely.

I said, a God that’s not constrained by geography or proximity would certainly bless all of his children like that. He said, absolutely! He said, I guess I should’ve read that book. He said, even though I grew up in Brigham City I have never been a member of the church.  My father left the church before I was born. He has come back to the church in the last few years and tried to gather all of us children in, but it’s been something I have fought.

He said that he was baptized in the Methodist Church when he was about five years old. He said he still remembers that. I told him that being baptized is important and it’s amazing that he still remembers that!  I told him that parents have their children baptized because they want to show God their love. He said, that’s exactly right. My mom and dad wanted me to believe in Jesus.

I said, when Jesus came to America all of the people had previously been baptized just like you were. They had learned from their prophets that baptism was important and they were baptized to show their love to God.  I told him that when Jesus descended from heaven, he stood in front of them and they felt the prints of the nails in his hands and his feet.  I said that they pled with him to save them. I told him that as a direct response to that plea, he called up 12, gave them the authority to baptize and commanded that they all be baptized, even though they had previously been baptized.

I told him that they were commanded to be baptized to a new level of discipleship, to a new higher covenant, to a new life in the service of their Heavenly Father. I told him that every one of them he did just that. I told him that every one of them was baptized by authority given to them by Jesus, and in the way that Jesus Christ commanded that they be baptized.

He said, that’s so cool. I told him that this is the same baptism we do in our church. I told him that his previous baptism served the purpose of letting his father in heaven know that he loved him but that Heavenly Father expects more of us. I looked at him in the mirror and said, Heaven Father expects more of you.

I told him that once we are baptized, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost, so that Heavenly Father can be with us always, not just when we’re hearing truth.  We have the right to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. I told him, this is how we navigate the world today. This is how we live in the peace of Christ. This is God‘s plan to lift us up and carry us through.

I told him that we get the Holy Ghost right after we are baptized so that we are clean and we remain clean. The Holy Ghost will always be with us as a constant companion.

I could feel the spirit telling me of his desire to be clean and received a prompting that this desire had been very impactful to him and that I should talk about it more. I felt like he thought he was unclean and unworthy to become clean.

I told him that I had this prompting. He said that there’s no way I could’ve known that if God hadn’t told me. He said that he had just been thinking this that very day.  He said he had decided that there was no way he could make it to heaven because he didn’t think God would rescue him because of his sins. He said he was ashamed of them, but he didn’t really see how he could become clean. 

I told him that it happens through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told him that Jesus paid for our sins and our condition. I told him that Jesus understood who he was and how he felt. I told him that through his baptism he would be cleansed and the Holy Ghost would bear witness of it to him, that he was now clean. He said, that’s what I need.

I told him that Heavenly Father expects him to take that next step and be that new level of disciple. I told him that Heavenly Father put him in my car today so that he could feel the spirit and understand the importance of this.

I said, to this point, you’ve kind of turned a deaf ear to your dad. He has found such joy in taking that step and he wants to share that with you. He said, I never thought of it that way. I asked him what he felt right then in the car. He said, my chest is on fire with the spirit. He said, I love this feeling and I’ve never felt it like this, I’ve never felt it so intensely.  I asked him what that means. I know that was repetitious but I wanted him to say it.

He said, it means that what you are saying is true. It means I need to be baptized by that same baptism if I want to be on that level of peace and discipleship. I asked him, is that something you want? He said, more than anything. He said, if I have that spirit with me, I can see how it would be very easy to know how to walk with God during these troubled times. He said, I’d love to have that.

I said, well, here’s how we start. Do you know where there’s a church close by? He said, yes, right over my back fence. I told him to go on Sunday at 9 AM for the meeting and feel the spirit that was there. He said, I’m going to do that.

He said, maybe I should invite my dad to go with me. I think he would like that!  I told him that I think his dad would love that and that he should absolutely do it.

He said, I’m excited to feel this more often. I’m excited to go to church and I want that baptism. He said, I’ll call my dad first thing in the morning. He got out of the car, waved and walked into his house. 

One night I decided to just go out and drive a little bit around Utah Valley. I came home early and decided not to go back to Salt Lake and was just trying to make a little extra money without burning a lot of gas. I got a little ride from Provo up to Orem and then I got a ride from Orem while I was on that ride and I didn’t see where it was going, but I accepted it anyway.

When this young lady got in the car, the app said we were going to Magna. MAGNA! From Orem! I took a quick look at my cancellation rating to see if it would be possible to just say no, and it was. Nevertheless I had a strong impression to take the ride so I did. I pulled up in front of an apartment and this young lady came out and got in the backseat.

It was dark and she came up from behind the car so I didn’t get a really good look at her before she got in the car. Once she did, I felt emptiness and sadness. I looked in the mirror and saw her face. There was very little emotion in her face. I could tell that she was emotionally drained.

The spirit told me that this woman needed a lift. It wasn’t the last time I’d hear from the promptings of the spirit during this drive. I asked her what she did for a living and she said she just had some part-time jobs but mostly she had been caretaking for several years for her mother who had just recently passed.

I started saying the words that came to my heart immediately. I felt the spirit and assurance about the words that I was saying so I just said them. I told her that I felt prompted to say that she had been caring for her mom and now that her mom had passed she was relieved from that pressure and responsibility. I told her it made her feel good not to have that pressure and responsibility. I said that she felt guilty because she felt relieved.

She said, yes! That’s exactly how it’s been. She said, death is a really crazy thing and I don’t like it. I said, you’re right! Death is a very crazy thing but I have some insights if it would be ok for me to share them. She said yes! Fire away!

I told her that death can be one of the most spiritual experiences that we can have. As I said this, I received a prompting that she was a member of the church. I hadn’t asked and she certainly didn’t look the part, but the prompting was very specific and strong.

I told her that Heavenly Father knows when it’s our time and he brings us home. I told her that Heavenly Father loves us and we want to be with him. I told her that when we die, we go home. I told her that we have work to do and it’s not always in this life. I told her we have family and friends on the other side and that reunion is sweet.

I told her the story about my father‘s passing and that I had received a prompting to give him a blessing. The prompting said that I was to release him from this life and call him to a new responsibility with his father in heaven. I told her, my dad wasn’t as bad off as my mom at that time, so I thought that I was maybe losing it a bit.

I told her I was in church when I got that prompting. I went up to Idaho and gave that blessing to my dad and two days later my father passed and my mom is still with us. I told her that God is in charge and when he needs us, we go.

I told her that now her mother doesn’t suffer, now her mother wasn’t restricted by her bodily condition and now she doesn’t require the kind of assistance that she had rendered to her mother. I told her that now her mother is serving others.

I could tell that this touched her. I told her that our spirits love our father in heaven and his love for us is what makes everything work. I told her that when she feels the spirit, she feels this love. The spirit was in the car and we passed the temple.

I told her that the temple is the place, where heaven meets earth and we connect our families. I asked her, wouldn’t you like to go to the temple someday? She said, I’ve always wanted to but I’ve never felt like I could make it. I told her that this is how Satan keeps us down. He lies to us and tells us we can’t make it. I told her if she really wanted to she could make the changes needed in her life to go. I told her that she had been thinking about this a little bit lately. I said that she he felt like it was a daunting task but that her Heavenly Father would walk that path with her. I told her that the holy ghost would be right by her side.

I told her that its more than that too. I said, in the temple she could be sealed to her parents. She could do baptisms and sealings for her ancestors and that she could be the focal point to bring her family together. She looked up and said that would be wonderful.

The Holy Ghost was manifesting itself in the car and I could tell she was feeling it. It was working on her and I could see that she recognized it. I asked her what she was feeling and she said peaceful and loved. I told her that’s how she felt in the presence of her father in heaven. I told her that when she felt that when she knew the things she was hearing were true and that her father in heaven had sent his spirit to be with her to confirm truth.

I told her that with her new free time and new priorities since her mother’s passing, she should fill that with good things. I told her that family history work is one of those things. I told her that she could go to the temple for her family.

I told her that I felt by the prompting of the spirit that she doesn’t pray and hasn’t prayed for years, she doesn’t go to church and she never reads the scriptures. She said, you can tell all that? I said, yes. I told her that she was put in my car by Heavenly Father so that I could tell her how much he loves her and that he wants to hear from her.

I told her that the way we talk to our father in heaven is through prayer. I said that in her life, she had never had a father and there was a great big hole in her life. She said, that’s correct!

I told her, you have always wanted a father to fill that hole. I told her to let her father in heaven fill it. I told her to develop a relationship with him and his son, Jesus Christ. I said that if she would rely on the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that hole could be filled and she could feel complete.

She was choking back tears. I told her that when bad things happen Satan wants us to blame God but God wants us to look to Christ. I told her that Christ can lift us out of our condition regardless of how desperate it seems. I told her that Christ had suffered so that he could lift our burdens and guide us. I told her to pray to her Heavenly Father and she could develop that kind of a relationship.

I told her that one of the reasons that it’s important to read the scriptures is we feel the presence of our father in heaven. I told her she needs to read the Book of Mormon. I asked her if she had one and she said yes, it was her mother‘s Book of Mormon. I said, as you read that book, you will feel close to your father in heaven as well as your mother. I told her that this would fill that void and she would feel direction from God.

I told her that she needed to go to church and when she goes to church, she needs to prepare spiritually to take the sacrament. I told her that one really cool thing about the sacrament is that it was given to us so that we could commune with God. Through the sacrament we have the promise of having his spirit to be with us. This way we can be happy and it can fill that hole in our lives.

I told her that’s why we go every week. I said that Jesus told us to meet often and take the sacrament. I told her that it would give her tremendous strength if she prepares to go to church and take sacrament.

She said, I haven’t done any of these things in years. I told her that the spirit had given me those words to say and let me know that she hadn’t done those things. I said that if she would do these things god would lift her burden and give her peace and rest from the turmoil in her soul. She said, I don’t know how you’ve hit everything right on, but you’re 100% right. I told her that God gave me these things to say so she would know that the rest of the things I said were true. She said, well, so far, you’ve hit the nail on the head.

I said to her, you’ve done some things that you are ashamed of. You’ve done some things that would have made your mother very sad had she known. You’ve been ashamed of these things, and it’s one of the reasons why you haven’t prayed and one of the reasons why you haven’t gone to church. You have felt like you were unworthy of God and unworthy of light.

She said, now you’re getting pretty specific but still right on. I told her that Satan is the father of lies and everything he says is a lie. I told her that he lies to us to take us away from God. I told her that he wanted her to blame God, turn from the church and not feel God‘s love, warmth and light.

I said, you feel all three of those in the car right now don’t you? She said, yes. I said, God is reaching out to you and Satan wants desperately to retain you. I asked, who do you want to follow? She said, Jesus.

I said, the way to follow Jesus is pray to your father in heaven, read your scriptures and go to church. I told her that Satan would tell her that she wasn’t worthy but that God would tell her that he loves her. He would invite her in and help her become worthy. God would tell her that she’s always worthy of his love and he wants to help her be better and he can do it through his son Jesus Christ and his atonement. She said, that’s beautiful!

I asked her if she would go to church this Sunday, read the Book of Mormon and say her prayers twice a day. She said, that would be a huge change for me. I said, right now with the spirit you’re feeling you know that’s what your father in heaven wants you to do. She said, yes. I asked her if she wanted to be happy and she said yes. I said, given the path you’ve gone down, this is the only way to become happy. She said, that is correct. This is what I need to do.

I asked her if she would promise me and her father in heaven that she would do those things and she said yes. She said she would go to the church on Sunday at the church house right by where she lives and gets started. I told her to go and have a chat with the Bishop and he would be able to help her.

Then I got another prompting. I looked in the mirror and she was very emotional. I could tell the spirit was working on her and she could feel the love of her father in heaven. I said, you’ve missed this feeling haven’t you? Satan has told you it never really existed. She said, you’re correct on that. I didn’t think it existed. I wondered if God existed, but this ride is shown me that he does exist.

I told her that I was receiving a prompting that she had a very traumatic abusive experience and in that experience, she felt alone, forsaken, abused and lost. I told her that Satan had been telling her since that day that God had abandoned her.

I told her that Satan had been telling her that there is no way a loving Heavenly Father would allow that to happen to someone he loved. She started to cry and said, yes that’s exactly correct.

I told her that she needed to remember that Satan is a liar. I told her that any path that she had gone down because she felt unloved and unworthy of redemption was a lie and she had been tricked into it.

I told her that her father in heaven never abandoned her and that he had put her in my car today so that I could tell her that he loves her. I told her that the first thing she noticed when she got in my car was his spirit and then she felt his love.

She said, I felt that the whole ride. I said, your father in heaven really wants to fill that hole in your soul. He wants to fill the hole in your life and he wants you to know that you are important to him. He wants you to be able to come home.

Your Heavenly Father wants you to know that his arms are open. I told her that the church is not a museum for perfect people but a hospital for sick people and the thing that makes people spiritually sick is sin. I told her we all have it and we all need to go to church to get better. I told her that this is why Satan works so hard to tell people they shouldn’t go to church because he doesn’t want them being healed from their sin. He wants them to double down and indulge.

She said, everything you are saying is true and is striking a chord with me. I said, to be clear, I’m just saying the words God puts into my heart. God loves you and God is reaching out to you.

I asked her if she had realized that her mother was behind this whole ride. I told her that her Heavenly Father and her mother were teaming up on her. She said that she had felt her mother in the car and had felt her quite a bit around her lately.

I told her to let God heal her heart and heal her soul from the abuse and sin in her life. I told her that God wants to fill her heart and fill that hole that has been there for so long. She said, I want that so much.

I asked her again if she would go to church on Sunday and she said yes. I asked her if she would pray tonight and she said she would. I asked her to read the book of Mormon every day. She said, if it makes me feel like this. I will do all those things

I told her to remember what the spirit felt like and when she was praying, reading and going to church, she should look for those feelings so she would know that God was with her. I told her it would help her get clean and come home.

We pulled into the driveway of the home that was our destination. She got out and waved goodbye. It was an intense, loving ride and it’s always amazing watching our father in heaven reconnect with one of his children and bless them with his light.

I picked up a girl in Park City with a very different name. I’ve never seen that name before in my life and I was interested about its origins. We were heading down into Salt Lake City, so I knew that I had time to learn all about it.

She got in the car and I quickly realized that she spoke Spanish. She was from Peru and she had worked at several restaurants on Main Street in Park City. We started talking about her job and how she liked it in Park City. I had a very distinct impression that she was a member of the church. I asked her if she was a member of the church. She said no.

We talked a little bit longer and then I started speaking in Spanish. She said that she was blown away by my Spanish and asked me where I learned it. I said, in the streets. In the streets of Argentina! We laughed and then I said, are you sure you are not a member of the church because I get the feeling that you are?  She said no again but she hesitated a bit. She was clearly uncomfortable giving that answer.

We talked a little bit more and then I asked her one more time, are you sure you’re not a member of the church?  She said, well, I was baptized but I haven’t been to church in quite some time. I asked her if  her name had been removed from the records of the church and she looked puzzled. She said, no, I didn’t do anything like that. I just quit going.

I smiled then said, that being the case, the correct way to answer my question is yes!  I am a member of the church but I haven’t gone in a while. We both laughed and I asked her why it had been so long. She said that she had some relationship issues that had happened in her life that took her away from the church and she had just never felt like going back. She said she didn’t want to deal with all of the hassle of explaining everything.

She said, it’s almost irrelevant now because I work on Sundays at these restaurants.  I thought, I know that these restaurants aren’t open at 9 AM so we can find a ward for her for sure. I didn’t tell her that, but I know that.

I felt very impressed right then that I needed to tell her that her problem was that she was looking at this as if the people in the church and their actrions are a barometer that determines the truthfulness of the church. 

I told her that it seemed to me that she was saying that the people in the church might not approve of me therefore, the church is not true. I told her that’s a lot of assumptions and those assumptions were promoted by Satan. I told her that Satan‘s number one goal is to get us to forget that our father in heaven loves us. Satan wants desperately for us to turn our back on God and believe that God has turned his back on us.

 I told her that the real truth is that our father in  heaven loves us and he never leaves us. I told her that he loves us so much and wants to help us. I asked her if father that loves his child, could sit there and watch his child suffer without wanting to help that child. I told her that any good father that loved his child would do anything he could to help his child and be with his child.

I told her that the people in church may or may not act right. They may or may not do the right thing, but one thing is for sure, their father in heaven loves them. The reason why we go to church is not to be seen at church. The reason why we go to church is not to be part of a club or a group of people. The reason why we go to church is to remember our covenants with our father in heaven and to reestablish that connection through which we can feel his love strongly.

She said she hadn’t considered that. I told her that we all have things that go on in our lives. Sometimes we lose our jobs or sometimes even friends hurt us or betray us. Sometimes we have illness or unjust things happen to us.  One thing is for sure, our Heavenly Father always loves us.

Our Heavenly Father sent his son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ suffered all of those things so that when we were down and hurt we could look to him to pick us up and bind our wounds. I told her that she had blamed God instead of to embracing Jesus Christ and his atonement.

For a second she started to contend with that assertion. She thought about it and then said, you know, I guess you’re right. If you consider that the church is where we meet God, I turned my back on that source of strength and help.

I told her that God could walk with her and help her. I told her that he had been with me and had help me in my car. He had protected me and he had given me the words to say to people. He knew that the best way to help me was to let me serve him.

I told her that Satan would have us turn inward  and worry about how everything affects us and how miserable we are. He wants us to be consumed with what’s going on with us.  What God would have us do is develop a character that resembles the character of Jesus Christ. A character that would turn out to serve and love instead of huddle down and dodge contact.

I told her that God had put people in my car and gave me things to say to them. He had put the things in my heart to say that only they knew. He had shown his power and allowed me to help people. I told her that’s why she was in the car that day.

I shared a couple of stories from my blog with her and the spirit was in the car. I asked her how long it had been since she felt that. She said a long time. She said, my spirit feels like it’s resting. Like it’s been under attack and now it could rest in this car. I told her that this is the spirit of God and she can take it with her if she will.

It was funny how this ride bloomed like a flower.  She was very closed at the start but as we went along, the spirit energized the conversation and she began to bloom. By this time she was opening up to the spirit.

She said, don’t they have meetings for the unmarried people at the church house some evenings? I said, yes.  I knew that this was her way of beginning to look at the possibilities of re-engaging at church rather than turning away. I knew the spirit was whispering this to her right then.

I told her that this idea had come to her from the spirit and that yes, it was true, the groups of young people do get together for activities at the church. She said, maybe I could join them at one of those. I said, I’ll bet they’d love that. We talked a little bit more about the Book of Mormon. I asked her if she had been reading in the Book of Mormon. I already knew the answer but I wanted to hear her say it.

She said, no. I don’t even think I have one anymore. I grabbed one of the Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists that I have and I gave it to her. I said, here’s a new one. If you want to have this feeling that you’re feeling right now, all you need to do is read this book and pray.

I told her that reading the Book of Mormon would bring the spirit of God faster than anything. In this busy world of hers, she needed to rest.

Then she said, you know the missionaries texted me two days ago. They asked her if they could get together. She told them no. Then she said to me, I can’t even have them over at my house or talk to them because I’m a single woman, right?

I said, well, you can’t have them in your house alone but you live really close to McDonald’s.  You could have them meet you at McDonald’s. You could have them meet you at the church. You could have them meet you at any neutral place and I’m sure they’d love to do it.

She said, with an excited tone in her voice, really? I thought that was against the rules. I told her that the rule was that they couldn’t be alone with her in her home or in a car, but in public, it was fair game.  She could meet with them, she could pray with them and she could learn from them.

She said, hold on just a second while I text them. She started texting the missionaries to try to set up an appointment at the McDonald’s by her house. The missionaries responded back and they set that appointment.

I asked her again to identify what she was feeling. She talked to me about being in a place that she felt like she was floating and resting. I told her that this is how she feels in the presence of her father in heaven. It’s how she felt with him in the pre-existence and when his spirit was there, she would feel like this. I told her that this is how she felt on the day of her baptism and she had been thinking of that in the car. 

She said, you’re good at this.  I told her that God knows her heart and knows what she’s thinking but most of all he loves her and he wants her home. We were pulling into the racquet club down in Salt Lake Valley that I was taking her to. I asked her what she was going to do with this new information and with this new recognition of the spirit.

She said, I think I need to quit feeling sorry for myself, blaming people and blaming God. I need to do what you said, look to Christ and let him heal me. I think the missionaries are a great place to start.

I told her that God had whispered to me from the start that she was a member of the church and that’s why I persisted to ask three times. I told her that it’s important for her to know that God isn’t giving up on her and he didn’t let me give up on her either.

She smiled and said thank you. She reached up and grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it. As I’ve discussed before, it almost never happens that passengers touch the driver but often in these kinds of spiritual experiences they touch me.  I think it’s to have a tangible feeling to go with what they’re feeling on the inside.

After she touched me, she got out of the car, smiled, waved, and went in to play tennis.  

One day I was in Provo and I got a ride down at the health department on South University. When I pulled up, I picked up a young lady. She had just come from a doctor’s visit because she was pregnant!

I was excited for her and we talked for a minute about what her husband did for work and then the conversation turned to what she did for work.

She said that she had to quit work because she was really sick in the pregnancy. She said that it was really hard for her because she hated being bored but she hated being sick as well.

I got the impression that I needed to answer a question that this young woman had and so I started paying attention to the spirit, trying to tune in.

I asked her if she liked living here and she said yes! I asked her if the people had treated her well and she said that the people had been very kind. I told her that people here are generally very kind because they are members of the church and have a tremendous desire to do what Jesus would do.

She looked shocked that I talked about religion. She said, you’re the first driver that’s ever talk to me about religion! I said, if we live right, it should be part of everything we do. She agreed. She said she loved to study the Bible. She said that learning about Jesus gave her a lot of hope.

I told her that the people here that are members of the church believed exactly that same thing. Jesus gives tremendous hope in our lives and hope in our future.

I said that hope and the spirit of God that accompanies that hope is the thing that transforms our communities. I asked her if she thought she had felt this in our community compared to other communities where she had lived. She said that it was clearly different here and she attributed it to what I had previously mentioned. 

I asked her what her religious affiliation was and she said that she was baptized  Catholic, but more recently had been occasionally attending evangelical worship services.

I asked her if they were answering her questions, the questions she had as well as the one she was afraid to ask. She said, no, no one‘s ever answered that question. The spirit was prodding  me to talk about the baptism of little children. I started getting this with intensity and I think it was pushed along by the fact that she was pregnant.  I think that is a very natural time to be considering this question.

I said, it’s about babies isn’t it?  It’s about whether or not a baby is condemned if it dies without baptism. She said, how did you know? I told her that when we’re baptized we get the gift of the Holy Ghost and it whispers to us the things we should say because Heavenly Father knows what’s in our hearts and in everybody’s hearts.

I told her that the Holy Ghost had whispered to me to say this. I told her that the fairness of access to Jesus and his plan, along with the requirement of baptism that we all believe in, have been a concern to her for quite some time. It was amplified now that she was going to have a baby.

She said, that’s so true! I’m not just concerned for my baby but I am concerned for all the other babies that I had previously believed we’re not able to go home to God because they were not baptized. She said, I just don’t know what happens to them! She said, if that principle and aspect of our church is wrong and I believe it is, what else is wrong?

She said, this is why I went to the evangelical church to see if I could find some answers on this question. She said, they didn’t address it. They didn’t address the fairness.  Why so many people who never hear the name, Jesus Christ, whether it be because of the situations of their life or their age when they pass seem to be stopped and condemned. She said it was very concerning to her.

I asked her if she went to our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  She said she went there once but it was when she was starting to be sick with her pregnancy and she had to leave early. She said she hadn’t been back.

I asked her if she knew how our church believed with regards to this subject. She said no, she didn’t because she didn’t get to spend much time there. I told her that I believed it was important for her to understand what we believe on this subject.

I told her that the central point of our belief is that our father in heaven is our father and he loves us. I asked her if God was perfect and she said yes. I asked her if a perfect parent would do everything in their power to save all of their children and she said yes. I could tell she meant that because she said it with enthusiasm.  I told her that our perfect father in heaven has a perfect plan to save everyone of his children if they will be saved. She agreed with me.

I asked her if a perfect father with a perfect plan and perfect love would reject a child who was not able to be baptized due to lack of exposure to the teachings of Christ or geographic restrictions that made baptism impossible?  She said, not the God I believe in.

I said, first off, I want to put you at ease regarding the fate of these children. I testified to her that we believe that our father loves each one of us. I said that he is our father and that his son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for our sins. I told her, included in that price was the fact that he paid for the original sin so that no one is held accountable for Adam’s transgression.  Because of this, every child is innocent and pure before God and has no sin to answer for. 

I told her that in the atonement, Jesus Christ paid for that sin so that every single child anywhere who dies goes directly to heaven. I told her that they don’t have anything to prove because Jesus said that we are to become like them to enter into the kingdom of God.

She had a tear in her eye and she said, that sounds right. She said,  is right she said, I always believed that they would go to heaven but I didn’t understand its relationship with Jesus Christ. I said, he paid for that sin!

She said, that makes me feel so much better. Where can I learn more about this? I asked her if when she went to our church she was given a Book of Mormon?  She said yes, but it’s in English.  She said, even though I read English, I don’t read it well enough to read that book.

I told her that the Book of Mormon is a compilation of the prophecies received by the prophets of ancient America. I told her that God spoke to the people here and taught them through prophets. I told her that they recorded these prophecies just like they did in the Bible. I told her that the Book of Mormon was the religious history of her people here in America.

I told her that God loved her ancestors every bit as much as he loved those in Jerusalem. I told her because he was a perfect father, he sent his son Jesus Christ to visit them after his resurrection.

I told her that the account of that visit is recorded in the Book of Mormon. I said, in this book, you can learn about how much God loves your ancestors and loves you.

I told her that at one point, Jesus had them bring all of their little children to him and he loved them and he cried. I told her that angels walked in their midst and these little children were blessed by the hand of Jesus. I told her that these were her ancestors and this was her legacy.

She said, I’m stunned. This seems like something I should know about. I said, more than that it’s something that, you should know inside. I asked her what she felt right then. She said, having the answer to this question that has bothered me for so long has kind of freed my mind.  I feel tremendous peace. I told her that this was the power of God confirming to her the truth of what I had said.

I told her that Joseph Smith was called by God and Jesus Christ to be a prophet and later he translated the writing of those ancient American prophets so that nowadays we have them.  We are able to read them and learn from them. I said, this is where we learn that baptizing little children is a mockery of God. 

She said, that’s exactly right. I pulled out a Book of Mormon in Spanish. It is one of the Book of Mormon’s prepared by the Secrists. Instead of pointing out the questions of the soul and the tabs as I usually do, I took her right to Moroni 8.  My experience with Moroni 8 is that I have never read that to a Catholic that didn’t 100% agree with it.  Even though it directly contradicts their church’s doctrine and practice.

Knowing that this was her concern and her willingness to believe my words on this subject without even reading it from the scripture made me happy. I knew this would be fun. As we read, we emphasized a couple of parts like the fact that this was a prophet saying that these were the words of Jesus Christ, not words made up by a man.

I emphasized where it says that it was a mockery before God and that those who practiced this needed to repent. I pointed out it emphasized that Jesus came to cleanse the sins of the sinners. I read this phrase. “the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me”

I continued reading with these verses

“10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.

11 And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.

12 But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!”

She said, this is exactly what my question has been and this is the exact answer to that question. I told her that when I an answer to a question comes from God it makes sense and settles your soul. She said, that’s exactly how I feel. 

I said, Jesus Christ was sent to save us all but especially in this case the little children.  He also saved those who are not capable of sin due to the fact that they may be mentally challenged or in someway incapable of sin.

I said, God has a plan for all of his children and Jesus always did say to bring the little ones to him. 

She said, this is the best thing I’ve ever read. I said, that was awesome of your friend to give you an English Book of Mormon but why don’t you hold onto this Spanish one too!  She said, I would love to do that if that’s fine. I said, that’s why we have them.  I grabbed one of my business cards to mark the Moroni chapter 8 page. 

She said, I’m going to have to call my friend who took me to your church and discuss this with her. It’s amazing to me the way you knew this question and were able to answer it. She said, the answer was there all along. It makes so much sense.

I told her that baptism for those capable of sin is still important and that when Jesus came to America before he attended to the little children, he gave his baptism to their parents.  Even though they had previously been baptized he invited them to take a step up in discipleship with this new baptism.  I told her that every single one of them were baptized, including her ancestors.  I told her this was the same baptism we have today in our church and by that same authority.

I told her that every single one of them were blessed by the hand of God, including her ancestors.  I told her that God had answered her question and made her aware of those blessings given to her through her ancestors so that she can claim them. I said, that’s an amazing legacy. She smiled and agreed.

She got out of the car and went in to her home. I imagine that her friend was a little shocked to hear from her. I imagine her friend was a little disappointed when she left early on the day that she attended our services but I think this phone call she was going to get more than made up for it. 

On Monday, I was working up in Salt Lake. Mondays can be hit or miss so while it’s going good you want to make hay. I worked hard during the day and it got to be evening time and it slowed way down. In a 1/2 hour time I only had one ride and I was concerned about whether or not I was gonna make the money I needed to by the end of the night.

I got a ride to pick up a guy at the same McDonald’s I referred to in my blog a couple of weeks ago. He was a young man from Ghana and I was taking him to the train. I was interested in where he was going, whether it was Provo or Ogden. His answer surprised me. He said he was going to Logan.

I said, Logan? That’s a long way up there. I knew that the train didn’t go north past Ogden and so I asked him if once he got to Ogden he ordered an Uber to get to Logan. He said yes. I asked him if that was an easy thing to do. He said, not easy at all. I asked him how much he would spend and he said about $50 total.

I asked him what time he would get home and he said it would be around 1:30 or 2 o’clock. I heard myself say things that I should never say like, why don’t you just pay me the $50 and I’ll take you to Logan.

As soon as I heard those words coming out of my mouth I also heard the spirit say, and while you’re driving him you will be talking to him about the gospel. I thought, OK I guess we’re on. I finally got on the same page with my voice and what is was saying. He paid me the $50 and away we went.

I figured as long as we were going to talk about the church we might as well get started. I asked him how long he had lived here and he said for a while. He said he lived in Chicago before. I asked him if he liked it here and he said yes.

I asked him why he liked it better than Chicago and he said, it’s more peaceful. I said, you know that it’s more peaceful because of the church, right? He said, I think it’s because good people live here and the church has something to do with that.

I asked him what church he belonged to and he said he was Pentecostal and Catholic before. I asked him if he had ever talked to any members of the church or had any friends that were members of the church.

He said, a while back I had some friends that I talked to about your church. Their name was Elder. He said, I went to church a few times but we haven’t been studying together the last couple of months. I’ve just kind of decided that I want to stay where I am.

I asked him what they taught him would be the difference between his church and our church. He said, well it doesn’t really matter because everybody teaches good stuff and in the end everybody’s talking about God.

I asked him if it would be OK if I told him what we believe and he said yes. I told him we believe that our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us and he prepared a way for each each of us to come home and live with him.

I told him that God is our father in heaven and he loves us. I told him that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, so that we could be cleansed from our sins, have our burdens lifted and be brought back home to him. I said, we believe God loves everyone.

I asked him if he had heard about the Book of Mormon and he said he had. He said, I look at that like a Bible. He said, anyone can write a Bible. You just write down your dealings when you walk with God. He said, if I write down my dealings when I walk with God, someday my great grandkids will read that. To them it will be just like the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

He said, and you guys have people like that as well! The truth is I couldn’t make any sense of anything that he had just said, but I knew that he believed it intensely, so I started to ask questions.

I asked him if he knew where Moroni came from. He said that he didn’t know where he was from. I told him Moroni was a prophet that lived here in America. We believe that God had prophets here in America. I told him that those prophets didn’t write their thoughts as they walked with God, they wrote the actual words of God, and that is the Book of Mormon.

I told him that the Book of Mormon was proof that God loves everyone and not just the people in Jerusalem. I told him that the Book of Mormon teaches that Jesus came to America after he was resurrected and descended from heaven to the people.

I said, God loves everyone so he sent his son to the people in America. Jesus said “still other sheep I have” which are not of this land or the land of Jerusalem or the land roundabout where I have been. I’ve received a commandment from my father to go to them so they can hear my voice.

He said, the Bible says that Jesus went to Hades to teach the gospel to those who had died before him who hadn’t heard his gospel. He said, because they had died before Jesus was born he had to teach them, but once he had been on the Earth everyone was responsible to find his word.

I thought that this was kind of strange and I could see why the elders may have backed off of him a little bit. I asked him how many people in the world die without hearing about Jesus Christ ever. He said, a lot. I said, probably over 70%. He said, that sounds about right.

I told him that a loving Heavenly Father who is perfect would never allow 70% of his children to fail and not be able to come home because they never heard the gospel. I told him that Heavenly Father would make a plan that would give each one an opportunity to come home.

He started talking about how in his church he learned that there are those who are God’s children, and those who are God’s creations and there’s a differentiation between the two. God‘s children are the ones that hear his voice and accept it and the rest are his creations.

I was done. As he talked, there was no spirit in the car. The things he said did not fit and rang hollow spiritually. I could tell we both felt that.

I told him that God has prepared a way for everyone of his children to have the opportunity to come home. I mentioned that he had talked about Jesus teaching those who had died without hearing the gospel. I said, he taught them but he set up the teaching of the gospel so that every person no matter where they lived or no matter when they lived, would hear the gospel because God loves all of his children not just certain ones. God loves everyone and he is the father of everyone and a father will save every one of his children if it’s at all possible.

The spirit whispered to me that I needed to testify and give the spirit something it could confirm. I testified that our father in heaven is a loving father. That we know him and our spirits know him. I testified that our loving Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us to come home if we will.

I told him that every one of God‘s children will have and deserves to have a perfect opportunity to accept the gospel. I told him that every person on this earth is a child of their father in heaven, and he loves them equally.

I told him that according to Jeremiah, he knew us before we were born. I told him that he knew us and we knew him and we wanted to be with him. I said that feeling his presence was the most loving amazing feeling in our lives and we wanted to be with him. I told him, when we came to earth we forgot everything. When we felt it for the first time on earth, our spirit recognized it. We knew it was his spirit and we wanted to be part of that.

I decided to bear testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith. I told him that Joseph Smith was a young man that was confused about religion. As I said this, I realized those words came from the spirit because this young man in my car was truly confused in the things that he was telling me. I knew he didn’t believe the things he said, but they were just things that have been told to him.

I told him that Joseph Smith was seeking the true church and he read that he should pray and ask God. He decided to do that. I said that he went to the Sacred Grove and he prayed and God, the father and Jesus Christ descended from heaven and called him to be the prophet.

I know I’ve said this before but every time you bear testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith, the spirit comes in the room. This time was no exception. All of the confusion of his previous teachings was washed away when the spirit came in the car. It was an amazing thing to see and an incredible thing to feel. From that point forward, which was about Kaysville, the car was full of the spirit, revelation, and angels helping us along.

I told him that it there had been prophets in America, who wrote the book of Mormon and in Jerusalem, who wrote the Bible. I told him that God called Joseph Smith to be the prophet to restore the church of Jesus Christ on the Earth, just like it had existed when Jesus was here.

I use the analogy of the mirror. I said, think of the church as a mirror, a big huge mirror that was held up by 12 pegs. I said, those pegs were the apostles. I asked what happened to the apostles? He said they were killed. I asked, what would happen to the mirror if you knocked out the pegs? He said, it would fall, crash, and bust into a million pieces.

I said, that’s exactly what happened. When the apostles were killed, the church fell. I told him that the apostles were important because Jesus had given them authority. He gave them authority to seal things on earth that were sealed in heaven. They performed baptisms and administered the affairs of the church.

I told him that authority and those apostles were gone. The church fell into disarray. I told him just like with the mirror some people went up and grabbed pieces of the mirror. They used the pieces that they grabbed and loved so much to fashion a church or belief system but they didn’t have all the pieces.

He said, well, maybe what we need is everybody to come together with all of the pieces and then we could have the mirror again. I said, the problem is that there were parts of the mirror that were lost and no one on earth had them. That’s why God needed Joseph Smith to restore the whole mirror with all of the pieces, so that we could have the gospel of Jesus Christ, including the authority.

I told him that when Jesus came to America, he descended from heaven and the people begged him for salvation. I told him that Jesus’ answer to this prayer was that he called 12 and gave them authority, instructions on how to baptize, and commanded that they baptize all of the people, even though they had previously been baptized.

I told him that it was very important that the whole mirror, the whole gospel, be taught. I told him this is the baptism that we have. It’s the same baptism by that same authority. I said, authority is really important. God sent Peter, James and John to Joseph Smith to give him that authority so that they could do the things that God would do if he were here. I told him that they were given the authority to seal things on Earth that would be sealed in heaven, just like Peter had been given that authority by Jesus. I told him that we have that authority today and we use it in the temples to seal families together. We’re not just married until death do us part. We use the power of God to seal our families together for eternity .

I told him that Joseph Smith gave that authority to other people and we have that authority today. I told him that we have a prophet on the earth who speaks with God. I told him we have 12 apostles. I told him that that was the organization of the church. I told him it talks about that in Ephesians. It says that until there’s a unity of the faith, there would be prophet and apostles. I asked him if there’s a unity of the faith in the world, he said no.

I told him that the Bible also teaches that if God is doing anything,he would reveal it to his prophets on the earth. I asked him if God is doing things. He said yes. I said, then there have to be prophets. He agreed.

I told him that one of the things that we know is that if we follow our prophet, we can guide ourselves and our families home.

I told him that this Saturday and Sunday we have general conference where the apostles and prophets speak to us. I told him that they give us the words of Jesus Christ and the words Jesus Christ would have us hear. I told him, there’s a message there for everyone because they’re not just the prophets and apostles for the church, but they’re the apostles and prophets for everyone in the world because God loves everyone.

I told him that the priesthood in our church isn’t like it is in other churches. I said, if I belong to another church and my child is sick, I call the priest and they pray and maybe he comes over. Possibly he just says a prayer. I told him that when our child is sick, I lay my hands on my child’s head just like Jesus did and I give that child a blessing by the power of God.

I told him that’s a huge difference and that this authority and this power make it so that it is easier to walk with God and do the things that he would do. I told him that during Covid a lot of churches went out of business. They really struggled. I told him that with our church it was really not as big of a deal because fathers in their homes could bless the sacrament, bless their families, and do the things God would do if he were there. I told him we could do this because we have the authority of God and it’s called the priesthood.

By this time, the spirit was building in the car and it was undeniable. I asked him if he could feel that, and he said yes. I told him that when he was living with God before he was born this was the same feeling he felt in the presence of God. I told him that he would always feel that familiarity in the presence of God. He said, that’s true.

I told him that the spirit of God always comes when truth is being taught. The spirit of God testifies of truth. He said he believed that. I asked, what does that mean about the things that I am teaching? He said, that they are true.

I felt prompted to say that he had felt that at times in his other church and he readily agreed. I said, that is because in your other church, they had pieces of the mirror, pieces of the gospel, and when they taught that truth, the spirit bore witness of it.

I asked him, how much of what I had said today has the spirit had born witness up to? He said, I felt the spirit with everything you’ve said. I said that’s because it’s true.

I told him that I believe he was put in my car to hear this message today. I testified to him that if Joseph Smith was a prophet and Russell Nelson was a prophet then the church is true. He said, yes that’s correct. I said, the spirit has born witness of that to you today. He said, that is correct. I said, if the Book of Mormon is true, then the church is true because Joseph Smith translated it and we all testify of it. He said, that true.

I testified to him of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and that through prayer, the Lord would teach him the gospel by reading the Book of Mormon. He said, I have looked in it a little bit. It does seem to lineup pretty nicely with the Bible. I said, that’s because the word of God is the same.

I felt very impressed to go back and talk about Jesus coming to America and baptism. I said, when Jesus came to America, he invited each one of those people to be baptized, even though they had already been baptized. I told him that each one of these people were baptized so that they could accept a new covenant, a higher law and a new level of discipleship. I said, I believe Jesus put you in this car today because he wants you to accept that same invitation and have that same baptism.

I told him that we all need to be baptized. I told him that God has not only prepared a way for each of his children to be taught so that they can come home, but he has given us the ordinance of baptism for the dead. I told him that when we’re baptized for the dead, we go to the temples and we are baptized for someone who has died. I told him that when people die, they are taught the gospel. I told him that because they don’t have bodies they can’t be baptized and that’s why we go to the temple to do baptisms for them. Then they can choose to accept their baptism. As I was saying it, it didn’t even sound at all like he struggled with that concept. He accepted it right away. Earlier in the ride he would’ve been a little combative about this.

He said, I think you’re right! I need to be baptized. The spirit was really strong in the car, and I got the distinct impression that I had to do something that I’ve never done. First, I said, what has changed your mind? He said, the spirit has told me the things you’re saying are true. I need to be baptized.

I said, you mentioned two Missionaries had been talking with you. He said, yes. I said, do you still have their phone number? He said, let me see if I can find it. He dug through his bag and came out with the number.

I asked, is it OK if we call the missionaries right now and tell them that you want to be baptized? He said, yes, let’s do it. We called the missionaries, it was 9:10 so I knew they’d probably be in their apartment. I said hello to the elders and then I asked them if they remembered my passenger.

Death silence on the other end of the line let me know that they were having a hard time membering that name. Then he spouted up and said tell him I’m the big black guy. When he said that, they remembered him finally.

I told them that we had been talking about the church and the gospel and kind of gave them a rundown of everything. I said, he’s got something that he wants to tell you. He spoke up from the backseat and said, I want to be baptized. I didn’t think they heard him so I asked him to say it again.

He said, I want to be baptized. There was a moment of shock and then celebration from the elders. Then one elder said, when do you want to be baptized? He said next Friday. I said, is that possible elders? Has he been to church? He said, I’ve been three times and the elder said yes we can do this.

I told the elders that we had about 20 minutes left in the ride. I said I would talk to him a little bit more about baptism. They thought that was a great idea. They scheduled a meeting for the following evening at 8:15, cheered very loudly and then we let them go do their quiet time.

Our ride continued. I started talking to him about baptism and how when we are baptized we are cleansed from our sins. We become clean. I told him that if he repents, when he’s baptized he will be clean. The spirit prompted me that he was right then thinking about something that he didn’t think he could be forgiven for.

I told him that right now there was a sin that he had committed that he didn’t think he could be forgiven for. I said that Satan was telling him that he couldn’t be forgiven for it. I told him that this was a lie. I told him that the atonement of Jesus Christ is more powerful than Satan. I told him that when he’s baptized, the guilt and pain from that will be removed and his repentance will be complete.

The spirit flooded in the car and he said how did you know that? I told him that when we are baptized we get the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost whispers things to us so that we can know the will of God and say the words of God. I told him that God gave me those things to say so that he would know that the rest of the things I was saying were true.

He said, the spirit has told me that everything you said tonight has been true. I knew that was the truth because I had been feeling the spirit very powerfully all along the way.

I told him that once he is baptized, he can go to the temple and be baptized for his grandfathers. I said, I believe your grandfathers are dead aren’t they? He said, yes they are. I said, you can go to the temple and be baptized for them because they’ve been taught and they’re waiting for you. I told him that they were so happy tonight about his decision. They know that finally now they are going to get their baptism. I told him they’ve been waiting for centuries for him.

We could really feel the spirit of these grandparents in the car. It was very cool.

He said, how long will it take me to be able to go to the temple and do that? I said, that won’t take very long. I told him that if he gets baptized next Friday, he should be able to go to the temple and do those baptisms before the end of the year and possibly before the end of October. He said, I can get the whole family going! I said, that’s right

We were pulling into his house and I could tell he wanted to ask me if I would pray with him before I left. I said, is it OK if we pray? He said, I was afraid to ask you but I suppose the spirit told you that too. I said,yes.

We shared a prayer and I asked Heavenly Father to bless him in his preparation and help him repent so that he could feel the cleansing power of the atonement. It was a very sacred moment in that car, and he said, I’m very excited to be baptized.

He said, I’m so glad God put me in your car. He said, this was the best ride ever. He got out of the car and went into the house. When I sit back and look at this experience, I realize that there were many things that I wouldn’t normally do, but there I was in Logan. By the way, his plan is to go back to Ghana. My thought is that this is just exactly the kind of young man the church needs in Ghana.

I picked up a young man on ninth south just east of State Street by the Chip chocolate chip cookies store. Against my better judgment I did not stop and have any. He got in the car and he talked about how he was taking Uber because his car broke down and he was downtown because his phone got smashed and he had to replace it. He was having a bad day.

I told him it’s a good thing he didn’t lose his wallet or it would’ve been a trifecta. He laughed and said, I lost my wallet last week! We laughed. I asked him where he was from and he said he was from Salt Lake all of his life. He had a Latino name so I asked him if he spoke Spanish and he said he did. He said it came in handy now with his friends getting back from their missions. He said that now he talked to them in Spanish.

I asked him if he knew what his friends were teaching on their missions and he said that he thought they were teaching about Jesus and the church but he didn’t know. I asked him if he wanted me to tell him what his friends were teaching on their missions and he said yes, he would like that very much.

I told him that his friends were teaching that God is the father of all of us. That he loves each one of us and that he has a plan to give all of us a chance to come home to him. He said, I believe that. I told him that his friends weren’t going out teaching that the Catholic Church is evil. He said that people he knew were saying that Mormon missionaries were out just ripping on the Catholic Church. I said that they weren’t out saying that other religions were evil. They were out teaching that other religions had a portion of the truth but we have the full gospel of Jesus Christ.

I told him that we have everything they have but we have more. He said, what do you mean by more. I said, we believe that God loves everyone in the world not just the people in Jerusalem. I told him that God had prophets in other parts of the world not just in Jerusalem. I told him that God specifically had prophets in America not just in Jerusalem.

I told him that those prophets wrote the revelations they received and we have them today in the Book of Mormon.

I asked him, does God love everyone? He said, yes. I asked him if God is a perfect God and he said yes. I asked him if that perfect God that loves everyone would try to make a way for all of his children to hear his word and be able to come home to him. He said yes.

I told him that when Jesus was in Jerusalem after his crucifixion and resurrection,he said “other sheep I have which are not of this fold” and that he was commanded by his father to go to them. I asked him, who do you think those other sheep were? He said, everyone.

I said, that’s right. I asked , did you know that in America when Jesus was crucified there were earthquakes and three days of darkness? Following those three days of darkness they heard the voice of our father in heaven and they looked up and they saw Jesus Christ decending from heaven dressed in white and he stood in front of the people. They touch the prints of the nails in his hands and feet and they knew they were in the presence of God.

He said, wow! The Spirit blew the doors off right then. I asked him if he felt that spirit and he said yes. I asked, how would you describe it? He said, it’s power. It just overwhelmed me so much that I just had to say the word wow. I told him that Jesus taught the people and gave them a new law, a higher law, and gave them a baptism. It was his baptism so that they could take the next step to the higher law.

I told him that this higher law was what his friends were out teaching so that people could come to Jesus and have that baptism. I said that this way they could live that higher law and find additional joy in service to Jesus. . He said, that is amazing. He said, my friends are always so happy, this must be why. I always admired them going on missions. It was a joy for them. This must be why.

I asked him if he remembered me talking about the prophets in America and he said yes. I told him those prophets wrote the prophecies they received from God just like the prophets in the Bible. I said they also wrote the account of the visit of Jesus Christ to America in their records. I told him that those records were given to the prophet Joseph Smith and he translated them and that’s why we have the Book of Mormon.

He said, that sounds like a very important work. My friends have given the Book of Mormon to me but I’ve never read it. It’s never been explained to me like this. I asked him how important it would be for him to actually read the book and he said very important. He said, the feeling I feel right now makes me think that it’s true. I need to read that book.

I said to him, so you believe the Book of Mormon is true based on what you’re feeling right now from the spirit? He said yes. I said, God sends his spirit so that we can know truth and he manifests his spirit when we’re hearing the truth. He said, yes and this is true.

I told him that Joseph Smith was called by God and Jesus in person to be a prophet. I said that they descended from heaven and stood in front of him and called him to be the prophet to restore the gospel on the Earth. I said, part of restoring that gospel was translating the Book of Mormon. He translated this book from those engravings written by ancient prophets by the power of God. I asked him if he thought, based on the spirit he was feeling during that testimony and remembering that God sends that spirit to testify of truth, if that meant that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. He said, he has to be. A false prophet could not write a true book.

Just then we were getting off the I-215 at the 4700 S. exit. That’s where the temple is. I said, your friends have been out helping people get the baptism of Christ because it’s important that everybody be baptized. He said, yes. In our church we believe that everybody needs to be baptized.

I asked him what he believed would happen to people that lived 1000 years ago in America . They didn’t know about baptism. I asked him if they were God’s children. He said yes. I asked him if God loves them and he said yes. I asked him if God would automatically condemn them and not provide a way for them to be baptized. He said that didn’t seem right but that this was what his church taught.

I pointed at the temple and said, in that building they do baptisms and they’re called baptisms for the dead. It’s where people will go in and be baptized for and in behalf of someone who has died. I explained to him that Jesus organized the teaching of the gospel to those who had died without hearing these teachings during the three days that he was dead. I said that each of them has an opportunity to accept the gospel when they are taught. I told him that then we go to the temples and are baptized for them. They have the opportunity to accept that baptism when it’s performed for them and enables them so they can go home to their Heavenly Father.

I said, we all have a lot of ancestors that need to be saved! We do that in the temple. We provide a baptism for them.

I said to him, this is how everyone has a chance to come home under perfect circumstances. He said, this is beautiful. He said, my mind is firing and my heart is beating. I want to know about this. I want to follow through. I told him that the first thing that Jesus did when he came to America was he called up 12 people and gave them the authority to baptize and commanded all of those people even though they had been previously baptized to be baptized with his baptism. I said, this was the invitation he gave them so that they could step up to this new, higher level of discipleship. I told him, Jesus is extending that same invitation to you.

He said, I want to accept that. That is amazing. I said, right now you’ve been thinking about one of your friends in particular that served a mission. I said, you are itching to call him about this aren’t you? He laughed and said, how did you know?

I asked, is this friend that you’ve been thinking about the one who gave you the Book of Mormon? He said yes.

I told him that as soon as he gets out of the car he is to go call this friend and tell him what he learned and what he felt in the car. He said he would. He said he had been pulling up his phone number just before I said that.

He told me that he had never believed that someone’s life could be changed in a 15 minute car ride but that’s what happened tonight. How great will it be for that friend to get back home and find more work to finish here! How great will the celebration be when he’s baptized by his friend! Bringing friends and family together in the gospel is one of the most rewarding things we can do.

One night Heather and I had gone to the BYU volleyball game and I went out to work after the game. I had quit working about 4 o’clock so that we could make it to the ball game. It went five sets so it was late when I started working again.

I was going to start with a private ride. Before the game I had thought that I would drive for an hour or so before I picked up the private ride but because the game went long, I had to go straight to it. I picked up my friends at the Provo airport and took them to the point of the mountain and then decided to go to work.

Prior to the private ride, I had decided to work in Provo but I thought as long as I was in Salt Lake, I would work in Salt Lake. I drove from the point of the mountain down to Salt Lake City and it was 11:15 pm when I turned on my app.

The thing that was crazy is that at 11:15 there were no rides. I drove around for 15 minutes, no rides. Finally, I got a ride and I jumped on it without looking. It took me over to the Motel 6 just off of 600 S. and 200 W. in Salt Lake City. It was a pick up with three stops

As I approached the motel, I realized where I would be picking this person up. On advice from the police I never pick up people at that place. The police told me that they’re all druggies or prostitutes and I should never pick up there. They have told this me as I have pulled me out of there, and I’ve had them tell me as they were passengers in my car. They told me that it’s very dangerous. Personally, I believe that there are more drugs sold out of that Motel 6 than in all the Walgreens in the valley combined. It is a hive of activity after 11 PM.

I pulled into the parking lot and immediately put my car in reverse to get out of the parking lot and my plan was to just drive off and cancel the ride. The spirit said no. I prayed because I wanted to verify that feeling and it came to me again that I should not cancel the ride.

Out of the hotel and into and my car came a lady. That was of interest to me because it was a guy name who had booked the ride. She got in my car and everything seemed very disconcerting about her situation. She looked haggard and like she had been beat up and abused in every way.

I could smell incense, which usually people in that situation burn to cover up the smell of marijuana, which told me that she had been smoking marijuana or she was in a room where everybody was smoking marijuana.

I started the ride and it took us a half a block to the McDonald’s. We went up to the McDonald’s and she wanted to go through the drive-through but the line was very long so she decided she wanted to go in and order. She went in and they told her she had to go through the drive-through so she came back out and we got in the line. Finally, we had a chance to talk and I had an opportunity to find out why it was that Heavenly Father wanted her in my car.

I asked her why she was going to McDonald’s and she said to get food for her kids. I asked her how many kids she had and she said two. She ordered six double cheeseburgers and drinks with fries. She paid with a $100 bill which sends up red flags because that’s how those people in those sketchy businesses are paid.

I asked her how far away her kids were and she said they were at her apartment about 3 miles away. We got the food and we left. I prayed to have Heavenly Father help me navigate this one and the impression came to ask about her kids. I said, tell me about your kids.

She said she had two kids and asked how many I have. I told her I have three. I told her it’s hard to raise kids these days, but I suppose it was hard to raise us too. She laughed, then she told me, you’ve treated me so kindly, do you mind if I talk about my kids? I said, go ahead.

She told me that her kids were 13 and 22. She told me that her 22-year-old was a girl that just returned from a Mormon mission. My ears perked up. I realized then why I was inspired to ask her about her kids. I asked, how is she doing? She said that her daughter was doing great.

I asked where her daughter had gone on her mission and she said, she went to Washington state. I told her that’s very cool and how excited I was for her daughter. I told her that I served my mission in Argentina and it was an amazing foundation for the rest of my life and taught me the things I needed to know to make it through life. I looked at her in the mirror and said, I bet you’re proud of her. She put her head down and said, yes, I am.

I thought back and remembered as a member of a branch presidency in the MTC I interviewed thousands of missionaries, many of whom had parents who were spiritually in trouble or who had left the church. Their greatest desire always was for their parents to come back. I got the strong impression that the daughter had prayed for this blessing like many of those other missionaries had.

I looked in the mirror at her eyes and said, is your daughter trying to help you? Her eyes filled with tears as she said, she tries all the time. She’s such a good girl and my boy who’s 13 is a great young man.

She asked me if I minded if she opened up to me. She said, I feel like that’s what I’m supposed to do here. I think thats why I’m here with you. I said, go ahead.

She said, I used to go to church all the time. I was very active. I was married in the temple and I was a relief society president. One day my husband cheated on me and I lost it. I went into a spiral. She said, it shattered my world and I was never able to recover. She said, I just kept spiraling downward to the point where now I’m doing things to earn money that I would’ve never thought I would ever do.

She said, I can’t go to church because of the things I do, although I’d like to get back to the point where I could go to church.

Sometimes when I receive promptings it just opens up a floodgate and that was the case here, as I heard about her life and her disastrous downturn.

She took a breath and I said, do you mind if I share some thoughts with you? She said please do. I told her that there are two things that she has forgotten that she needs to try to remember.

The first one is that her Heavenly Father loves her and that love is unconditional. I asked her to think about how much she loves her children. She said she loved them with all of her heart. I asked her if there was anything they could do that would make her turn her back on them and she said no.

I said, well, why do you think that a perfect father in heaven who loves you perfectly would turn his back on you? I asked her why she thinks that God would not be there for her in her time of need?

She said, I blame God. I blame God for what happened to me. She said, he could’ve stopped it. I told her that Heavenly Father is a perfect father who loves us. I testified to her and the spirit bore witness. The spirit it entered the car and I said, do you feel the spirit? She said, yes. I said, that is the love of your father in heaven. He loves you!

I said, our Heavenly Father gives us agency. I said, if our Heavenly Father had forced us to do everything we were supposed to do and took away our free will to choose, would we be happy? Would we blame him for not being happy? She said, probably. I said God needs to give us the ability to act for ourselves so that we can work out our salvation and learn the lessons of success and failure.

I told her that because we have this agency, sometimes we use it poorly. When we do it almost always negatively affects other people, but that doesn’t mean God loves them less. It just means that someone misused their agency.

I told her that Satan is there to take advantage of this and that is the trap that she had fallen into. I told her that Satan says blame God. He says that it’s the people at your ward who are hypocrites along with the other people you know that are in the church who are also hypocrites that are the problem. Satan tells you to leave and that you can’t go to church. Satan tells you not to pray. Satan tells you that God doesn’t love you.

I told her, Satan is a liar, Satan is a manipulator. I told her that she had been deceived by Satan.

I told her that God, on the other hand, stands there and points us to Jesus. I said in the atonement Jesus suffered for all of our sins but not just our sins. He suffered for all of our hardships, our infirmities, our injustices, and all of the pains we would have to suffer in this life. He did this so that he can lift the burden from us.

God points to Jesus as his way of helping us cope so that we don’t have to turn away from him so that we can embrace him. She said, I never thought of it that way.

I told her that the atonement is the thing that helps us when everything‘s wrong. I told her when our life is burning down around us he can lift us. I told her that when we don’t feel worthy the atonement is the thing that can help us get to the point where we are worthy.

I told her that Satan says blame God. Christ says love God. I told her that love is more powerful than hate and blame and our love for God is the most powerful love. The spirit was burning in the car and she said, you know, I know that I’m supposed to be here in your car to hear this. Thank you so much for saying that to me. I needed to hear that.

We were rounding the corner to the apartment for her so she could run in and drop off the food. Then I was supposed to take her back to the drug and prostitution motel.

I said, one thing is for sure, Satan has his hooks in you. He has convinced you that you can’t go to church. You need to go to church! She said, I want to get to the point where I can go again.

She said, I think about that all the time. I want to get to the point where I can go again. I told her that she doesn’t need to wait to get to the point where she can go again, she needs to just go. I told her that the church isn’t a museum for perfection. It’s a hospital for the infirmed. I told her that everyone there has sins.

I said, what you’re worried about is what everyone will say. You need to understand that everyone there has sin of all types and all levels. You need to ignore what everybody else is saying. Pray to your Heavenly Father that the atonement of Jesus Christ can help you understand and love those people, even though they may be judging you. This way you can be tolerant of their sin, which is judging.

You need to go back to church and the spirit. The people at church will help you get to the point where you can be worthy to participate in church like you previously did.

I told her that Satan had sold her on the notion that she had to clean her life up before she could go back to church. I told her that this was not the way it works.

I told her that Satan had been whispering to her ever since her husband cheated. I told her that Satan had whispered to her and told her to blame God, he had told her to do the things that she’s been doing, and he had told her not to go to church. He told her she couldn’t go to church and she was listening to him and doing everything he said. I said, have you ever thought that you would be the kind of woman that would do everything a man told you to do without questioning him?

She said, no, I wouldn’t do that! I said, that’s what you’ve been doing. Satan‘s been telling you what to do and you’ve just been letting him guide you around. It’s time to stop!

I said, you need to go back to church and work through it. I told her that her daughter was praying for her tonight. I told her that her daughter was praying for a miracle. I told her that I knew that while her daughter was on her mission, she was praying for her and that’s why she was in my car.

I asked her again, what have you felt in my car? She said, I felt peace, I felt love, and I felt the spirit. I said, these feelings should be a testimony to you that the things I’ve said are true and that God has a plan for you to come back. He’s even given you your daughter as your own personal missionary.

I told her that God wants her back now God wants to help her get there. The church is the hospital where they bandage you up and put the medicine on you to help you overcome your challenges. she said again, I know that God put me in your car tonight. I was supposed to hear this.

By this time we were at the apartment where her daughter and son were and she was going to run in to take the food to them. She was supposed to come right back out and get in the car. She said, I’m going to mention this ride to my daughter. I said, that’s great! Why are you going back to that place? She said, I don’t know.

She got the food and went into the apartment. I waited for 15 minutes and then I texted her on the app and I said, are you coming back out to go? I hope you’ve decided to stay. I can just end the ride. She said, just a minute.

Then she texted me back and she said that she had been talking with her daughter about our ride and she had decided to stay there.

I told her to remember to go to church on Sunday and she said she would. I ended the ride and drove off. I couldn’t believe the turn that ride had taken. I couldn’t even believe I picked her up but I knew that Heavenly Father had sent me in there to pull her out of that den of iniquity. I was happy he did.

That daughter who just finished her mission, who prayed for this opportunity, was having her prayers answered that night and God was going to see to it!

.One night during the winter it was pretty snowy and I was on one of those runs where they don’t allow you to reject a ride or you forfeit the bonus. I was down in Sandy and I got a ride at the mouth of big Cottonwood Canyon where the buses drop off the skiers. As I pulled in I saw the guy waving at me. He was a young guy and seemed to be a typical skier.

When he got in, I swiped the arrow on the app so I could see where we were going and lo and behold he was going to Provo. When passengers are going to Provo it is a good thing for them but not for you when you’re working. I wasn’t very pleased. I had my mindset on working in Salt Lake where it was snowing and I could making bank. It wasn’t snowing in Utah County.

I decided to just shut up and do it and away we went. I asked him why he was going to Provo and he said that there was a girl who was his friend from high school that was attending BYU. He was going down to see her. He was a student at Arizona State University and a member of the ROTC. He was a Marine in that program and he kind of had his life planned out that way. He obviously liked this girl in Provo because it was worth spending hard earned cash to get three hours with her.

I was concerned about him getting back up to Solitude where he was staying that night. I knew that there weren’t very many drivers that had cars capable of making it to the resort. I did however, know that my car was capable of making it. I also knew the most of the current drivers are immigrants and do not have experience in snow driving. I am however an East Idaho trained snow driver and I have tremendous snow driving skill.

I offered to take him to Provo, hang out at home for the three hours then take him all the way up the mountain back to solitude. He seemed relieved and excitedly accepted the offer. He said that he thought he might have to walk 3 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon because he didn’t think he would find a driver to take him all the way to the to the resort.

I started to talk to this young man and I could feel that he was a good young man. I could feel his goodness and I could feel his sincerity. I could feel his desire to make good choices and do the right things and I was impressed by how he carried himself.

I asked him about his religious history and he said that he believed in the Bible. He said he believed in God but that he didn’t really have a religious foundation. I asked him about the girl he was going to see. I asked him if he liked her as in would he like to date her. He said yes. I asked him what he liked about her and he said that it was just a feeling he had when he was around her. I told him that I felt that part of this feeling was a peace he felt when he looked in her eyes. He said, wow that’s very specific but exactly right. None of the other girls have that.

He said that at one point she had given him one of our Bibles that he read part of. He said he didn’t have it anymore but that he thought that was nice of her. He said she was thinking about going on a mission but he didn’t know anything about that.

Since he brought up the Book of Mormon I thought we would talk about it for a minute. I asked him if he knew what it was and he said not really, he had only read a little bit. I told him it was an account of God’s spiritual dealings with the ancient people of America. I told him that the people in America had prophets just like the people in Jerusalem because God loved the people in America just like he loved the people in Jerusalem.

I told him that God revealed his word to prophets in America just like he did to the prophets in Jerusalem. I told him that they wrote these words down. This is why we have the Bible from Jerusalem and the Book of Mormon from America. I said that they both teach that Jesus Christ is the son of God and they both testify of his divinity. He said, that’s really cool.

I asked him if he thought God loved everyone and he said yes. I asked him if a loving God would only talk to one of his children if he had 10 of them and he said no. I asked him if he had children in 10 different states, would go to each state to visit them and he said yes.

I told him that he was literally a son of God and that God loved him. I told him that God loves all of his children and he sent his son Jesus Christ to save us all. I told him that Jesus Christ went to all of his sheep to bring them into the fold.

I asked him if he had heard the scripture about “other sheep I have” from the Bible and he said yes. I told him while recounting that scripture, that when he said this he was talking about the people in America and in other places. I told him that in the Book of Mormon he said, still other sheep I have that I need to go see.

I could feel the spirit in the car as I testified of the Book of Mormon and God‘s relationship to each of us but I sensed that he was not recognizing that he was feeling it. I decided to probe. I asked him, what are you thinking when I say these things? He said, it’s like pure knowledge. I’m getting a rush of knowledge. I asked him what he was feeling and he said, I feel peaceful. It’s calm and warm in here he said, I feel good. But mostly I am learning a lot.

I asked him if the things that I had said to him sounded strange. He said no, it felt right. He reiterated that it seemed like pure knowledge downloading into his brain. I told him that this is how he would feel when he heard the word of God. The spirit of God was there and it was helping him learn and understand these things. He said, I know that’s true. That’s exactly what’s going on.

He said he loved this feeling and felt like he wanted to dig in and learn more and more. I asked him if he still had his copy of the Book of Mormon that was given to him by the girl at BYU. He said no. I pulled out one of my copies prepared by the Secrists and gave it to him. I said, I’m giving you this book so that you can have it. He said, it’s all marked and lined out. I said, this is your book you should keep it. I told him that it was a book prepared especially for him and that I wanted him to have it. He asked me if I would keep it in the car and give it to him later and I said yes.

I talked to him about baptism. I mentioned how Jesus Christ had come and asked everyone to be baptized the way he taught and by his authority that he gave them. He commanded them to be baptized even though they had all been previously baptized. He taught them the proper way to baptize as well. My rider asked me what the difference was in this baptism and the one he had. We went through the three points in the baptism; when you’re accountable, in the water by immersion and by the authority that Jesus gave on that day when he came to America.

I asked him if he studied, prayed and found out that this was true, would he be baptized? He said, absolutely. I would love to have the peace in my heart that I feel in the car and in the presence of this girl.

He then looked at me and asked, how do we get this thing started?

I asked him if he had ever gone to our church and he said no, he didn’t think they had any in the part of Arizona where he lived. I told him there are a lot of members everywhere in Arizona. I said that I even have a friend that was a bishop of a ward at ASU. I told him, I know that there is a ward in Arizona that he should attend. He said he’d love to do that. He asked me how he could find out where it is.

I asked him to leave me his address and when I picked him back up I would have the time and place of the meetings. He said he would do that and he gave me his address.

One thing I would love to say here is that his questions were always genuine and very introspective. He was on a search for truth, not a search for a girl even though he found this feeling he wanted to have in his life during his pursuit of that girl. He was genuinely interested and excited for a ride back. He asked me to keep the Book of Mormon in the car and said that he would snag it on the way back.

I dropped him off at BYU at 6 and promised to be back at 9 o’clock.

At 9:00 I came back and there he was with the girl on the sidewalk. They gave each other a hug and he got in the car. We started to drive and talk about his evening.

He said they went bowling at the Wilkinson Center and had a good time. I asked him if he told her about our conversation and he said he tried to once but that she deflected that conversation a bit. I told him not to be discouraged by that because she probably didn’t want to feel like she was pushing him. He said he could see that. He said that she told him that she’s going to go on a mission.

That gave me the opportunity to talk about missions and how we go out to testify of Jesus Christ. I said that we testify about how the gospel has blessed our lives. I told him that it not only blesses our lives as individuals but as families because we are able to be sealed together as families through the power of the priesthood in temples. I pointed out four temples on the way back.

I told him that I had found the bishop and ward in Arizona for him to attend. He said, that’s great. Do I just show up on Sunday morning? I told him that I would have that bishop reach out to him on Saturday. and that someone would meet him at the door on Sunday. He said, that’s great! I’m excited to do it. I want to get started.

I texted him the page from the meeting house locator. He was excited because that was really close to where he lives. He asked if it was OK for members of the church to be in the military. I said, of course. I started listing a bunch of people who are members of the church who have been in the military including general authorities and apostles. He was impressed. He felt like he should ask me what I thought about him. Following the promptings of the spirit I told him that it seemed to me like he was looking for something in his life. I said it seemed like he felt like he was wandering a little bit in his life and was looking for something to fill the void in his soul. I told him that God put him here tonight so that he could feel God’s love and get this information. I said that God wanted him to grab that knowledge so it could get him on the path.

He said, “that’s exactly right. That knowledge was amazing. It was amazing how clear it was and I really have a desire to learn more.” He said, you would think that learning something like that would satisfy your desire to learn but it heightened my interest and that’s really cool.

When we were going back up the canyon he was very impressed with my expertise in snow driving. He said, in my head, there are so many ways that I got the right driver tonight. I laughed and said, it’s amazing how Heavenly Father knows what he’s doing. When I dropped him off I made sure he had his Book of Mormon and I told him for sure the next day I would text him the information I found and that the bishop would be contacting him.

I asked him to commit to read the Book of Mormon and he said he would do it, 100%. I asked him to pray when he read it and he said he would because he wanted to feel the spirit again like he did that night

When I went to call the phone number for the Bishop that was in the meeting house locator, it was the actual phone in the meeting house, a landline. That number is of no use to anyone and should never be published but there it was. I didn’t know what to do because I wanted to talk to the bishop because we needed to reach out to this young man quickly.

I called my brother-in-law whose name is David. He lives in Phoenix and he was able to find the name and the phone number of the bishop of the ward for me.

Using that number I called the Bishop and the Bishop was excited! I couldn’t get the idea through to the bishop that this guy wasn’t a member. At first he thought he was a less active member. I said, no, we’re going to baptize this guy, you, me and the missionaries so he got on board and was excited to make the call.

This is a good young man trying to do the right thing. He and I both believe that he was guided to my car to get things going.

One Monday morning, I was starting my drive earlier than normal in Salt Lake. That’s a mixed bag because you never know how long it’s going to take for you to get a ride. You like to be able to get 3 to 5 rides per hour and sometimes in the morning it doesn’t work so well.

I turned on and drove around for about 10 minutes and finally got a ride. I went over to pick the guy up an apartment complex on 200 W. I waited for quite a while and wondered if I was going to be timing him out and collecting the no-show fee.

Finally, he came out of the building with a burst. All I could say was wow.

He was a great big, huge Tongan man dressed in black flowing clothes and a purple scarf. He had very long hair and some tattoos underneath his right eye on his cheek.

He didn’t look like he was feeling very good and when he sat down in the car, he said,Uuuuh. I said, not feeling so well are we? He said, no! I partied all night into the morning. I was really drunk, I passed out on the floor. He told me that there were a whole bunch of people there last he remembered, but when he woke up, he was the only one there and he had the worst hangover ever. 

Having never been drunk in my life, hence never having experienced a hangover, I’m not very knowledgeable with regards to how you feel during a hangover.  I am pretty sure from what I understand that you want to close your eyes to everything. And hope that the headache goes away.

As I’m thinking this and kind of chuckling to myself, I get the impression that I’m supposed to teach this man. That’s a bold endeavor because he’s a lot bigger than I am and you don’t want to poke the bear. Again, the prompting came that he was put here in your car today to be taught. The spirit said go. I looked in my mirror and there he was slinking back in the seat with his eyes closed, nevertheless I decided to go for it.

I said, mālō e lelei. That’s a Tongan greeting. He said, oh you’ve been around some Tongans before! I told him I was around a lot of Tongans when I coached football and he said, that makes sense.  I said, but I learned to speak some words in Tongan while I was serving in the MTC. I told him that as an executive secretary, one of my responsibilities was to look out for and love up the international missionaries of whom many were from Tonga.

I told him that as part of my endeavor to love and respect them, I tried to learn to say hello and maybe thank you in each of their languages. He said, that’s really cool. The spirit prompted me to keep discussing the MTC. I said, it’s amazing when you see how much your Heavenly Father loves each one of his young missionaries.

I told him that they would show up and I could feel his love for them. I told him, I’ll bet you had relatives from Tonga that I met when I was in the MTC. I noticed that he was very pensive and his eyes were wide open which I’m sure is not a normal state for someone with the world’s greatest hangover.

I felt that Heavenly Father wanted me to keep going, so I said, I loved the spirit the young elders had and I loved to see the love in their souls for other people and for their Heavenly Father. It was an amazing thing.

Then I found out why the Lord wanted me to talk about the MTC and missionaries. He said to me, my son is getting ready to go into the MTC. I tried not to look shocked as I reacted to his statement. I shouted, great! Knowing that probably shattered his brain from the hangover I asked, where is he going to serve?

He said, my son’s going to serve in the Calgary Alberta Canada mission. You could hear the pride in his voice when he said that. As I looked in the mirror, I could see his countenance was still low, even though there was a jump in his voice.

The spirit let me see a man who had been beaten down by life. The spirited let me see a man who had felt pushed out and ostracized. He hadn’t felt like he belonged so he left. The spirit gave me the words to say through promptings of how to approach this man. I said, do you want to know what the most important thing is your son’s going to teach? Do you want to know what the most important thing is that he has to learn before he can be a good missionary?

He said, yes! I told him that the most important thing that your son has to teach and learn for himself is the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told him that all the other things flow from that and that the atonement of Jesus Christ is the thing that everyone needs to cure their spiritual and physical ailments.

I told him that when Jesus Christ was in the Garden of Gethsemane he suffered all of the pains, injustices, illnesses, unfairness, and pain from sins that we could ever imagine. He suffered them all at once and that pain was so great that he bled from every pore. I said, he did this so that he knows how to lift us.

I told him that the pain was so great that he asked God to make it so he didn’t have to go through that if possible. I asked him, if his son was suffering like that and he asked you to take that pain from him what would that make you feel like? He said, it would make me want to make it better and if I couldn’t, it would make me feel horrible.

I told him that was just how Heavenly Father  felt. He sent an angel to Jesus to give him strength to help him through it. I told him that because Jesus felt and went through all of that, now we can rely on him.

I said, if we look to him, he can help us. I told him that I had received a prompting that in his life, he had been very offended and very judged by some family members. I told him that he felt that he had been ostracized and not wanted. I told him that for sure he was wanted by his father in heaven and that his brother, Jesus Christ, had felt that same pain and he was waiting for him to turn to him for help. That’s the family that matters.

I told him that instead of turning to Jesus, he turned away from God. I told him that Satan tells us to blame God and blame our families. Satan tells us to self medicate and look for happiness in a riotous lifestyle.

I told him that Satan is a liar and that he never tells us anything that’s true. I repeated about four times that Satan is a liar and that he had been lied to by Satan.

I told him that on the other hand if he looks to God, he points to Jesus, and we access the atonement so that he can lift our burdens and heal our hearts. I told him, that’s what you need, you need your heart to be healed. You don’t need another bender with the dudes. I looked back and he was weeping. There were tears coming down his face. 

I reminded him of the story Alma, in the Book of Mormon. His people were captured by the Lamanites and put into slavery. I reminded him that when they called upon God and the atonement of Jesus Christ, their burdens were lifted and they could barely feel them. I reminded him that this didn’t mean that their burdens were removed but that because of Jesus Christ, their burdens were lifted and made bearable. They were able to be happy despite their trials because of the atonement Jesus Christ.

I asked him if he had younger brothers and sisters, he said yes. I asked him if when they were young they had come to him for advice and help because he had been there and done that. He said yes. I said, this works in a very similar way. Jesus Christ has suffered all things for us, and if we will turn to him and the power of his atonement , he can lift us and help us through these trials.

I told him that when we do this, it takes away Satan‘s power and his solution seems frivolous. I looked back in the mirror. More tears were flowing and not a word was being spoken.

The spirit told me that I wasn’t done yet. I told him that the atonement of Jesus Christ will make it possible for him to let go of the negative feelings he had towards those who had harmed him and allow him to forgive them.

I told him that the atonement of Jesus Christ is what his son, who was going on a mission, had to offer to the world so that the world could heal just like he needed to heal. He said, I never thought of it that way. I told him that the damage done to his soul was not done by anybody else but by the hate and rebellion in his own heart. I said, that’s what happens when we look to Satan and his solutions to our problems. I told him, his solutions are counterfeits. I repeated again, Satan is a liar and he lies to us. I asked him if he wanted to do what Satan tells him and he said, no. 

I told him again that Jesus Christ was there to heal him, which I’m sure was great news, considering he was in the midst of this hangover.

By this time he was sitting up not slouched back and he was paying attention to what I was saying. His eyes were wide open, but he wasn’t saying much. I could tell that he was listening to every word I said.

I said, God put you in my car today so you could get this message. God put you in my car today to let you know that he needs you to come back. God needs you to be a missionary father and God needs you to be a witness. God needs you to not only be a missionary father but a missionary yourself.

I told him that he had made quite an impression as a rebel. I told him that everybody knew how crazy he was and how much he partied. I told him that everybody knew how far off the path he was. He bowed his head.

I asked him, can you imagine the shock in everyone’s life when you go back to church, repent of your sins and start walking with God? I asked him, can you imagine the impact that will have on people’s lives?

I said, they will see the power of the atonement in real time in your life. They will see how God transforms people in real time in your life. They will see the love of God reflected in your countenance and in your life and they will know that the atonement is real. They will know that you have been forgiven and they will know, if God can do that for you, he can do that for them too.

I told him that while his son is being a missionary, if he will clean it up and embrace the atonement with all of his heart, he will change as many lives as his son will. People will recognize the power of that change. I told him, that way you can be a missionary too.

The spirit was palpable in the car and I could tell he was feeling it. I asked him if he felt that and he said yes. I asked him what it was and he said, that’s the spirit. I asked him what that meant. He said, it means that what you’re saying is true.

I told him again, God put you in my car today. God put you in my car so I could say this to you. It’s time for you to make that change. God stands there willing to help and is pointing to the atonement of his son, Jesus Christ.

I told him, don’t look to Satan. Look to God and be saved. The tears were still flowing down his face and he said, I know God put me in your car today. This is just what I’ve needed, I’ve needed this for years. He said, I suppose this means I’m going to church on Sunday. I need to go to church with my boy.

I told him that his Heavenly Father is his father and he loves him and that he will do this with him. I told him that God needs him back and he needs the people that he is going to influence and bring with him. He said, I needed this! This is exactly what I needed and I’ve needed this for a long time. I said, don’t let Satan tell you that the things you’ve done are so bad that you can’t return. I told him that Satan‘s next trick is to tell you that what you’ve done is so bad that you can’t be saved so you will be discouraged. I told him that it’s not true. Jesus Christ has paid that price if he will allow Jesus to do so.

He said, I’m going to do that. He said, at first I was wondering if you go around picking up all of the sinners and teach them about Jesus. Then I realized that my soul was open to you. You spoke directly to me and that it had to be Heavenly Father telling you what to say.

I’m going to go to church Sunday and I’m going to turn this around. I know Heavenly Father put me in your car today.

He thanked me and got out of the car.

One day I picked up a guy up at the University of Utah engineering building. I pulled through the parking lot and saw him standing there. He was a well-dressed man in a nice suit. He was from India and had been lecturing or giving a presentation that day.

He got in the car and we started talking about how his presentation went and I asked him what he thought about the area. He said that he thought it was beautiful and that he loved taking pictures from campus. It’s really nice from up there, you can see the whole valley and he was enjoying it.

I told him that I live down by Provo and he said that they had other people in their company who were going to BYU. They go down there to lecture so he had never been able to do that. I talked about the difference in the mountains between salt lake and Provo and the drive down Provo Canyon, which I think is gorgeous. It never ceases to amaze me, the high percentage of people that I drive from Salt Lake that have never been down to Provo Canyon. It’s like on the other side of that mountain, Point of the Mountain. They know there’s something down there but they don’t care to go see what it is.

I asked him what he was going to do tomorrow and he said that they were going to go to the parks in southern Utah. I told him that they would be driving through Utah County and they should go up Provo Canyon, it would only take a few minutes. He told me that they had all day and that might be a good diversion and he thought that was a great idea.

I asked him what else he wanted to see while he was here and he said that he wanted to see some of the more important historical things and asked if we could drive by any on our way back to his hotel. I knew exactly where I was going to drive.

I drove straight past the city county building on State Street, mentioning it briefly and headed towards Temple Square. When we got to the Lion House and the Beehive House, I told him that those were Brigham Young‘s houses and he thought that was really cool.

With him being an engineer, I pointed out that the temple was being retrofitted for protection during a seismic event. He thought that this was cool and he was very interested to see the temple. He said that when he was young, his family had gone to the temple and heard the Tabernacle Choir.

I pointed at the tabernacle, and said well, if you heard the Choir, it was probably in that building because the temples are special places. I asked him what he knew about our church and he said that he knew us to be people who believed in family. I told him that this belief starts in that building.

I told him that when Jesus was on the earth, he gave Peter the power to seal things on earth that will be sealed in heaven. We believe that because of this power, families are sealed and marriages are for eternity not just until death. I told him that this gives our families more power in our marriages and more lasting joy.

He said, you know, we believe in my Hindu religion that marriages last beyond this life as well. He said, I’ve never heard anyone else say that, but I think it’s obvious that this should be true.

I have to admit almost complete and total ignorance to the beliefs of the Hindu faith so I decided to take his word for it. I said, when Jesus was on the earth, he organized the church with all of the teachings. As his apostles were killed, and as he was killed and resurrected the foundation of the church crumbled. It fell and broke into pieces. It was like a mirror, falling off a wall. The people grabbed parts and took them because they were important to them.

I told him one of the parts of the church as it existed when Jesus Christ was on the earth was eternal families and marriages sealed for eternity. I told him that we have that piece and we have the whole mirror.

I explained to him that after Jesus Christ was resurrected he came to America and to the people here. Then he said, other sheep I have which are not of this land or the land of Jerusalem, or the land roundabout. He said that he had received a commandment to go to them, and that could be why you have the teaching of eternal families.

He said, oh, I know about this! I was a little shocked. He said, we believe that Jesus Christ came to India. I’ve been taught that all of my life. He said, most people believe he came to India during the 33 years before he taught in Jerusalem but I could really see how it could be that he came after his resurrection like this.

I pointed out to him that the gospel was an extension of Heavenly Father’s love for all of his children, and that God loved all of his children not just the people in Jerusalem. I said that he sent his son to many of his children in different places all over the world. He said, this makes total sense. I mentioned that Isaiah discussed many locations where Jesus would go. He said, I believe he came to India.

I said, one of the things that Jesus taught in America was that everyone needs to be baptized. I asked , were there a lot of people in the history of India that weren’t baptized? He said yes. I said that Christians believe you need baptism to go into heaven. I asked him if that would be fair? Would a loving Heavenly Father excluded the people from India because they hadn’t been baptized. He said, no! Not a God I believe in!

I told him that when Jesus was in the spirit world for three days after his crucifixion, he taught and organized the teaching of the gospel to the people who died without hearing the fullness of the gospel. The other thing we do in the temple is we are baptized for those people.

I told him that we go to the temple and are baptized for our family members. He said, that’s amazing! It’s so cool that you can provide that baptism for your ancestors. I said, not just for ancestors, but for everyone who has ever died. I told him we are about doing that work. I told him that everyone of God’s children will have a baptism and the opportunity to accept it, or reject it.

He said, it has to be that way! He said, you know, I believe in a loving God. He said, you know, I also believe in one God.

He said in Hinduism they believe in many gods, but he always believed that there was one God and had a hard time justifying it. He didn’t know how they got to the point where they worship so many gods but he knew that there was one God.

Motivated by this, I told him that Heavenly Father sent his son Jesus to save us. I said, I believe that Jesus was sent to your people, and some people there were really great leaders, maybe even prophets amongst his ancestors and they did really amazing things to worship God. I said, these people were close to God. Overtime the masses begin to reverence these people with such high esteem that they deified them.

He said, that could be!. I said, it’s much like the Catholics have their Saints, who have been so elevated to the point that they are almost gods. They believe that they certainly have more power than men. They are dearly loved figures in many aspects. He said, that makes sense, but there is only one God and they need to accept that. He said, “this explanation makes so much sense to me”.

I told him that in the Book of Mormon they had prophets too. Prophets who prophesied the words that God gave them and taught the things that God would have them teach. They wrote down these teachings and that is why we have the Book of Mormon. I told him that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and a testimony that Jesus Christ loves everyone and that Heavenly Father is the God of everyone and loves everyone. I told him that we have that book today.

I told him that those prophets wrote their prophecies on plates and Joseph Smith received those plates and translated it by the power of God.

I stopped and bore my testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet that he saw God the father and Jesus Christ, and that the Book of Mormon was true. The spirit was in the car and it was strong. This man was having the truth verified to him of the things that he had been taught by the spirit throughout his life. I wasn’t teaching that much new to him because he already believed these things. The spirit was confirming them to both of us. As we pulled into his hotel, he said, this has been amazing! I’ve never felt this alive and my brain is firing with thoughts and questions. I told him that this thing he was feeling was the spirit of god. I told him that God had sent his spirit so that he would know that the things I had said were true.

I reached into my glove box and pulled out a Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists and I gave it to him. I said, this book is the one that was written by these prophets. I told him that this book taught that Jesus Christ came to America and that he loved the people in America. I told him that this book teaches that Jesus went to other places, to other people. He interrupted me and said, to India! I said, this book teaches that God loves everyone from India to America to Jerusalem.

He said, I believe that and I want to read this book.

He said, when I was here before, when I was a child, we went and listened to the choir, it was so beautiful. I would love to do that again. The thing that blew me away was the power of that organ. I would love to see that organ played.

I told him that as luck would have it, Richard Elliott, the principal organist for the Tabernacle choir is a friend of mine. I told him that I would call Rick and ask him if there’s a way that he could go and see someone play the organ. He said, if you could arrange it for tomorrow morning that would be awesome. He said, but if he can’t, that’s OK but I really appreciate you doing this for me. I called Rick and got his voicemail. I left him a message and told him a little bit about what was going on. About two hours later, Rick called me and said that they had people playing the organ at 11 and that he would be more than happy to make special accommodations for my friend. Rick is always amazing to do missionary work with his talent and I appreciate his willingness.

I passed the message along to my passenger and he was blown away, touched, but saddened because those who were with him needed to leave by 9 AM. He said it just would not work this time but asked me if that might be something we could do in the future.

He responded, this gives me another reason to come back to Salt Lake. I told him to take that Book of Mormon and discuss what we talked about with his coworker who went to BYU. He said that would be fun and that he would do it . I asked him if he remembered what he felt in the car and he said it was an amazing surge of knowledge and power. I told him the spirit of God was there and he said he knew it was. He thanked me for taking the time to enlighten him. He said that truly he had been enlightened in that ride. I told him it wasn’t me that in enlightened him but the spirit of God. I know that someday he’ll be back to listen to that organ.

I know that if he will talk to his friends that went to BYU about the Book of Mormon, he will come back as a member of the church

One day I was staying down in Provo to work in the morning. I had just been to the dermatologist so I was feeling a little burnt and abused. I was staying in Provo because I was going to pick up some friends and take them to the airport at 1:30 so it didn’t make sense to me to go to Salt Lake.

I turned on the app and immediately got a ride to Salt Lake, a ride to the airport. The one thing I didn’t want to do and the one thing that I wasn’t going to do was go to the airport come back and then go up and back again. it just doesn’t make sense gas wise to do that. They barely pay enough money to cover the gas when you’re driving on the freeway like that so I was going to say no, but I just couldn’t do it.

I felt compelled to take this ride. I’ve been doing this long enough to understand that when you feel that you go with it and so I did. I drove down to South Provo past the cemetery and turned in to the neighborhood where this man lived.

He came out of the house and got in the car. While I was waiting for him to come out I noticed that my tire gauge on my dash was indicating a low tire so I got out and walked around the car really quick and used it as an excuse to open his door and get him in the car. I couldn’t see any deflated tires. They all looked fine.

The spirit told me to forget about tires and get in the car and start teaching. For the record, the guy looked like a member of the church. He was Latino, from Ecuador and he was leaving on a business trip.

I thought about people going on business trips and all the things they have in their head almost as a reason not to start but the spirit once again told me no, this is why he’s in the car. I decided that the spirit was going to be running the show so I shut off my analysis.

I knew we only had about 40 minutes and so I decided to get right to it. I asked him how long he had lived here. He said that he had lived here a couple of years. I asked him if he liked it and he said yes, it’s very peaceful.

I told him that the reason why it’s peaceful is that the people here try to obey God and when we obey God he gives us peace and he sends his spirit. I asked him if it was OK if I talked about religious things and he said yes.

As soon as he said this, the door was open and promptings flooded in. I said, I have a question for you. He said OK. I asked, why haven’t you been baptized yet?

Now I didn’t know he hadn’t been baptized other than the spirit telling me. He looked like a member of the church. He was taken aback a little bit. I asked him again, why haven’t you been baptized yet?

I said, don’t you know that’s the reason why you were brought here? He said, I thought I was here because I wanted to be with some of my friends who live here who are Mormons. I told him that them bringing him to the gospel of Jesus Christ is why he’s here.

I looked down again at my dashboard and the tire light was still on. I started thinking maybe I should pull off in American Fork or Lehi to fill the tire. The spirit said don’t worry about the tire and focus on what you are supposed to be doing. I put the tire light out of my mind, knowing God would take care of it

Right then I decided to open up with the impressions about him and direct my comments to those impressions. I told him that I know that his friend had taught him the gospel and that there were some reasons why he didn’t accept it.

I said, one of the reasons is your family. They are a very traditional and strong Catholic family. I told him that I knew by the spirit that part of his reservation was his fear of them and his fear of disappointing them. I told him that more than anything they wanted him to follow God and that this had created an inner struggle.

I told him that if he showed up having been baptized with the spirit of God around him, they would notice the change and it would open the doors for him to teach the gospel to them. I told him, that’s what you’re here to do, get baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I told him that his father might be a little upset at first, but with time, the spirit of God would work on him and he would be baptized. I told him that his parents raised him to be a man of God and what that means is that you follow God. I told him that God brought him here for this purpose and someday they would see that.

I told him that one of the other reasons he didn’t get baptized is that he hadn’t felt like he had received an answer to his questions about the truthfulness of the church sufficient to help him take that huge step. I took that opportunity to stop for a second and ask him what he felt in the car right then. He said he felt incredible peace and joy. I asked him if he doubted the things I was saying right then and he said no, you are spot on so far.

I told him that the peace and joy he was feeling came from God. I told him that this was God‘s way of confirming to him that these things are true and the fact that he had no doubts right then while he was in the presence of the spirit verified this. He said, wow, that’s really cool. I told him, now you’ve had that witness and if you think back at the times you were with missionaries, you felt that same thing. God has been testifying to you all along. He said, I was just thinking that same thing.

I told him that one of the reasons why he was in my car was so that I could help him feel that. I told him that God wanted me to help him understand this.

I asked him what he knew about Jesus coming to America and the Book of Mormon. He said, I have a Book of Mormon, but I don’t remember about Jesus coming to America. I asked him if he’d read the Book of Mormon and he said no.

I talked about how God loves everyone in the world not just the people in Jerusalem therefore he had prophets here in America amongst his ancestors. I told him they wrote their revelations and that was the Book of Mormon. I told him it was the spiritual legacy of his people, left for him to benefit from and enjoy. I told him that part of that book is the account of the visit of Jesus Christ to America.

I told him that after Jesus was resurrected he said, “other sheep I have which are not of this fold” and that he needed to go to them so they could be counted among his sheep and they could hear his voice. I told him, those were your ancestors. Those sheep were your ancestors!

I told him that they had been through three days of earthquakes, tornados, fire coming down from heaven and darkness. I told him that they heard the voice of God introducing his son. I said that Jesus descended from heaven and stood on the steps of the temple in front of them. I told him that Jesus invited all of them, all of his ancestors to touch the prints of the nails in his hands and feet. They came up one by one and did just that.

After they touched the prints of the nails in his hands and his feet, I said that they all knelt and prayed saying hosanna which means “save us now”. I told him that they were praying to their God who was standing in front of them for salvation. They knew he was God and he was right in front of them and this was their plea.

I told him that as a direct response to that he called up 12, Instructed them how to baptize, gave them authority to baptize others, and commanded that everyone be baptized. He did this even though the majority had previously been baptized. He wanted them to have his baptism by his authority.

I told him that this baptism was a baptism to a higher covenant, a higher standard and a higher law. I told him that Christ expects more of his disciples and this baptism was that covenant.

I told him that Christ held the children and blessed them and then he cried. I told him that Jesus Christ gave these 12 the authority to give others the Holy Ghost so that once they had been baptized, they could have God’s spirit to be with them. I told him that we do this same thing today. Once we are baptized we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost. I said that the gift of the Holy Ghost is the thing that had been whispering to me the things to teach him. It’s a way we can have God walk with us.

I told him that the spirit can help us obey the commandments and that God gives us commandments as a way to bless us so that we can be happy. I told him about how my grandfather had been an alcoholic and loved to go out and drink. I told him that this made my grandpa abusive and a distasteful person to be around.

I asked him this question, even though my grandfather had fun drinking do you think that made him happy or would he have been more happy with his family and grandchildren? He quickly said, he would’ve been much more happy with his family and grandchildren. I said, when he disobeyed the commandment of God, he went with fun over happiness and chose poorly. Because of these poor choices he died at a young age from his alcoholism.

I told him that commandments are really important because they help keep us safe and help keep us happy. I told him that this is really important but sometimes we mess up.

I told him that one of the reasons why Jesus commanded his ancestors to be baptized is so that they could repent and come back to him. I said that this is how they could remain clean and become cleansed from their sin.

I told him that I had the impression that he was thinking of one sin in particular that he had committed. I told him that this was bothering him right then as we spoke. I told him that his baptism will cleanse him of that sin. I told him that baptism will make him able to stand before God and that through repentance and baptism that sin can be erased. He said, do you really think so.? I said, yes, I know it’s true.

He said I would love that. I asked, then you want to be baptized? He bowed his head. I told him that when he is baptized, he will be clean from that sin and the spirit will confirm this cleansing to his soul. He said, that would be amazing. I said, that’s why it’s so important. How can we have the spirit with us if we’re not clean? He said, I really don’t think you can.

I told him that it’s the same for our ancestors who have passed on. They need to be baptized so that they can go to the presence of God. They need the same baptism, the baptism of Jesus Christ. I asked him how they were going to get that. He said, I don’t know? I told him that I believe God is a God that loves everyone not just the ones who hear the gospel and he agreed. I said, how can he be a loving father if he doesn’t make a plan for all of his children to come home. He said, I’ve been bothered by this for years. it just doesn’t seem right.

We were passing the Draper exit and I pointed out that you could see three temples from there. I asked him if he knew what those buildings were and he said that they were temples. I asked him if he knew what we did in those buildings and he said no. I told him that we do baptisms for people who have passed.

I told him that when Jesus was in the spirit world, he set up the preaching of the gospel to the people there and many of them have accepted it. I told him that we go to those buildings and we are baptized in behalf of the people who have died. I told him that they have accepted the gospel, then they accept that baptism and want to be clean before God. I told him because of this everyone of God’s children can come home no matter what their circumstances were on this earth.

I told him that God loves everyone not just the people who were Jerusalem or who were in America. He loves everyone and he has a plan for us all. He wants us to come home, if we will.

He said, that’s amazing, that’s how it should be. I told him that he needed to be baptized because that’s one of the reasons why God sent him here to Utah. I told him that he needed to be baptized and then he needed to take the gospel and that baptism to the rest of his family, both on the earth and those who passed away. They are counting on him to save them. I told him it was his mission. His mission was to bring them all the baptism of Jesus Christ. The spirit was really strong in the car and I asked if he felt the spirit confirm that and he said yes.

I was happy and not surprised when he immediately responded with, I’ve always felt that God had a mission for me and today I know what it is.

A lot of times I ask people IF they will be baptized and I was about to say that when the spirit prompted me to ask WHEN he could be baptized. I summoned up the gumption and said, so WHEN will you be baptized? He smiled and said, I had some missionaries teaching me a while back but I got scared and didn’t want to commit. They just didn’t explain things to me in a way that I understood. I just didn’t feel the spirit like this. I didn’t feel the spirit like we are feeling it today. I asked him if he felt that fear today. He said, no! More like peaceful and excited.

I said, let’s do it now! Let’s decide when you’re going to be baptized. We pulled out the calendar and went over some days.

I told him he would have to go to church three times. He told me that he had already done that. He told me that a couple of weeks ago he went to a missionary welcome home of one of his friend’s daughters.

We came up with a date that he wants to be baptized, a goal date to work towards.

I gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him if he had one in Spanish. He said, yes, but I’ve never read it. I showed him the special attention given to these books by the Secrists and he was touched. I bore my testimony of the prophet, Joseph Smith and that he had translated that book. I told him it was written by his ancestors and that it was true. I told him we have a prophet of God today that speaks with God for us.

He said, I’m going to have my friend help me do this in my Spanish Book of Mormon. I want one just like this in Spanish.

He said, I’ve always known that God had a mission for me and that it was the reason why I was in Utah. He said, you hit the nail right on the head. He said, when I came out of my house today I was sad and a little down but the spirit of God in this car has lifted me. I feel peaceful and happy and I need that spirit with me. He said, you knew why I didn’t get baptized, you knew what my questions were and the spirit helped you see into my soul. I know that I needed forgiveness from my sin. You gave me the answers I needed. You helped me feel the spirit here today and I’ve never had an experience like this.

He said he was committed to being baptized and fulfilling the mission that God had given him.

He told me he was going to call his friend tomorrow and tell him that he wanted to be baptized and when. His friend’s daughter just got home from a mission so he should be able to help him out with that.

He got out of the car and went into the airport. As soon as he was gone, I got out of the car and I checked my tires. They were fine. Like my Heavenly Father said, don’t worry about the tires, you take care of him. I’ve got this.

Normally when I go to Salt Lake I don’t turn on the app in Utah county. If you turn on the app in Utah County you get sent to Saratoga Springs or worse, Santaquin! You never get to Salt Lake. You drive 20 minutes between rides to make four dollars. It’s a desperate and depressing death spiral of financial insecurity.

This is why you go straight to Salt Lake before you turn on the app. One night I felt impressed that I should turn on the app in Utah County. I came out of my house and started driving on 800 N. in Orem towards the freeway to go to Salt Lake with my app on. Sure enough, I got a ride that took me clear up against the mountain near the Pleasant Grove American fork border. The ride was going clear out to Saratoga Springs.

I didn’t feel panicked or angry, I knew this was one I should take so I did and away I went. I picked up the guy at a home and we talked about how he had been with family and friends and everything he had done that day. I asked him about his family and he said that they had moved up from Arizona when he was young and that his dad was a doctor. He said that his dad had passed away some time ago.

I could hear the grief in the young man’s voice and I could tell that his spirit was not well. I asked him if his family were members of a religion because God helps us get through these things. He said that he’s not religious but his mother is.

He said that his dad had been a Mormon bishop when he died. He said that he had been lost ever since. I told him that I was sorry for his loss and that it had to be difficult.

I told him that his Heavenly Father was worried about him and his earthly father was also worried about him even though he had passed. I told him that I pray to have the spirit in my car so that I can know the things that God would have me say. . He said, I can feel it. I asked him if it would be OK if I taught him the things that the spirit was telling me right now. He said, please do.

I told him that one of the problems is that we see life in spans of 40 years and God looks at our lives as a continual thing that never ends. His purposes began before we were born and continue after we die. He puts us where he needs us. I told him that because of this it’s hard for us to see and understand why things happen.

I told him that things happen to people that are difficult. Sometimes people use their agency to harm others, sometimes people die in unfortunate accidents or from diseases and it doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t seem fair. I told him that many times these things drive people away from God and away from the church.

I told him that God gives us agency and when something bad happens Satan tells us to blame God. He tells us that it’s God’s fault and that God took away our happiness. Satan blames God and tells us that God is making us miserable. On the other hand, God points to the Savior with love. God points to the Savior because of the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I said that the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ makes it so that he can carry our burdens. It makes it so that we can have our burdens lightened even in the midst of confusion and affliction.

I told him that the atonement that Jesus Christ suffered was complete and that he suffered for all of the injustice, pain, abandonment, loneliness, suffering, infirmity, unfairness and every negative feeling and emotion. I told him that he suffered until he, who was a God, bled from every pore. I told him that he suffered so much that even he struggled and God sent angels to buoy him up.

I told him that because Jesus did this, he understands and he can help us. This is why God has us turn to Christ.

I told him that the atonement isn’t just for people who have no problems or few problems or a lot of problems, it’s for everyone. Jesus comes in and makes up the difference so we can all be whole. Jesus comes in and makes up the difference so we can all be healed both spiritually and physically.

I asked him if that made sense and he said, yes. He said that due to the fact that he is the oldest, his brothers and sisters would come to him and he was able to help them through things because he himself had been through them. He had suffered the same emotions that they were suffering. I asked him if that sounded like what his brother Jesus Christ had done for him. He thought for a minute and said, that’s crazy! Yes it does!

I started having an impression that he had turned to drugs and alcohol to drown his grief even though he was totally sober at the moment. I said to him, instead of turning to Jesus Christ you’ve chosen to turn to Satan, blame God and medicate with alcohol and drugs. I told him that this is Satan‘s counterfeit of what Christ can do. I told him that it is not nearly as good because it’s a counterfeit and it doesn’t last as long. I said it’s a cheap knock off.

I told him that he should go for the real thing. The spirit was really strong in the car and I asked him if he felt it and he said yes. I asked him what that meant to him and he said that what I was saying was true.

I had the impression again that his father in heaven and his earthly father were both very interested in him. I asked him if he prayed and he said he hadn’t prayed for a while. I told him that when he prayed he could speak with his father in heaven and could access the power of the atonement to help him and to lift him. The spirit bore a strong witness of prayer. I asked him if he would pray and he said yes he would.

I asked him how long it had been since he read the Book of Mormon and he said he couldn’t even remember. I told him that it might not make sense while he’s reading about Nephi, Laman and Lemuel but if you read the Book of Mormon, the Lord would reveal to his mind and his heart the things he needs to know to deal with his life.

He said, “ I am not good at reading anything.” I helped him download the church app and showed him how to listen to the scriptures on the app. I told him that the spirit would work that way too. He laughed.

I told him that if he would read or listen to the Book of Mormon and say his prayers he would feel his earthly father‘s presence when he was close to the spirit. I felt prompted to say that and I promised him that if he would do those things he would feel his father‘s presence along with the presence of his father in heaven.

I told him that I felt by the spirit, his father was very concerned about his family. I said that he is concerned about his brothers and sisters and that it was his time to step up and be awake. I told him that when he started praying and reading the Book of Mormon he would have a light about him. I told him that the members of his family would be drawn to that light and they would come to him to ask about it. He could then share this message of the healing the atonement brings with them.

I asked him if he would go to church and he thought about it for a minute. He said, “I can do that”. He said, “I haven’t been in forever. I’ll just drop in on the back row”. I said, that’s a start. I asked him, what would you do to have the things that I’ve said here today come to fruition? He said I guess I would do what it takes, I would love it.

I said, it’s all in your hands. You know what you need to do. I asked him how it felt to be in the presence of his father in heaven right now and he said that he felt comfortable, relaxed and happy. I told him that this is what the spirit feels like for him. I told him that he could have this with him all of the time and he could use this to help alleviate his suffering.

He said, that’s what I want.

I told him that it’s time to quit turning to Satan and his plan and start turning to God and his plan.

I told him that God puts people in my car to get a message sometimes. He said, I’ve known that for 15 miles and 25 minutes. We laughed. He shook my hand three times and got out of the car.

Two fathers were rejoicing that evening.

 I was picking up a rider up in Holiday and was taking him down by 72nd south west of the freeway. As I pulled up I saw a short man with a hair that was four different colors in stripes. He had some piercings and tattoos.  I received the impression that I was supposed to start talking to him about the church but sometimes you look at the roughness of the character and you have to prayerfully consider your next move.  The spirit said go, so away we went. 

When he got in the car I found out quickly that he was very friendly and we started talking about things we had in common. He was from Puerto Rico and so I spoke some Spanish with him. He loved that I could speak Spanish.  He asked me how I learn Spanish and I told him that I had served a mission in Argentina. He said, that’s awesome! I asked him if he had any friends that served missions and he said not that he knew of but that he knew some members of the church. 

I told him that I love Puerto Rico and that I’ve been there several times. He seemed pleased.   

I knew we had about 20 minutes so I jumped right in.  I asked him if he had ever seen any missionaries in Puerto Rico, he  said yes.  I asked him if he knew what they did and he said no. I told him that they go when they’re 18 to 20 and spent two years, paying their own way teaching people about Jesus and helping people.  

He said, I haven’t been to church since I was a kid. He thought that was am amazing thing to do. I asked him if he knew what they taught about and he said no. I told him that they teach about Jesus Christ and his atonement and how that blesses all of our lives. I told him that we have a prophet on the earth today and that there were prophets in America anciently.  I told him that those prophets wrote their prophecies and we have them today. They are compiled in a book called the Book of Mormon.

I asked him if he thought God loved everyone equally all over the world and he said yes. I asked him if God would favor one set of children by giving them instruction while leaving out the others. He said he didn’t think so. I told him that’s why there were prophets in America so that God could bless and help his children in America.  When I started talking about the prophets in America the spirit noticeably came in the car and I could tell that he was recognizing it.

I also told him that God had sent his son Jesus Christ to America where he blessed the children and taught the people. I told him that all of these revelations to the prophets as well as the visit of Jesus Christ to America was recorded anciently and translated by Joseph Smith. I told him we have the Book of Mormon which is that record. 

He said, Jesus Christ coming to America? I have never heard of that! I described to him how in Latin America the tradition of the natives is that there was a bearded white God who came and blessed the people.  He taught the people and he said he would return. I said, that’s who they were expecting when the white Spaniards showed up. I told him that it was quite different than what they were expecting and he laughed.  He said, they missed that by a mile. 

I told him the representations of this God are found all over in the hieroglyphs and ruins of Central America. I testified to him that Jesus did come to America and then he went to other children because God loves everyone.

I told him that Joseph Smith was called as a young man to restore the church of Jesus Christ on the earth because it had been corrupted. He interrupted me and said, yeah I totally believe the church has been corrupted. I told him that God didn’t use a faulty foundation to restore his church, he built it from the ground up through a prophet. I told him that Joseph Smith was seeking the truth, he wanted to find the church of God and he couldn’t find one that he believed had all of the truth. He read the Bible where it says to ask God and so that’s what he did.

He went to a grove of trees and knelt and prayed and God the eternal father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet to restore that church. The spirit was powerful and there was a quiet reverence in the car. I asked him what he was feeling and he said power and clarity. I told him that this was how he felt in the presence of God and how he knew truth.

I told him that the message of those missionaries is that people need to repent of the things they’ve done and make changes in their life to reflect the will of God and then they need to be baptized. He said, I’m Catholic! I’ve been baptized.

I asked, when were you baptized?  He said that he didn’t remember it but that he knew he had been baptized. I told him that this was awesome and it showed that his parents loved God. I explained to him that when Jesus came to America everyone there had been baptized as well but that Jesus taught them his way of being baptized and gave them authority to perform that baptism. I told him that we have that authority and that’s how we baptize. I told him that it is a baptism that brings you to a new level, it brings you closer to God and brings you more blessings.  I told him that just like Jesus Christ invited the people of America to be baptized, He was extending that same invitation to him. 

Another wave of the spirit came through the car and I could tell that he understood the truthfulness of this concept. I asked him, did you feel that?  He said, yes, it’s the same feeling I felt before. I asked him, what does it mean?  He said, it means that what you are saying is true.  The feeling just keeps intensifying as we talk.

I gave him one of the Book of Mormon‘s prepared by the Secrists.  He took that book and looked at it. Now these books have colorful tabs and he laughed and said, this book looks like my hair! It’s got the same color as my hair does! I told him that the book was his and he asked me if I was sure, I said, yes, God put you here to receive this.

I told him that it is important to follow the spirit and seek the power he was feeling in the car that day. I told him that he needed to go to church where he could learn about taking the sacrament and making covenants with God, including baptism. He said, I would like that, but I don’t think I can do it because I have to work on Sunday.

I asked him, what time do you work on Sunday? He said that he works at noon. I told him that I was sure we could work that out. I asked him, if we can work it out, would you be willing to go? He said, absolutely!

We looked up the church he was supposed to attend and drove there.  It was perfect! Church started at 9 AM on Sunday and was walking distance from his house. Then he said that after church he could walk down to his barber shop that he owns. He was so happy.

I bore my testimony of Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. I could tell he was feeling the power of testimony. I told him that he was put in my car to receive that message and that God wanted him to act on it. I told him if he would, it would change his life, make him a more happy person and provide the meaning and purpose that he felt he had lacked. He told me that this had been the most amazing ride. I called  missionaries I know in his mission and got the phone number of the missionaries for that ward and I set them up.

What I know is that this day I saw the hand of God reach out and hug a child who barely remembered that he existed. You could see the love and you could see him desiring to have that love in his life. God is great! He led me to a golden contact under the rainbow (hair)

One afternoon I was working in Provo. I’d had a couple rides and got another one over near where we used to live when our daughter was born. I pulled up and I waited for what seemed to be an eternity.

I was ready to leave because we only have to wait seven minutes and I was double parked. I got a message that said, I’m coming. Once I hit seven minutes I can leave regardless of any communication that’s happened. I said OK but that didn’t mean I needed to stay passed the seven minute mark.

I had the feeling that I was supposed to take this ride and so I waited an additional couple of minutes. I looked over and there she was. It was a young lady with a motorized scooter. I popped the trunk in my car and she folded it down and put it in the back.

I hadn’t had a good look at her yet, but when she finally got the car I was pretty surprised. For such a young woman, she sure had a tremendous number of tattoos on her arms, face and neck. She had the smell of cigarettes on her and she was quite disheveled as she sat down in the seat.

I started to go and said, how are you doing today? She said, uggg. I said, that good huh? She laughed and then she said she was in a hurry and she apologized that it her took her so long to get there. She thanked me for waiting. I started praying to know why I was supposed to wait and what I should say.

It seemed to me that this girl had problems and the spirit directed me to know that even though she participated in a lot of bad things addiction wasn’t one of her problems. It was her behavior. I got the impression that she was more of a follower.

I asked her, do you mind if I say some things, some impression I’ve had since you got in the car? She said, yes! Go ahead. I looked at her eyes in the mirror and I said, you know, you need to surround yourself with better friends.

I told her, you know that and you keep putting yourself in a position to find better friends but in the end you end up with the same crowd. You need to find better friends.

She said, that’s amazing. I feel like I’ve been drowning. I moved here to Utah to get away from some of my problems and I found them here again. It seems like those kind of people just find me.

I told her, well, you need to put yourself amongst a group of people that don’t participate in the things that drag you down. I said, you need to put yourself amongst a group of people that will lift you and support you, not tear you apart and drag you down.

I said, you have broken the law and done drugs largely because of the groups that that you have associated yourself with. These people do not have your best interest at heart and they drag you down. I said, you find it hard to be a leader and stand alone and you go with the group.

I said, you came here looking for a better group and end up going to the same kind of people here that you left behind.

She said, that’s amazing! Right now we are going to rehab counseling. Not because I’m addicted but because it was court ordered as part of my sentence. I committed some crimes with these people and they left me twisting in the wind. Due to the fact that I had drugs in my system, they mandated rehab.

I said, you need to find new friends. I knew this was the second or third time that I had said this but finally she reacted to it and she said, yes I do. Where would I go to find the kind of friends I need?

I told her, you go to church. If you go to church, you will find the kind of people you need to surround yourself with. I told her, if you will try to be like those people, you can have the light of Jesus Christ in your life. It will pull you away from evil.

I told her that with the light of Jesus Christ, she will see that the people who are evil, many times, will shy away from her. I told her that this is what she needed. She needed to go to church and meet that group.

She said, I’m not Mormon and they don’t want to help me. I said, what do you mean they don’t want to help you? She said, well, I tried one time to get help. They sent me to a transient Bishop and he was no help at all. It was almost like he was trying to push me out of his office and there was no group. He did not invite me to go to church. There was no love in that room.

I told her that everyone has bad days sometimes, including Bishops. I assured her that God loved her and that he loved her more than she could imagine. I told her that before she came to earth she lived with her father in heaven, his love love was the most powerful thing in her existence. I told her that his love was in the car today. She said, I feel that.

I asked her where she lived now and she said she lived in an apartment with her brother. I asked her why she didn’t go to that Bishop instead of the transient Bishop. She said, I didn’t know where to go and I went to where I was told.

I looked up her ward and told her where they met and what time on Sunday. I said, this is where you need to be. I said, will you go? She asked, do you have to be a Mormon? I’m not a Mormon and I think that’s why they didn’t want to help me before.

I told her that they wanted to help. I assured her that the Bishop in that area would lift her and help her. I told her that all the other kids in that area were going to church in this ward and that she should go with them.

She said, OK, how do I do that? I told her that I could have mssionaries come over, introduce themselves , teach a little and take her to church. I told her that if she walked in with the missionaries, everything would be OK.

She said, that sounds like what I need to do. I would like to have a good religious group with good values that could lift me and help me so I don’t fall back into the problems I’ve had.

I asked her if she ever heard of the Book of Mormon and she said, yes! I asked her if she ever had been given a copy and she said no. I talked to her about Joseph Smith and how God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet.

I talked to her about how we believe in prophets. We have one today. I told her that there were prophets in ancient America and they wrote down their prophecies and that’s what the Book of Mormon is. I told her that it extensively teaches us about Jesus Christ and his atonement.

I told her that what I get out of the Book of Mormon more than anything is, I need to look to Jesus Christ for salvation. I told her that the Book of Mormon teaches extensively about the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told her that in today’s world we have sin and evil hounding us everywhere. There is a lack of justice and persecution is around every corner so the only way we can make it through is by using the atonement of Jesus Christ as a shield and as medicine to heal our wounds.

I told her that our sorrows, afflictions injustices and sins will be swallowed up in the atonement if we will allow Jesus to do that I told. I told her that if we look to him, he can heal us. I told her that he can heal our bodies, our spirits and set us on a path so that we can have the light of the spirit of God with us.

I reached into my console and pulled out a copy of the Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists. I gave it to her and told her that in reading this book she will feel the spirit of God and it will prepare her to learn how to access the atonement. I told her that this book will prepare her to be baptized, be given the gift of the Holy Ghost so that she can carry that light with her.

The spirit was strong as I testified of the impact of the Book of Mormon on my life and I could see that she was feeling it. I asked her what she felt and she said that she felt just like she always wanted to feel, hopeful and peace.

I told her if she has that light, good people will be attracted to her and she will have protection from those who are not good.

She said, that’s what I need, that’s what I want. She said, just before you got here I was praying to God that I could find help in this way. She said, I want to ditch everything to do with my life and I want a new one. I want new friends, I want new feelings and I want a new understanding. This seems perfect.

She said, I was praying but I never had any idea that it would be my driver that would bring me the answer to my prayer. I said, God put you in my car and he gave me the words to say so that you would know they were from him. That is why these thoughts are coming to your mind, because God put them there. She said, I know that’s true.

I went into the Tools app and looked up the mssionaries and sent the referral.

By then we were at her program and she had to get out. She thanked me and said that she was blown away by the spirit she felt. She said, I’ve never felt anything like that. She said that there was true power in the car and that when I said things, it was like it cut all the way through.

She said, one thing I have learned in all of this is the God still loves me, even though I doubted it. I doubted it when I couldn’t find good people and I doubted it when I didn’t get help from the church. Now I know that God sent you and that he does love me. I know I matter and that matters to me.

She said, how did you know what to say? I told her that when we’re baptized we get the gift of the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost whispered to me the things to say to her. She said, I would like to have that. I said one day you can. Do what the Missionaries say and one day you will have the gift of the Holy Ghost and it can be your constant companion. It can keep you out of trouble and it can give you discernment to make better choices with regard to the people in your circle. She said, this is just what I needed, thank you. She told me that her parole officer had told her that she would be able to be off of parole in September, two months early. She could use this as a springboard into her new life. She said I like that. She got out and she went in.

As soon as she was out of car, I called the sister missionaries indicated as the missionaries for her ward. I gave them her name and phone number and told them that they would be getting the referral that I had sent in. I gave them some background and they said they would be on it.

One thing for sure is that when God is the one is looking out for you, you always have a friend.

One day I was driving in downtown Salt Lake and I picked up a young lady at the corner of State Street and sixth south at the apartment building right across the street from Little America hotel. She got in the car and spoke English to me but it was very broken English.

When I was on my mission, people would look at me and say they didn’t understand what I was saying, even though I was speaking perfectly well. It made me very angry sometimes that they wouldn’t understand me and then they would speak really horrible English back to me.

I always wished that they would just try to understand and speak spanish rather than not even try. Sometimes I even had companions that didn’t speak as well as I did and because they had a darker complexion the people would say that they understood that missionary better than me. (there’s some kind of a social experiment there for sure.)

The short of it is that I always try to speak English to them and with them to honor their efforts at learning the language. It’s a hard thing and a frustrating thing. I want to respect them in that way.

As we drove I mentioned to her that I speak Spanish and she asked me to speak a little with her. I explained what I just explained here to her but I did it in Spanish. She lit up and said, let’s speak in Spanish. After a second, she said, wow, you speak really good Spanish. She asked me if we spoke Spanish in my home growing up or if my wife spoke Spanish. I answered no on both accounts.

She asked, how in the world did you get to speak that well? I told her that it was God. I told her about going on my mission and that when we go on a mission the spirit of God helps us learn to speak Spanish or whatever language. I told her that when I was preparing to go on my mission I was worried that I would never learn it because I hadn’t had any classes previously. I told her that Elder Packer of the quorum of the 12 apostles came to the MTC while I was there and he made us a promise. He promised that if we would say our prayers in our mission language and read the Book of Mormon in our mission language that we would never lose the ability to speak our mission language so that we could have it to serve God.

I looked at her and I told her that my Spanish is a fulfillment of that promise made by an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. I told her that as we read the scriptures, we feel the spirit of God. I told her also that as we pray, we have the spirit of God with us. I told her that the spirit of God quickens our intellect and makes us better than we are, stronger than we are, smarter than we are and more able than we are.

She nodded feverishly and agreed 100%. She said, I love God, I love going to church. I could tell that she wasn’t a member of the church by some of the things that she said but I could also tell that when I testified of the promise made by Elder Packer, she felt the spirit and she reacted to it. I could see in her eyes and I could feel the focus of her attention on the conversation intensify.

I asked her, what church do you go to? She said she attended the Evangelical church. I asked her why she went to that church and she said because there are a lot of young people and it’s close to where she lives. I told her that it’s important to be around people that love Jesus and that you have things in common.

I told her that in our church we have congregations just for people her age. She was about 25. I asked her if she had ever been to one of our meetings and she said no.

She asked me, when you were in Argentina on your mission, what did you do? Oh I love that question!

I told her that I spent my complete mission testifying about Jesus Christ and teaching people about Jesus Christ, his commandments and how he wants us to live. I told her we tried to model those teachings by doing service and helping people. I told her it was all about bringing people to Jesus Christ and the waters of baptism.

She asked me if that was something we were successful at. I told her that we were but it wasn’t us being successful. It was the spirit of God, touching the hearts of his children and teaching them truth.

She asked me what I taught that was different than what she was learning in the Evangelical church. I told her that the big difference was that we believe that God loves everyone everywhere no matter when they were born and no matter where they were born.

I told her that her people were a blessed people because Jesus Christ walked amongst them. Her eyes lit up and she said where did you learn that?

I told her that in the Bible when Jesus said that he had other sheep and he was commanded to go to them he was talking about the people in America. He was talking about her ancestors. I told her that Jesus came to America and he descended and stood in from in front of them. They came up and worshiped him. They asked him to save them.

She said, that’s beautiful! I told her that he called up 12 and gave them authority to baptize and taught the people how to be baptized with his baptism, the baptism he sanctioned and in the way he prescribed it. I told her that he commanded that they all be invited to be baptized by that baptism and they were.

I told her that this is the same baptism we do today and this is the same baptism I performed for the people in Argentina when I was on my mission. She said, that’s very cool. I told her we have the church of Jesus Christ restored with all the power and all the authority including the authority to perform his baptism and invite everyone to partake of it.

She said she loved that and she asked, where did you learn about this? I told her that in America there had also been prophets who received revelations from God and wrote them down. They included writing the story of the visit of Jesus Christ to America and this is how we know.

I told her that there has to be one true church because all of the churches disagree, so they can’t all be right. I told her that the authority makes the difference.

I told her that in the 1800’s Joseph Smith was looking for that true church and he couldn’t find it. I told her that he was confused by the fact that everybody taught different things and professed to be the church of God so he prayed and ask God to show him which church to join.

I told her that God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and called him to be the prophet to restore the true church. They told him that the other churches teach some truth, but not all of the truth. They said he would restore the fullness of the church of Jesus Christ on earth.

I told her that later, one of the prophets from ancient America, who had passed away, visited him as an angel and took him to where these writings of the prophets were buried. He gave them to him to translate by the power and authority of God. I told her that you cannot do anything without the authority of God.

I told her that this is the Book of Mormon. She said, oh, I’ve always wondered what that was. They don’t like it down at the Evangelical Church. I laughed and said that they would if they knew what was in it. I told her that it was a testimony of the divine mission of Jesus Christ and God‘s love for all of his children. I told her it was another testament of Jesus Christ.

She said that’s so cool! She said, I’ll have to go buy one of those. I said, as luck would have it I’ve got a copy right here. I pulled out one of the copies prepared by the Secrists and gave it to her. She said, is this for me? I said, yes. I had her open up the front cover to questions of the soul. I told her that these are questions that a lot of people have and they answered in the book. She speaks English ok and the book was in English so I knew she would be ok. As she read the questions, her eyes lit up and she said, this will be fun. I’ve always had some of these questions.

Then she asked, this book came from my ancestors? I said, yes, the indigenous people of the Americas had prophets and they wrote down their prophecies and their dealings with God. I told her that it’s the story of a family that starts in Jerusalem and comes to America. These are her ancestors.

I told her that there were lots of ruins in South America that depict a God descending from heaven to the people and blessing them. Kulkulcan Quetzalcoatl are some of the names given to this god. I told her that these traditions predate the arrival of Europeans. I told her one ruin specifically shows a king God, a descending God and an empty space representing the Holy Ghost. She said, well that’s kind of proof right there of what you said.

I told her that this book is her religious heritage from her ancestors. Her way back great grandparents saw Jesus and he blessed them. By this time, the spirit was really surging in the car and there was a sweet tranquility. Identifying it was easy this time.

I said, do you feel that? She said, yes! I said, what are you feeling? She said she was feeling tranquility like she had never felt before. I told her that this was the spirit of God and it was telling her that the things that I had said were true. I said, God sent his spirit to testify of truth, and right now, his spirit is giving you a hug. She smiled and said, I feel that.

She said, I’ve loved talking about your church. I asked her if she would like to have some missionaries come over and teach her more about the church and she said yes. I got her information and then I said, I want you to know that God put you here today so that he could reach out and show you his love. He showed you his love by giving you his word. He showed you his love by sending his spirit to validate those words.

I said, just like Jesus invited your ancestors to be baptized. He also invites you to have his baptism. He invites you to have that baptism that he gave to them and the missionaries can help you get that. She said, I can’t wait! Have them call me.

There was a profound sense of the spirit and a real tranquil vibe in the car. It was undeniable and she was so happy. Joy filled the car and as she got out, she said, I’m going to do this. I want to go to your church.

We’d been sitting there for a minute, but finally she got out and went into work right before it was time to be there. She turned around at the door and waived.

I sent her information to the missionaries through the Member Tools app. Once you have sent in the reference, it takes you to your missionary page and you can click on the name of the person that you just sent in. At that time it will open up and you can see who the missionaries are who are assigned to teach the person you referred and the ward they should attend.

When I did this, I was really excited because they were some missionaries that I had worked with before with another person that was in my car. He got baptized. When they answered the phone, they were excited to hear this because they remembered me. We had a good time reminiscing and they were very excited to teach this young lady too.

This lady is in good hands, the hands of these missionaries and the hands of God most of all

One day I was downtown and I got a ride out in Rose Park. It was kind of right in the middle of Rose Park and when I turned the corner, I found the building where I was to pick up my ride to be an old LDS Chapel. The chapel was built in 1902 judging by the placard on the front of the building.

As I pulled up, I imagined all the amazing experiences people had in that building and the manifestations of the spirit. I remember hearing all of President Monson’s talks about Rose Park and being a bishop in Rose Park. I had to believe that possibly he was Bishop in that building or at least visited that building.

I was enjoying the thought when I pulled up to the side of the building and I saw that it had been purchased and repurposed as an addiction recovery center. A man came out and said that I was supposed to give him a ride. I thought that I recognized him from a previous ride or something and said so.

He looked in his phone and said that he didn’t think so as he looked up his ride history. The spirit told me that the reason that I recognized him was not that he had been in my car but that I was supposed to testify to him.

He was pretty open about the fact that he was in an addiction recovery program. He said that it was really cool for the addiction recovery program to be housed in a church. He said that he felt the spirit of God living there. He told me that the bad people they could see in the streets would just walk by on the other side of the road instead of walking close to the church. It’s almost like they knew not to bring that stuff there.

He said he felt protected there and loved in it. I told him my philosophy about addiction. I told him how I believe that our natural yearning to have the spirit of God in our soul is counterfeited by Satan through the use of drugs and alcohol.

I told him that our spirits lived with our father in heaven for thousands years and we crave his presence. Being in the presence of God is the most hardwired things to our soul. I told him it’s like there’s a hole in our soul that is intended to be filled by the spirit.

I told him that people want to fill that hole in their soul, where the spirit should be but chose to fill it by getting high and riotous living. It never last and it never stays so they need more and more of it and then they get addicted. He said, that’s exactly right. He said that he had been addicted to methamphetamine. I told him that one thing he should know is that the feeling that is supposed to be there, the spirit of God, is a manifestation of his love.

I told him that the love of God is what he really needs to fill that with and that the love of God is real. I told him God loves him and that I wanted him to know that. He was quiet for a minute and said, I’ve always considered myself spiritual, but I’ve never considered love from an actual father.

I said, that’s exactly what you have, love from a father and he’s reaching out to you. He said, you’re Mormon aren’t you? I said, 100%, yes I am. He said, you know my family has history with the Mormons. I said, really? Tell me about it.

He said, my great great grandfather was a slave who had joined the church and came west with Brigham Young in the first company of Pioneers. He showed me a statue of his great great grandfather that is up at the This Is The Place Monument as well as a description of who is great great grandfather was.

He said, when they got here, Brigham Young freed my great great grandfather from slavery and he gave him land. He said, my mom still lives on that land. I said, that’s really cool. Brigham Young was a great prophet and he freed your great great grandfather from slavery but I’m here to tell you today that this isn’t the only slavery we are talking about.

I told him that the addiction he was fighting was real slavery as well. I told him that through the atonement of Jesus Christ and using the spirit of God he could fill that hole so that he could fight the chemical addiction without having to fight the spiritual one.

I told him that the spirit of God will fill that hole and he could seek after that instead of drugs. I told him that the atonement of Jesus Christ is so important to him because Christ suffered for our infirmities, our sins, our injustices and all of the negative things that happen to us. He can make it right.

I told him that through the atonement of Jesus Christ he could find peace in his soul that would allow him to be successful in his battle.

The spirit was in the car as I testified. I asked him if he felt it and he said yes. Jesus Christ wants you to be freed from the chains of your slavery to this drug just as Brigham Young freed your great great grandfather from the chains of physical slavery.

I told him, that’s why you’re in my car today. I told him that God puts people in my car and through the gift of the Holy Ghost he whispers to my heart the things to say. I was impressed to tell him that this is why I was here and that he was being watched over and guided by two fathers, his father in heaven and his great great grandfather.

I told him that I had the impression that he’d been thinking a lot about his great great grandfather since he moved into that chapel and that his great great grandfather was in his thoughts and his heart today during our ride.

He said, yes! It’s very true. He said, I feel him here and I can’t quit thinking about him all the time. I spend hours thinking about him as I sit in that chapel in my room.

I told him it’s because those two fathers want him to get on the path. They want him to get on the wagon so to speak because on that wagon they’re headed to where he needs to go.

I asked him if he was ever baptized and he said no. He said that his father‘s family were kind of rebellious and that he went along with them.

I told him that when he got in the car, I realized that I was supposed to talk to him about the church. He said, “that doesn’t surprise me because I felt like I had to ask you if you were Mormon. Like I said, strange things have been happening lately”. I told him that this is a wonderful thing that God is reaching out to him and that his great great grandfather is helping.

I told him that I had the impression that he had done some things that he considered very shameful and he felt horrible about it. I told him that satan is telling him that he couldn’t be forgiven of those things and that he was lost. I told him that Satan was telling him that he had no worth and I told him that Satan was wrong.

He said, I don’t know about Satan, but I have those thoughts all the time. I told him that those thoughts come from Satan because they are lies and that’s what he does, he lies. I told him that the atonement of Jesus Christ made it so that he could be saved. I told him that Jesus and his atonement are more powerful than any sin.

He said, that’s amazing. I told him that in the church, we have an addiction recovery program. I felt to tell him that I believed that is one of the reasons why he was in my car. He could heal himself and then do great good by lifting others in that program. He said, do you think I could? I would love that! I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.

I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon and he said no. I told him he needed one. I told him that he needed to have the spirit with him. I said that he could read that book and the spirit of God would come. I asked him if he could feel a craving for his addiction right then and he said, no, no I can’t. I asked him if he could feel the spirit of God and he said yes. He said, that makes your point.

I said, the atonement of Jesus Christ can fill us and make us whole.

I asked him if he knew what the Book of Mormon was and he said, no. He said is it a Bible? I said that it’s a little like the Bible but that God had prophets in America just like he had prophets in Jerusalem and they wrote their prophecies down just like they did in Jerusalem. I told him that the writings of those prophets make up the Book of Mormon.

I told him that Joseph Smith was looking for the truth and that God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be a prophet. He was given those records to translate so that we can have their words today.

I reached into my console and grabbed a Book of Mormon. It’s one of the ones prepared by the Secrisst and I gave it to him. I said, this is the Book of Mormon. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and it teaches us about the atonement. It helps us come closer to God. It will help you in your pursuit. If you will read the Book of Mormon, you will feel the power of God. He said, I will read that book and I will study that book.

I told him that in the Book of Mormon it talks about Jesus coming to America. I asked him if he’d ever heard that Jesus came to America and he said no, he’d never heard that. I told him about Jesus saying he had other sheep and he was commanded to go to them. I told him that then he came to America and visited the people in America and taught them and blessed them. He loved them and then said he had still other sheep, not in Jerusalem or America and that he had been commanded to go visit.

I asked him where he thought those other people might be located? He thought for a second and said,Africa. I said, I believe that. I said, Isaiah taught that this was a possibility. I said, I believe Jesus held your ancestors and blessed them and taught them to be baptized.

I asked him if he thought it was important to be baptized. He thought about it for a minute and said, a lot of people think so. I told him to go to heaven, we need to be baptized because there’s no way to be clean if we don’t get baptized. I told him baptism is the key to opening the gates of heaven so that we can go through.

I looked at his eyes in the mirror and I asked, how would it feel to be 100% clean? He said, that would feel amazing. I said, when you’re baptized, you will be cleansed 100% and you will be clean before God. He said, I never thought that I could be that guy.

I told him that every single person needs to be baptized. When Jesus came to America he commanded the people here be baptized. He commanded that they be baptized in the way he told them to and by the authority he gave them. I told him that we have that same baptism today.

I told him that his great great grandfather had received that baptism and that’s why he was able to be there with him today to help him and to lift him. I told him that his salvation and his sobriety is really important to his great great grandfather and to his father in heaven.

I told him, this journey begins here today but it ends with your baptism. I told him, you need to be baptized by that same baptism that your great great grandfather had. He said, I will do that!

The spirit was strong in the car and we could feel the presence of his great great grandfather. I asked him one more time if he could feel the spirit and he said, yes! I asked him, what does it feel like? He said, it feels like I’m floating and I love it. I told him that when he feels the spirit, he knows that the things he’s hearing are true. I told him that now he knows that these things are true. He said, they are things I’ve never considered before today, but to me, it’s clear that they are true.

He said, there’s something bigger than both of us working here. It brought you here and put me in your car today so that you could give me this message. He said, you knew things that people don’t know, and you said the things that touched my heart.

He said that he saw the missionaries walk by almost every day but he has never talked to them. He said “tomorrow I will”

He said, this is something I need to do. He took the Book of Mormon that I had given him, got out of the car and walked into his appointment. I’m assuming his great great grandfather was walking right by his side. Reflecting on this, I can’t help but be touched that a loyal, obedient and faithful pioneer blessed his family by bringing them here and is continuing to gather them and bless them as we speak. That’s a pioneer heritage.

.One day I picked up a lady at a hotel in downtown Salt Lake. She was headed for Ross Dress for Less. I asked her, I suppose you’re trying to dress for less? I always tell people that as a dad and a grandpa I am qualified to tell dad jokes. Much to my chagrin there wasn’t even a smile. There wasn’t an explanation or anything. It’s like it went right over her head.

I asked her where she was from and she, said no speak English very well. This surprised me because of how well she pronounced the words that she did say and it made me feel like less of a failure with the dad joke. It had me fooled into thinking that she did speak English. I asked her what language she spoke and she said Spanish.

I said, Perfecto! and I started speaking in Spanish. She started talking to me for a minute and then said, wait, you’re speaking Spanish! I laughed and said yes.

She said, where did you learn to speak such Spanish? I said, I learned it when I was I’m missionary in Argentina. By this time I knew she was from Argentina because I could tell through her accent and when I said that she lit up.

She asked me where I served and when I was there. I told her that I was all over the north eastern part of the country and the northern part of the province of Buenos Aires.

I told her I spent my mission teaching people about Jesus and what we believe. I told her it was important that we love Jesus and we do what he says.

The spirit gave me the impression that she was afraid to bring up questions because she didn’t want to offend me. I asked her, what do you know about the church? She said that she didn’t know very much. I told her that there are a lot of similarities between our church and her church. We believe in Jesus and that he was crucified, died and resurrected for us so that we can be clean and return to God.

She said, we believe that too! I said, we believe that prophets are God’s messengers and that when the profits received God’s words, they wrote them down and this is why we have the Bible. This is why we have both the New Testament and the Old Testament.

She said, we believe that too! She said, there are a lot of people in Argentina that believe in Jesus but they don’t go to church. I told her I was well aware of that but in our church we go to church more often so that we can stay close to God.

She said, I suppose that’s one of the differences. I told her we go on missions and we minister to the people in our geographic area so that we can do the things that Jesus would do and serve the way Jesus would serve. She said, I like that! That way people are engaged.

I told her we have more belief and more information about Jesus than they do. I told her that he had mentioned that he had other sheep that were not in Israel and that he went to those sheep. I told her that those people were in America and other places.

I told her that the people in America also had prophets who had received revelation and had written down the commandments from God so that the people would have them. I told her that the way God shows his love to us, is by giving us commandments so that we can be happy and we don’t fall into evil.

She said, I believe that but I’ve never heard it spoken. I’ve always kind of been taught that God will punish us if we don’t keep the commandments but have never considered the benefit of commandment obedience being a blessing from God.

I said, a lot of the problems in the world, a lot of the broken families, violence and general evil that happens are the result of people choosing not to obey the commandments of God. He gives us commandments so that we can have guard rails that keep us on the path where we want to be. They keep us on the path to happiness.

She said, I like that, it’s like a positive reason to like the commandments, not just fearing God. I told her that I personally believe that fearing God does not mean being afraid of God. Fearing God does not mean he’s out to get me. I told her that fearing God means not wanting to disappoint him.

I told her that our Heavenly Father is the God of everyone in the world not just the people in Jerusalem. That’s why he had prophets in America and other places because God loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem. He gave them commandments just like he gave the people in Jerusalem because he wanted them to be happy as well.

She said, that makes total sense. I told her that God is a loving father and he wants each of us to come home. He wants each of us to be happy. That’s a God that I want to sacrifice for. That’s a God that I want to serve. She said, i love that! That’s why you guys go missions.

I said, on our missions we teach that Jesus Christ came to America. We teach that prophets had prophesied that he would come because God loves everyone. I told her that Jesus descended from heaven and stood in their midst, they touched the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet

I said, that’s not an angry god, that’s a loving God. I told her that after he visited the people in America, he said he was going to other places. I told her that there were other places not in Jerusalem or in America where he said he would go.

I told her that there are different traditions in many religions that sound an awful lot like “the son of God came down and dwelt among them”. I shared a couple with her and she said that she had no clue. I said, God is the God of everyone. God has all power, and he shared his son with all of the house of Israel not just the ones in Jerusalem and America. She said, I’d never thought of it that way,.

I told her that the prophecies of the prophets from America were recorded on plates and later translated by the prophet Joseph Smith. I asked her if she’d heard of Joseph Smith and she said yes. I told her that he was looking for the true church and went to the forest, prayed and then was visited by God the father and Jesus Christ. I told her that they called him to be the prophet and to restored Jesus’s church on the Earth.

I told her that later, one of the prophets who had lived in America appeared to him and gave him these plates that had been recorded by the ancient prophets of America. By the power of God he translated them. I told her that this is the Book of Mormon.

I asked her if she’d heard of the Book of Mormon and she said yes. She said, I even know a member of your church. She said, I live a few blocks away from your temple in Buenos Aires. I said, that’s awesome! I asked, who is the member that you know?

She said that it was her English teacher. She said that he lived in San Pedro. I told her that San Pedro was a city in my mission. She said that he had a wife and three kids. She asked me if I knew him. I kind of chuckled because even though Sam Pedro was in my mission, this guy wasn’t even born when I was there. I said, I do not know him but we are brothers. We are all brothers in Christ.

She said, that is so cool. I want to have a conviction like that in my life. I told her that her friend would be able to help her. I told her that her teacher might be able to teach her something that would help her much more than the English she was learning. She nodded her head and said, I think you’re right. There was a sweet calming over the car.

We had arrived at Ross Dress for Less and she wasn’t moving. I could tell that she was enjoying the spirit and that her spirit was soaking up the presence of its father. I asked her what she felt and she said she felt like she was shining from the inside. I told her that this was the spirit of her father in heaven and when she fell it she would know that the things she was hearing were true. I told her God’s spirit wasn’t around to try to trick us and this is how he brings us home. He uses his spirit.

She said, I love that! How do I learn more? I reached into the glove box and pulling out of Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists, I said, by reading this. As luck would have it, the Book of Mormon I grabbed was not the Spanish one that I meant to grab. It was an English Book of Mormon.

The spirit taught me how to proceed. I said, here is a Book of Mormon. It is the ancient record of the writings of the prophets in America. It was translated by the prophet Joseph Smith and we have it today, this is your copy. She said, are you sure it’s OK for me to take? I said, yes!

I said, it’s in English. I want you to show this book to your teacher and tell him about what you felt in the car and what you’ve learned. You need to ask him if he could teach you more about this. She said, that would be so amazing! He is a good man and I’m sure he’ll do it.

She said, my next lesson, this book is coming with me. I told her that in the front of that book were the questions of the soul that people have and the answers are in the tabs. I told her to have him go over them with her. She said she would.

She said, I am excited to talk to him about this. It seems to me to be a better way forward and my spirit sure does like what it’s feeling right now.

I thanked her, she grabbed my shoulder and thanked me too. She got out of the car, clinging to the Book of Mormon. Bonus material for her English class!

One day I got a ride to the hotels just west of the airport. I don’t like those rides and usually when I finish one of them i get back in town really quick. Nothing good can happen out there. The only thing that can happen out there is you get a ride to Toole and that’s not good.

Usually I pause my app so that I won’t get a ride but this time I felt impressed not to pause my app. I felt like I was going to give a nice ride so I left it on. I got a ride clear out in the northwest side of the business park.

That’s about a 3 mile drive so I got going. I couldn’t believe how far out there it seemed but when I finally pulled into the parking lot I could see the young man standing out on the curb. I pulled up close to give him easy access to the backseat. I got the impression that this young man really was the reason I was there.

He got in the car and when he did, I noticed that he had three earrings in his left ear. Two of them were rings and one was a huge dangling crucifix. I said back to the spirit, are you sure? The kid looked a little wild.

I knew he was Polynesian. I started by asking him whether he was Tongan or Samoan. He said he was both so I said that means I can say Malolele or Talofa. He said, yes!

I asked, which language do you speak the best? He said Samoan so I said Talofa and he said Talofalava. I asked him what lava meant and he said it’s like just an add on.

He asked me where I learned to speak and I told him that I had served in the MTC and learned how to say hello in languages to the foreign missionaries. I told him we had lots of missionaries come in from the Polynesian islands. He was excited and asked me if I knew their names. I told him that it had been a lot of years and that would be hard so I did not remember their names.

He said, that’s really cool though. He said that he had learned Spanish from the Mexicans that worked with him and he spoke some of it. I was very impressed with his level of Spanish. He said, I’m trying to teach them to speak English because they help me speak Spanish. I was really impressed with this young man.

I knew by this time that he was a member of the church. He didn’t say it but I just had that prompting. I told him that working with the missionaries was a great blessing because we got to teach people about Jesus.

I told him we got to teach people the importance of going to church and that their Heavenly Father loves them. I asked him if it would be OK if I asked him some personal questions and he said yes.

I asked him, how long has it been since you’ve been to church? I know you’re a member of the church Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. How long has it been since you’ve been to church?

He said, I haven’t gone in a lot of years. I said, but you’re still a member right? He said, yes, I guess I am. I guess I’m a member of the church.

I came right out and said to him, I said you know, sometimes God puts people in my car and the Holy Ghost whispers things to me to say to them. The few minutes that we have left in our ride there are some things that I need to say.

The first thing is that your Heavenly Father loves you and that you’ve doubted that in your life but it’s true. I told him that there is a God in heaven. I told him that his grandparents and his great grandparents knew it. I told him that God loves him and he is his father. I told him the love of God is greater than the love that you has for your own grandfather.

He seemed a little stunned and then I continued saying the words the Lord was putting into my heart. I said, there was a time in your life when you were abused. I told him that the spirit was telling me that when he was abused he felt helpless, betrayed and abandoned. I told him that because of this he clammed up and shut down with regards to feelings. I told him that he didn’t know how to deal with the guilt and the shame and so he covered it up.

I could see in the mirror that his eyes were watering up when I said this. I said, now you’re wondering how I know this. He had his head bowed and said, yes. He asked, how could you possibly have known that?I said, the answer to that question is, I don’t know this. The Holy Ghost whispered that to me so you could know that the rest of the things I’m saying are true.

I told him that he needed to understand that even though these things happened, God still loved him. I told him that God gave him the atonement of Jesus Christ to help him. I said that when Jesus Christ suffered, he not only suffered for our sins but for our illnesses, injustices and abuses that we would suffer. I told him that Jesus suffered the pain and shame that he had suffered due to his abuse. I told him that Jesus suffered these things so that he could look to Jesus and Jesus could help lift his burden. I told him that when we have something horrible happened to us, Satan points at God and says blame God and that’s what you did.

Then I told him that God points to Jesus and tells us to look to Jesus Christ and live. He tells us to look to Jesus Christ and have our pains and sorrows and injustices lifted as well as our sins.

I told him about how in the Book of Mormon, the people of Alma were slaves and it was a very hard thing. They believed in the atonement of Jesus Christ and called on his name. After applying the atonement their burden was lifted to the point that they could barely feel it.

I told him that it’s about time that he let Jesus lift his burden. I told him to quit hating, quit suffering, quit feeling shame and let Jesus Christ lift him up.

He said, wow the words you’re saying are very powerful, they are touching me. For a big Polynesian kid it takes a bit to make him cry but he sure had tears in his eyes. I asked him what he was feeling. He said he was feeling warm all over. I told him that this was the spirit of God. I told him when he felt this he knew that God was there and that the things he was hearing were true.

I told him, God sent his spirit so that you can know that the things I am saying are true. He said, that’s amazing.

I told him that we need to keep that spirit with us as much as we can because Satan is always coming at us with something. I told him about when I was on my mission and everything was going wrong, my companion didn’t like me, I didn’t speak the language and when I went to church I didn’t even understand a word. I told him that when I took the sacrament, it filled me. I told him it filled my soul and gave me the energy to go on. I told him that it filled my tank.

I asked him again, how long is it been since you filled your tank? He said, a long time. I told him, your father wants you back in church. He needs you to take the sacrament so that you can feel his spirit and have it with you. He needs you to have his spirit to be with you so that he can walk with you and help you do the good that you are trying to do.

I had the impression to tell him that when he was young, after the abuse and subsequent disappointments with some people in the church he had prayed to know if the church was true. He never felt like he got an answer. He put his head down and said, yes, that’s true. I said, this is your answer. This is your father reaching out. He gave me these words to say so that you would have no doubts.

I told him that he was always trying to help people too. I asked him to imagine how much more he could do if he had the power of God with him. I told him that through this power the Holy Ghost had whispered the things for me to say that I had no way of knowing in this car today.

I told him that a lot of times people are judgmental or they say things that are hurtful but he should remember to look to Christ instead of judging and blaming.

He said, I know I said this before but your words are very powerful. I’ve never felt anything like this. I said, God wants you back. God wants you to pray. God wants you in church. God wants you home.

By now some of the tears were escaping his eyes and he said, this is the best ride I’ve ever had. This may be the best thing I’ve ever felt. I asked, don’t you think it’s about time you went to church? He said, yes I do and yes I will.

I asked him what time his church met? He said, my mom goes at nine. I asked him if he would be with her this Sunday and he said yes. We pulled up to the place where I was dropping him off and it was a Polynesian restaurant. He said, my mom is right inside here. She will be so happy to hear about this ride.

He said thank you, shook my hand, got out and walked into the restaurant.

One morning I picked up a lady from Primary Children’s Hospital. I was driving downtown trying to get a lot of rides. They put out a promotion were if I got 70 rides in a week I would get almost a $400 bonus. I was looking for quick rides and was staying in the northeast corner of Salt Lake City so that I could increase my chances of getting short quick rides. I got a ride so of course I was a little disappointed when it said 48 minutes south. That’s Orem.

Now as you all know I love Orem but not when I had just driven from Orem to Salt Lake to start work. I would rather stay in Salt Lake but I felt pressured by the spirit that I needed to keep the ride so I did.

I pulled into the hospital and a lady got into my car I could tell right away she had a Haitian accent and so I started talking about people I know from Haiti like the Montfleury family that I baptized several years back. She said that she knew them and she knew Sister Montfleury’s sister. We talked for a minute about them and then I started having a prompting about her. At this point I knew she was a member of the church because of the people I knew that were her friends. She also looked like a member of the church and she talked like a member of the church. The prompting I was receiving seemed strange given those circumstances.

I had to work into a spiritual conversation so I started with the obvious, what brings you to the hospital? She said that her son was in the cardiac unit and just barely had been released from intensive care. She said they were a little worried about him because he always gets the flu really bad so they made sure he got the Covid shots and now he had an enlarged heart. He went into respiratory failure when he was exercising.

I talked about how rough Covid have been on all of us and told her of my situation with my work. I told her that I believed that in the end it worked out because I had found a purpose. I told her that I believed that God puts people in my car and that he protects me in my car. I shared a couple of stories with her from people that had been in my car and also the one when God shocked the guy who was going to attack me. She was blown away.

I said, “God protects me in my car and he puts people in my car and gives me things to say, so do you want to know…”, she stopped me she and said, yes that’s my question I want to know what promptings you’ve had regarding me.

She said that her heart was breaking and she wondered if God had a message for her.

I told her it’s not a parlor game. I explained to her that Ammon told the king the things that were in his heart thereby showing the king that Ammon had the power of God. I told her that God puts people in my car and whispers things to my heart and I say them. The purpose of saying them is to let them know of God‘s love for them and his power. She said that she could feel the spirit and wanted to know what I thought.

I said, mostly two things. The first one is that up and until this health crisis, you had not been praying and you stopped going to church. I told her, your father in heaven is sad and he needs you to pray and you need to go to church to feel the spirit and take the sacrament.

I told her about her father in heaven and the relationship she had with him developed over thousands and thousands and thousands of years in heaven. I told her that when she felt his presence it felt like home. I told her, that this spirit from the preexistence is the person she had always been even though it was hard to be that if you didn’t have the spirit of God and the light it provides in your soul. When people feel the spirit, they feel like they are home.

I told her the other thing was that she had been horribly hurt, abused and wronged by someone and that she needed to understand and enact the atonement in her life because Jesus had suffered those very things so that he could give her relief. I talked to her about how Alma didn’t remember the pain of his sins but he could remember his sins. I told her that once you apply the atonement you can’t remember the pain of your abuse or injustice but you remember it so that you don’t make those mistakes again. She started to cry and said, I was beaten by my husband and now it has destroyed my family. He brainwashed my children and tonight I was kicked out of the hospital. I didn’t know what to do. I was thinking that I needed someone to help me.

She said, Heavenly Father sent you to help me and I appreciate that. She said, you’ve certainly given me a lot to think about. I told her it starts with going back to church and focusing on her relationship with God and accessing the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told her if she would do that, eventually she would be able to forgive and move on to be a stronger person. She could serve others who have challenges in their lives. She said, thank you. That’s exactly what I’ll do.

The spirit was really strong in the car and I identified it to her. I mentioned to her that she knew that when the spirit was there, truth was being spoken. She said that she knew that was true.

She thanked me and got out of the car. I never knew what became of her but I knew that the spirited had testified to her soul.

Fast forward two and a half years. I was driving down the road contemplating an experience that had just happened. This experience will be a story someday. I was wondering and maybe even doubting about what happens after these people leave my car. I never see them again and most of the time I have no idea Then I got a ride. I picked up a lady right by the arts festival in Salt Lake and gave her a ride to the mall. It was this same Haitian lady and I didn’t recognize her. She had none of the hate and none of the vibe that had been with her before.

I gave her a ride to her destination and she said, don’t you remember me? I said, I don’t think so. When she asked this question my mind started racing feverishly but to no avail. I said a quick prayer and then she said, 2 1/2 years ago you gave me a ride and the spirit whispered some things to you that changed my life. Because of that ride, I’ve gone back to church and I’m active now. It was an amazing ride. Then the spirit brought it all rushing back to my memory.

I asked, did I pick you up at the Primary Children’s Hospital? She said, yes. My son ended up having heart transplant surgery. I asked, did I take you to Orem? She said, yes! I asked, did I drop you at about 700 North between State and main? She said, yes! You do remember!

She said that for quite some time now she had been hoping to see me again to thank me. She said her son is doing well and the whole family goes to church. She said that it has been a great blessing in her life.

How can you beat that for a Friday afternoon ride!? You just can’t!

One afternoon I was in downtown Salt Lake and I picked up a man on State Street by Temple Square. He was headed to the airport and he had no luggage.

Apparently, he was on a layover and had decided that during this time, he would run into town. He didn’t have any luggage because he checked his luggage, so the pick up was quick and easy. Sometimes when you pick people up on a busy street and they’ve got lots of luggage it can be really frustrating. For whatever reason, it’s hard for people to decide to just drive around when there is someone stopped in the inside lane.

We started to drive and it was immediately apparent that he wasn’t a member of the church. Some of the things he said let me know that this was kind of his first brush with the church. I asked him if he’d gone through the tours and he said yes. I asked him if he liked it and he said it was awesome.

He told me that he had been able to listen to a Tabernacle choir practice and that it was amazing. I decided to name drop and mentioned that my friend Richard Elliott is the primary organist for the tabernacle choir and he was duly impressed. Rick is a good friend and has been a participant in a few of my missionary opportunities. We have been friends since we served together in Argentina.

I asked him, other than the choir, what did he like? He mentioned the gardens and how everything was so beautiful. As we rounded the corner onto West Temple I pointed out the family history library. I asked him if he had gone to that building and he said, no! what’s in there?

I told him that was the family history library and that if he had more time, he could have gone in there and they could have helped him find new ancestors and learn things about his history. I told him that they have the world’s largest stash of genealogical records in that building.

I told him that there are people in there to help. If someone wants to, they can go in there and spend several hours finding things that they never knew. They can find people that they’re related to that they didn’t know of before.

He said, that would have been amazing! I would love to do that. I asked him if he was familiar with ancestry.com and other genealogical websites. He said that he was and that he always had an interest in watching shows about people looking up their ancestors. He said that it was very intriguing stuff.

He asked me if I thought there would be information in there on his family and I said, yes! I told him that all of those genealogical websites get the majority of their information from that building.

I told him that members of the church generally have free access to the basic services of those websites in exchange for sharing of information. I do know that this used to be the case and even though I’m not sure that this relationship continues, it emphasized the immensity of the work we do in genealogy in our conversation.

He said, I need to come out again one day. I will leave more time so that I can do that.

I could feel the spirit building and I knew we were going to talk about the church in particular, baptisms and how this all fits together. While he was talking, my mind, started organizing about a 10 minute discussion.

Then he asked, why in the world would your church spend so much time and money on this? He said, don’t get me wrong, it’s very cool, but what’s so important about this information?

With that question we were off! If that’s not an invitation to come on in and share your message I don’t know what is. I started with the temple!

I said, did you see the temple right next door? He said, I couldn’t miss it! He said, it’s too bad it was under construction because no one could go in.

I told him unlike the other buildings on Temple Square, the temple is a sacred place and only members of the church can go inside of temples. I told him that every other building was accessible to the public but for that building we needed special permission to go in because it is a very sacred place.

I told him that the Church of Jesus Christ has authority from God to do his work here on earth. I told him that the Church of Jesus Christ had the authority to baptize and that every person who will ever lived will get the opportunity to return and live with our father in heaven after this life. I said that the Bible teaches that each person will need to be baptized to qualify for this blessing.

I told him the baptism is a requirement to go in that building too, just like it’s a requirement to enter the kingdom of God. I told him that when construction is finished there will be a period of time when people can come out and tour that building before it is consecrated. He said, I’m going to be one of those people. I’m going to come out for that.

He said, I think everybody’s going to want to do that. That’s a beautiful historic building. I said, you’re right I told him, in that temple is where family history comes together with the salvation of God‘s children. I told him that this temple and others like it are essential in his plan.

I told him that without his temples our father in heaven would lose way too many of his children. I told him that because it’s a requirement to be baptized in order to enter into the kingdom of God everyone needs to be baptized. I told him that it’s not a baptism by a random preacher but it has to be a baptism performed by someone who has the authority to do so.

I told him that people who had received that baptism go to these temples where they perform baptisms in behalf of others. I told him that they can be baptized for their ancestors who then, having been taught the gospel, have a chance to accept that baptism and entry into the kingdom of God.

I told him that Jesus Christ himself set up the preaching of the gospel to those who had died without hearing the gospel. I told him that in the three days while he was in the tomb, according to Peter, in the Bible, Jesus organized the preaching of the gospel to those who died without the opportunity to receive it.

I asked him if God was a loving person or a hateful vengeful God. He said that he believed God was a loving person. I told him that is what we believe. I told him that we believe that God is a father and that he loves each one of us and wants each one of us to come home. That’s why he set this up so that we can go and be baptized to provide the opportunity for salvation to our ancestors.

He said, that’s awesome. He said, that sounds like it closes a loop that I hadn’t even thought of. I asked him if a loving father would make rules that would make it impossible for the majority of his children to come home and he said, no. I told him, that is why this is so necessary because the majority of Gods children never hear his word while they are alive.

I told him that a loving father in heaven who wants to save all of his children but requires baptism for entrance into his kingdom needed to have way to do both things. I told him that this is why baptisms for the dead were mentioned in the Bible, they understood this back then.

He said he wondered why we did research on other people that weren’t members of the church or relatives of church members. He said, it seems to me that you guys are getting information on everybody. They’re not just your own relatives. I said, that’s exactly right!

I told him that we are trying to do research and find names of everyone who was ever born no matter when they were born. I told him that this was important because all of those people needed to be baptized as well. We go to the temples so that we can offer salvation to our ancestors and so that we can be in the kingdom of God with our families.

He said, I love that. It’s about family. I told him it’s more than that! I told him that we also have our marriages solemnized and sealed in the temple. I told him that we are not married until “death do us part” but we are married for eternity because we have the authority to seal marriages for eternity. I told him that this means that a husband and wife and the children in that marriage can be together for eternity. Family!

I felt impressed to tell him that just as we need baptism to enter the kingdom of God, we need baptism to enter into the house of God once it has been consecrated. I told him that this is why only consecrated worthy members of the church can go. I told him that this building represents the kingdom of God on earth.

I told him, when Joseph Smith was founding the church, Peter, James and John appeared to him, laid their hands on his head and gave him the authority to seal things on earth that were sealed in heaven. This authority was given to Peter by Jesus in the New Testament. I told him, that authority has been passed down and today we have that authority.

I told him that this is a very important thing that we do in those temples as well. We seal our families and we also do that for our ancestors who have passed away. We have our ancestors sealed to their spouses and their children so we all become one big family sealed together in the kingdom of our father in heaven. He said, that’s amazing.

He said, I felt something really neat on Temple Square when I was talking to the missionaries and I feel it again right here in the car. I said, that’s the spirit of God. I told him that he and God have a personal relationship and when he’s in the presence of God, he feels his spirit. I told him that this was happening right now and that when he felt this, he knew that the things he was hearing were true and that they came from God.

He said, I know they come from God. He said, that just sounds right. He said, I need to get back out here!

He said, don’t you guys have a big temple in Berkeley as well? He said, I’ve never been up there but I’ve seen the golden Dome. (Even though it’s not a dome, I didn’t feel like correcting him but the top of the temple is golden). You’re right, that is a beautiful temple there.

He asked, what’s the difference between this temple and that temple? Is this one more? I told him that historically this was very significant but that neither of those temples was more important than the other because they did the same thing. He said, I never knew that. Then I said, you know the visitor center with the sister missionaries that you went through? He said, yes. I said they have one of those at the Oakland Temple as well.

I told him that it was just off to the north of the temple on the same temple grounds. I told him it was a beautiful rounded building and in the basement of that building there is a family history center with nearly everything that is available in the temple square church history museum.

I told him that if he would go to the visitor center, they could take him down and help him do research for his family. He said that he would love that.

10 minutes were up and we were at the airport. It was time for him to go and I said, I want you to remember what you felt. I promised him that if he would go to the temple in Oakland he would feel that same spirit and he would know what they told him was true. He said he would do that and he got out of the car and left.

I immediately received another ride from the airport into town. As I was driving to pick up that next person I was kicking myself. I was saying to myself, why didn’t you give him a Book of Mormon? I felt like I had failed because I had received an impression to give him a Book of Mormon but I just hadn’t done it because it just didn’t seem like the set up was right. It seemed like it would’ve been out of left field.

As I drove, I just didn’t feel great. I just kept making excuses to myself as to why I had failed but I knew that I had been prompted to give the Book of Mormon and I hadn’t followed the prompting. The new people got in my car. They were people from New Mexico in town for a blues festival. They were really great people and we were talking about music when all of a sudden, the lady said, someone forgot their phone!

The man who I just dropped off had left his phone in the backseat and this lady had found it. I knew that this was my opportunity to finish the job. This was my opportunity to give him his Book of Mormon.

I had no way of reaching out to this man but I knew that he would find a way to call his phone. That’s what I would do! I would pray that somebody would answer that phone. I put it up in the front seat by me and drove these people to their hotel in downtown Salt Lake.

I dropped them off and headed back to the airport because I knew he would be calling. I knew that before he got on his plane he would need to have his phone. I knew he would be calling. Sure enough on my way to the airport the phone rang. It was this man looking for his phone.

I told him that I had it and that I was on my way back to the airport right now to bring it to him. I told him I would meet him in the exact same place.

I opened up my glove box and pulled out a Book of Mormon. It’s one of the Book of Mormons prepared by the Secrists and put it on my lap. I knew that if there was ever a time for a specialized book with the questions of the soul and the markings this was it. I had very little time to set it up so that was great.

I did however know that this is why he left the phone in the car. He left the phone in the car because I was supposed to have given him a Book of Mormon. The Lord was giving me a second chance and I wasn’t going to drop the ball this time.

As I pulled up, there he was right where I dropped him off. I got out of the car and gave him his phone and the Book of Mormon. I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon and told him that it was an ancient record of the people who lived in America thousands of years ago. I told him that they had prophets just like they had prophets in Israel because God loves everyone. I told him that the gospel is for everyone no matter where they lived or when they lived. I told him it was the same program as baptisms for everyone who would ever live.

He said, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing back my phone and giving me this book. He said, I will read it and I will treasure it. He said, I’ll go to the visitor center over there in Oakland because I want to feel that again.

He said thank you and walked in to go to his flight. Sometimes thankfully God does give us a second chance. Just don’t drop the ball.
◦

One Friday I had just started work. I got up into Salt Lake on the east side by the avenues so that I would be sure and get short rides. On Friday, you sure don’t want to be out on the freeways.

As I drove down the road, I got an opportunity for a ride. It was to South Jordan and I mean way out in South Jordan. That is like the most inconvenient place to go and I wasn’t going to go.

Once the ride shows up we’ve got about six seconds to accept it or not, I decided not to take it. The spirit insisted that I take it. Finally with about 5 1/2 seconds gone of six seconds I relented and took the ride. It turned out that I was going to the Huntsman Cancer Institute to pick up a mother and a daughter. The daughter was obviously having profound and aggressive cancer treatments.

The daughter was in her 20’s and they were Tongan. We started to drive and I was playing my music, ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, INXS and so on. The mom was commenting on how much she loved the music because that was her era.

She said that she was from Northern California and grew up on that music. I told them that my dad and mom went on a mission to San Francisco and they were really excited. The church has a huge Tongan community out there and she was very proud of it.

Then the spirit started talking to me and I knew that even though the mom talked like she was a member that she had separated from the church and quit attending. The spirit prompted me to know that she had been offended and left some time ago.

I decided to work into talking about the church by talking about my experiences working with Tongan missionaries in the MTC. Knowing they were members of the church I felt strongly that this would open the door to the conversation I knew we were supposed to have.

I told them about one time when I was serving in the MTC that there was an elder from Tonga who had been promised in a blessing by his stake president that he would be asked to sing throughout his mission, even in the MTC. The Lord wanted him to use his voice in his ministry. He didn’t speak English and he didn’t know how that would work. He was in his class relating this story when I walked by.

I was out gathering missionaries for a special choir. These were missionaries that were pre-approved and I was sent to get them. As I walked by I saw that Elder and he just glowed . The spirit told me to go in and get him and bring him to choir even though I didn’t know anything about music and I wasn’t in charge.

I went and knocked on the door, went in the room and said, I’m gathering missionaries for a special choir and he’s supposed to be in it. Everyone’s jaw hit the floor. Later that teacher told me the other part of that story but it was amazing how God grabbed that elder and put him in that choir to fulfill the words of the stake president.

The mom said, it’s good that you listened to the spirit!

Then the spirit laid out the program and just like every program in the church, we started with an opening hymn. I turned off INXS and went into my Vimeo and played my video of the Tongan missonaries singing, Folofola Mai ‘a Sīsū is a link to the song. I have shared it here before but here it is again https://vimeo.com/578265270

The spirit came over the car and started working on everybody. During the song several stories that teach principles came to my heart and I knew that I was supposed to share them.

I had the impression that the mom was a very proud woman and that this pride had been hurt by members of the church. I felt like members that were family had been harsh with her regarding this and I knew that a frontal attack was not the way to go.

I started talking about how much I loved that song and she started talking about how that song makes her cry every time. She said that song is the song that her father used to sing. She sang along with it too.

When the song was done, she said she loved music and that she is a member of the church which was her first declaration of that. She said, I am a member of the church but I don’t go and haven’t gone for a very long time. I like the church but I very much dislike the people.

There it was! The thing the spirit had told me. I said, that’s really hard! It’s a challenge to go to church when you don’t feel like the people want you there. It’s hard to go to church when you don’t feel like you belong. I said, I know what you are saying.

I told her that there was a time when someone in our ward told me that they wished I wouldn’t come because our kids were so noisy. What I did instead of quit was I went early every week to find out where they were sitting so I could sit behind them. I told her, I walk up to people that I know don’t like me and tell them I love them and they are great. I told her normally that changes everything.

I told her that I just can’t allow other people to decide whether or not I’m going to worship my savior. I told her that I’m not about to let other people take me away from what I know to be true.

I told them about my great grandfather. The stake president stole two of his horses so he left the church in protest. I told her that as of today over 100 years later that stake president’s family is likely serving God and are productive members of the society as well as faithful members of the church. I told her that on the other hand, the descendants of my great grandfather are mostly miserable drunken lost souls. I told them that it was a huge penalty my great grandfather paid for his pride.

I told them that today that president’s family has no idea about those horses but we still hang on to it as a justification. I said, it wasn’t a reason, it was a test and my family failed it. Satan got control and has been thrashing that family ever since.

I told them that God puts people in my car to receive messages. I told them that the spirit whispers to me the things to say sometimes. Almost always God puts people in my car so that they can hear that he loves them. More than anything he wants them to cling to him and his son rather than the bitterness, anger, hatred, and sin. I told them that when people are in the car, I feel the love of God for them, regardless of where they find themselves in their lives.

I told them about my father becoming active in the church once he got away from home, in the military. I said that God reaches out through other people to grab us and bring us back in if we will come.

I told them that God never leaves us and he watches over us. I shared the story of how God had protected me in my car. I told them about the guy that attacked me and God shocked him like he did Laman and Lemuel.

I testified about the importance of staying close to the spirit. I told them about the importance of the sacrament to me. I said that when I was on my mission in my first area I was overwhelmed. I have shared that story on here before. When I went to church that Sunday, my tank was empty and I didn’t know what to do. I told them that when I took the sacrament my tank and my soul were filled. Then I had the strength to go on.

I said that this was the hardest thing for me during Covid. The fact that I couldn’t take the sacrament was devastating to me. Along with losing my job, my financial security and many friends, the most devastating part was not being able to take the sacrament more than once a month.

I told them that God had commanded us to take the sacrament and there is a reason for that. I said, things don’t go well when you don’t take the sacrament.

At this time I realized I was going down a checklist of things the Lord had put in my mind to talk about so I kept going. I kept saying the things as they came to my heart.

I asked them if I could pray for the daughter. I said, you have no idea how much your father in heaven loves you and wants to bless you. I would love it if you would allow me to pray for you. She teared up and said yes and her Mom was tearing up as well.

Anyone reading this, her name is Sena and she could use your prayers in this cancer battle. I told her that her father in heaven loved her and that his spirit was there in the car. We could all feel the spirit. It started with the song and it hadn’t stopped.

Then I pulled it all together. I said, Heavenly Father put you here today to answer your prayers. He put you here today to tell you how much he loves you, both of you. He put you here today so that you can know that he wants to be there to help.

I asked, has she had a priesthood blessing? The mother lowered her eyes and said, no. The girl said, that’s right I haven’t! I looked at the mom and I said, you take her to church on Sunday and get a blessing from the bishop. This girl needs that priesthood blessing.

At the first of this ride the mother could not have been approached like that but as we drove the spirit worked on her. She became more receptive to suggestions and she embraced that. She said, I’m going to do that. I said, you go to church for you not to please other people.

I said, you go to church to build your relationship with Jesus Christ and your father in heaven. That is the purpose. You build relationships with whoever else might happen to be there as you serve them. If you build those other relationships that’s a bonus but that’s not the purpose. You go to church to fill your tank.

By this time they were both crying 10 times more than they were during the song which I thought was a lot. Then the girl asked , do you know why I’m crying so much? Just last night I was praying that God would send somebody to help me know what to do. I was praying that God would send someone to know how I could do better and get closer to him. God really did put us in your car today. I said, you know I don’t come out here on rides very often. I usually try not to. I almost didn’t come but the spirit insisted.

I felt like I was supposed to run down the list of miracles and challenges we discussed in the car so I did.

I said, the spirit insisted I take this ride because you prayed and God wants to bless you. This is how it happens. You prayed me into the ride.

When we played the song you felt the spirit of God and you felt the spirit of your grandfather in the car. She said, yes I did. How did you know that? I said, the spirit whispered it to my heart. I said, God wanted to tell you that he loved you so he sent me to say it.

I said, God wanted to tell you that you needed to have a relationship with him, regardless of the other things going on in your life or with other people in the ward.

He wants you to go back to church. He wants you to take the sacrament.

I said, God wants you to get a blessing.

I said, God wants you to come back. You’ve been gone way too long so he sent me here today. By this time their eyes were full of tears, the spirit was working in the car and working on the people in the car, everyone of us.

We pulled up in front of their house and the mother said, it’s time for us to go back to church. The daughter said, I’ve never had a prayer answered so specifically and powerfully.

They thanked me and got out of the car.

They went to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for healing but there was a whole lot more healing than that going on. They thanked me and got out of the car. As they were walking the daughter turned around and waved goodbye.

Have you ever gone way west on California Avenue in Salt Lake? I got a notification to pick up a ride at 4400 W. off of California Avenue. That is a long way out there and I felt that I should go because it was a little slow and it was a comfort ride so you make a little extra money.

I drove out there over the bumpy horrible road and finally got to the turn. Once I turned, there was about a quarter of a mile I had to drive until I arrived at the spot where I was to do the pick up. In between me and the pick up was a great big long train. It was just sitting there. Not only was it just sitting there, there were about eight cars waiting for it to move. This indicates that there was no convenient workaround or those people wouldn’t have been sitting there just waiting.

You hate to cancel because they allow very few cancels. I strongly felt that I should go ahead and cancel, lose the extra money, and take the wasted half hour It took me to drive out there. That’s aggravating but I felt that was what I needed to do. I canceled and did a u-turn then started to drive away.

I had only gotten about 200 yards down the road when I got another ride. It was also on California Avenue at about 6800 W. I thought, no way! Against my better judgement I found myself accepting it and heading west. That road was horrible. It was very bumpy and had a bunch of potholes. It resembled a poorly maintained dirt road with the illusion of a being a paved road. I rumbled out to the location and found the man who I was supposed to take waving his phone frantically.

As I approached you could see that he was desperate. He said, I’m so glad you came. I didn’t think anyone was going to come. My car is broken today and five people canceled. At that point I felt better about having accepted the ride. He was a man in his 30’s from Kenya and he lived down in Rose Park.

The fact that the spirited had

whispered to me to take this ride made me start thinking spiritually with regards to this man. He was very well educated and had no accent on his English. I felt sorry for him as we conversed. He just wanted to get home and was angered by the cancellations. I told him that this is why they sent him the best driver, to make up for that!!

I told him that I live down in Utah County and he told me that he took his kids down there last weekend. He said that their mother lives down there. I saw an opportunity here so I took it. I said, “with last weekend being the pride festival, you made a good choice of a weekend to get out of Salt Lake City with your children”. I told him it was a little like escaping Sodom and Gomorrah. He laughed and said, absolutely 100%. I didn’t want them seeing or hearing any of that!

I could tell by the way he reacted to what I said about Sodom and Gomorrah that he had some depth in the scriptures. I said, it’s a shame that we celebrate hedonism and perversion on such a large scale. He said, “that’s it!” “We’re celebrating evil for a whole weekend. I don’t get it, and I didn’t want my children to have any part of it”.

He told me that you’ll never find a rainbow flag hanging from his window. He said he loves the people but he’s not willing to accept the effort to mainstream and normalize their sin. I said, I agree as well. It’s really important that we teach our children right and wrong. They need to know that even though God loves all these people, he does not condone the sins that they are celebrating.

He said, you’re 100% right and it seems like a very lonely time for those of us who believe that. I said, it can be but it doesn’t have to be. That’s why we go to church to find people who believe like we do and can lift us when times are difficult.

He said, I go to church every week and you’re right. I asked him, “what church do you go to”? He said, I go to a nondenominational church down in Orem and occasionally the Mormon church with my kids.

I perked up. I said, that’s awesome that you go to the Mormon church! Are your children members? He said, no. Their grandfather on their mother side was a Mission President but their mother isn’t an active part of the church. They haven’t been baptized. He said, I like to take them because I think that it is part of their heritage.

I asked him what he believes for himself and he said that he didn’t believe in one particular religion. He believed in floating around, checking out all of the different religions.

I said, I’ll bet you’ve had several sets of missionaries come to your house. I derived part of this from the fact that he had gone to church and I can’t imagine him going to church and not attracting attention from a ward mission leader. The other part of this question was the spirit prompting me that I needed to go into this.

He said, yes! I’ve had a few. He said, lately they haven’t been very good. It just seems like the sisters are trying to get through it quick and then they drop you really quick if you’re not ready to be baptized right now. It seems like they’re being run by a checklist.

He said, about two years ago I had a couple of elders that were really good. I asked him, why didn’t you get baptized then. Why didn’t you allow those elders to baptize you? He thought about it and said, I just wasn’t ready.

The spirit prompted me to be straightforward here and ask this question so I did. I said, “you have an issue or a problem that you haven’t felt like there was an answer to. You felt that asking the question in and of itself would be disrespectful”. I said, I feel like you’ve respected the missionaries so much that you haven’t wanted to throw mud at them so you haven’t asked the question that you thought they couldn’t answer. He said, well, that’s exactly it.

He said, I just don’t see why I need a religion. He said, I have the Bible and I can go to a church and feel the spirit of God. He asked, why do I need a religion? I didn’t want to ask that question because it seemed a little disrespectful and I would never disrespect somebody like that.

He said, furthermore, once you establish that you think there’s a religion then you have to answer for the corruption in the religion and those kids don’t have a clue. These are the reasons I’ve never asked the question.

I asked him if it would be OK if I took a crack at that question. I said, look, you don’t need to worry about offending me because you don’t know me. You don’t need to worry about me not having the depth to understand because I’m older than you are and I’ve been around the block.

He said, let’s go! what’s my answer? I told him that the answer lies in several parts. I told him that Jesus Christ organized a church that was perfect but filled with imperfect people. He did this so that the people could become perfected within the parameters of serving God by serving others in the church. I told him that the church of Jesus Christ was a perfect church because it had the perfect authority.

I told him that authority was the key. They had apostles and prophets. They had the priesthood given to them by Jesus Christ, which was the authority and permission to perform the ordinances necessary to return to God.

I told him that performing an ordinance like baptism without the authority is nothing more than a demonstration of our love of God. I said,“that’s cool and that’s good but it’s not enough. We need to do the things that we do under the authority of God.”

I told him that in the New Testament it says there is one faith, one Lord and one baptism. I asked him how many churches that meant there should be and he said one. I asked him how many Lords are there and he said one. I asked him how many baptisms there should be and he said one. I asked him who would be the one to set the example for that baptism and he said Jesus Christ.

I asked him if he thought it might be important to find the church then that has that one baptism and that one faith in Jesus Christ and he said, yes, I suppose so.

I asked him if he knew about the Book of Mormon and he said yes. I asked him if he knew that the Book of Mormon came from the people who lived in America and he said, no. I told him that the people in America had prophets just like the people in Jerusalem and these prophets received revelation from God. They had churches and they did baptisms. I told him that those prophets in America prophesied that Jesus would come.

I told him that Jesus did come after his resurrection. In the Bible, Jesus said, other sheep, I have which are not of this fold and that he was going to go to them so they could hear his voice. I asked him if he thought that Jesus was going other places and he said, it sure sounded like it. I told him that the people in America were some of those other sheep.

I told him that Jesus descended from heaven and the people went up to him. They touched the prints in his prints of the nails in his hands and his feet. They begged him to save them. I told him that even though these people had been baptized in their other churches, the first thing Jesus did as an answered to that plea for salvation was call up 12. He gave them authority (the priesthood) and commanded them to be baptized into his church. He didn’t ridicule their other baptisms but he said that this was the baptism that would bring them salvation. He told them that this was the baptism that they needed to come home to their father in heaven. He invited them to take a step up in decipleship that gave them additional blessings.

I told him that this is what it is all about! It’s about coming home to our father in heaven. I told him that our father in heaven is our father and he loves all us. As I was testifying about these things the spirit became palpable in the car. I could tell that he was feeling it and he was leaning up almost to where his head was on my shoulder. He had unbuckled his seatbelt and moved forward to hear every word I was saying.

Due to the fact that I am an amazing driver I knew I wouldn’t get in an accident😀. I didn’t want to interrupt the flow and tell him to put his seatbelt back on.

I told him that the gift of the Holy Ghost is also important to help us walk with God and have God’s spirit with us all the time. I told him that the Holy Ghost is really important because it testifies of truth and it brings God’s spirit to us. I told him that Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Ghost to those people in America as well as the authority to confer that gift on others.

Jesus then said that he had other sheep that he hadn’t been to yet and that his father had commanded him to go to them. I told my passenger that God sent his son to all of his children, maybe even some of his ancestors. He was blown away.

I told him that his spirit knew God ‘s spirit and when it was in the presence of God his spirit gets excited and it makes him feel good. I looked at him and said, right now you are feeling the spirit of God. How do you feel! He said, I feel engaged. I feel excited and I feel warm. I told him that this was the spirit of God and that is how he always feels when he is in the presence of the spirit of God.

He said, I felt that in other churches too. I told him that the Holy Ghost testifies of truth and those other churches teach truth but what they don’t have is the authority from God to perform that baptism and the other ordinances we need to get home. They don’t have all of the truth. I said, when they do testify of truth, the spirit will be there but they don’t have all of the truth and they don’t have the ability to perform the ordinances that are accepted by God for our salvation.

He said, what about corruption? Men are corrupt. Men in your church are also corrupt. Some of them do bad things. They have this priesthood and do these things, then they perform these ordinances you talk about. He said, it’s not just your church, every church has corruption.

He said, assuming what you say is true about the authority, would an ordinance performed by a person who wasn’t doing the right thing or was corrupt be valid? I perceived by the spirit right away that he had a specific scenario and person in mind. I could also could feel that he wasn’t going to ever divulge that. I was prompted that it was a specific ward leader so I went with that.

I said, in my mind, here is how it works. That person has the authority to perform that ordinance. The authority of God is the permission to act in his name. When we do that, it is up to us to be worthy to perform that ordinance and not be corrupt. We need to be doing the right things. We need to be trying to repent and be better. If we are knowingly, corrupt and still acting in God‘s name with his authority, God will hold us accountable but the ordinance would still be valid because it was done under his authority.

I told him that the church is like a car. I told him it’s a special car design to go to one place and it’s the only car that can make it there. I told him that this is your ward. I told him that God calls people in your ward and gives them authority to drive that car. He gives them the keys. I told him that sometimes they make mistakes and it’s like hitting a pothole or guardrail. I told him flat out some drivers are better than other drivers but the program is designed for that car to carry the people in it to the destination regardless of the ease or smoothness of the trip. That car will get there because it has the authority to run on that road and withstand the potholes and difficulties.

I told him that people that are willfully corrupt and do evil things have to answer for that, regardless of whether or not they are leaders or members of the church. I also told him that they can avail themselves of repentance just like every other person. I told him that no one is condemned just because they’ve had a bad day or a bad situation if they’re willing to look to God and repent.

I told him that the important thing is that they have that authority. I told him that Peter, James and John appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith. They put their hands on his head and they gave him this authority. He passed it down from that time through others and we have it today.

I told him that all priesthood holders can trace their priesthood lineage back to Joseph Smith then Peter, James and John and then to Jesus Christ himself. I told him we keep track of that. I can show him where my priesthood came from and that it came from Jesus Christ.

I told him that if he goes to another church they won’t be able to tell you where they got their priesthood. I told him that they’re just good people trying to do the best they can but they don’t have the authority to perform the ordinances that they need to come home to their father in heaven.

He said, doesn’t that mean that a lot of God’s children won’t make it home or won’t have even an opportunity to come home. I told him that this was the beauty of having the full gospel of Jesus Christ restored by Jesus Christ. I told him that this is why it’s important to have prophets and authority. I told him that God has a plan for every person that ever lived to be able to come home.

I asked him if he knew what we do in temples and he said no. I said, in our temples, we perform baptisms for the people who have died. I said, your great grandfather who died in Kenya probably never heard of our church. He said, I don’t think he heard of any church. I said, would it be fair for God to condemn him just because he hadn’t heard of Jesus Christ? He said, no! That wouldn’t be fair.

I told him that the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ set up the teaching of the gospel to the people who had died without hearing it and made it possible for every single person who ever lived to have a perfect opportunity to accept the gospel under favorable conditions.

I told him that his grandfather had been taught the gospel. Then I told him that we have our part to play in this. We go to the temple and we are baptized for that person and they have an opportunity to accept it or reject it.

I told him that God loves everyone and it wouldn’t be fair to condemn a wonderful person from Kenya because of where they were born or when they were born. He said, that’s awesome. I said, this is part of being in the car, we can take our family with us. I told him that sometimes it’s bumpier than other times and sometimes God’s children fight in the backseat but that car will end up at it’s destination. The people who are in it will be glad they were.

I told him that since I had mentioned his great grandfather he was thinking a lot about other people like his grandfather. He said yes! I said, these other people are relatives right? He said yes. I told him that they depend on him to be saved. I told him that they are counting on him and they’re very interested in the outcome of this ride. I told him they were here to witness this because I know they’re very interested.

I told him that God had put him in my car today to receive this message. He said, I know that’s true. When you said that I felt it. He said, the fact that the other drivers canceled so that you could get the ride is too much of a coincidence to be coincidence.

I told him that there’s no such thing as coincidence and God put him in my car and directed our conversation. I told him that this is why God’s spirits has been here testifying if the truthfulness of the things I’ve said. I asked him again if he could feel the spirit and he said yes.

I said that I perceived by the spirit that he had been looking for a sign from God in all of these churches. He said, yes, and how do you know that. I said, I know that because I had a prompting that God wanted me to say that. That is part of having the gift of the Holy Ghost. God whispers to us and tells us the things that he would have us say.

I told him that with the miracle that happened today (me being the one to pick him up) and the revelatory conversation that we had participated in, along with the spirit we had felt, he can no longer say he’s looking for a sign. Now he’s had that sign. I told him that before he had told God he wanted his sign and now God has given him a sign. I asked him what he was going to do with that?

He asked, how should I move forward? I said, well, first you need to read the Book of Mormon. Do you have a Book of Mormon? He said, somewhere, I’m not sure. I pulled out one of my Book of Mormon‘s prepared by the Secrists and gave it to him. I asked him to read the questions in the front cover and told him that the corresponding pages are marked for easy access. He told me that he had read in that book before.

I told him that when he reads this book he needs to pray. I asked him if he prayed when he read it before and he said no. He told me that he just read it with the missionaries.

I told him that when he reads he needs to pray. When he prays, he will feel the same feelings he is feeling in his heart right now. I said, “at that time, you will know that God is revealing to you that the things you is reading are true”.

Then I said, “but you don’t need to wait until then to know it’s true because the spirit is telling you right now that these things are true”. I asked him if he knew that. He said yes. I asked him if he knew where his Salt Lake ward met. He said he had no clue. I told him that we could look it up and we did. We got the address and time for meetings. He said he knew exactly where that was.

He said, “it looks like I have a lot of work to do. I have a lot of things undone. I feel like what you said is true about my ancestors counting on me. I need to do better”.

I told him that when he goes to church, he’ll find that some people are flawed and they sin just like he does but to remember that the ordinances and the authority of the church are what drive the car. If we stick with the car we will end up at the right destination, which is living with our father in heaven.

I said, your children need to be baptized as well. I told him that he might want to reach out to their mother’s family that were active in the church and ask them to do this with him if he gets along with them. He said, I get along with them really well. I just don’t get along with her at all.

I said, I’m sure they’ve been praying for something like this. Just like you want to save your ancestors. They want to save you. It’s how it works between parents and children. Those grandparents have been praying for these children to be taught the gospel. Their mother refuses to do it but I think God has found in you, the person he can trust to see to it that those children get in that car and make it home. This is an answer to those grandparent’s prayers.

I said, you have a lot to do. He said, this could take a few months for me to get ready. I said, remember you’ve been getting ready already, you’ve been prepared, you’ve felt the spirit and you know what God would have you do. What more can you ask for from this ride! He laughed and said, I guess I need to get busy.

By this time we had been sitting in front of his apartment for about a half an hour. The spirit was burning in the car. He grabbed both of my shoulders then shook my hand and thanked me. I told him to remember to pray tonight and thank God for sending him an invitation to the get in the car so he can go home to his father.

I said, you need to always remember that this day God sent you this ride because that’s the day he gave you a miracle and gave you the sign you were looking for. He said, that’s exactly right and I won’t forget. He got out of the car and went inside.

One day I was driving in Orem. As I’ve mentioned before I don’t drive in Orem very often but I was going to spend the morning there so that Heather and I could have lunch together.

I got a ride to pick up a lady at the bank right by La Briioche Argentina bakery. I had been thinking about that bakery because one of the things I was contemplating for lunch was empanadas and gnocchi. I was sitting there waiting for her to come out of the bank and then she appeared.

She had tattoos on her arms and her neck. She had big hoop earrings and a huge piercing in her nose. She didn’t seem to have much if any light about her and I didn’t think I’d have a lot in common with her.

She got in the car and after the basic pleasantries I asked her if she was from here. She said no she wasn’t. I asked her if she liked it here and she said not really. Usually when they say not really I just kind of leave it alone at that point. This time I felt like I should ask more questions so I did. I said, why don’t you like it here?

Her reaction was funny because it seemed to say, well, of course nobody likes it here. Why would you ask that question? So I asked again, why don’t you like it here? Don’t you like the mountains? Don’t you like the outdoors?

She said, well I do like them. I guess that I am just I’m not used to it enough for me to be able to like it. She said, I grew up in California and I really liked it there and this is just very different.

I said, do you like the people? She said that the people had been very friendly to her and that she liked how friendly everything seemed to be. She said that is one thing that she liked.

I told her that when my kids were in high school one of them really struggled. I asked him every day to make a list of three things that he liked. I asked him to give it to me at the end of the day. She laughed and said that’s crazy. I said he had to spend all day looking for things that he liked so he didn’t have time to worry about what he didn’t like. She said, that’s great. Maybe I should do that here.

Then I got the prompting to say, do you go to church? She said, it’s funny that you should ask that. She said, I haven’t been going to church in quite a while because I haven’t felt it. She said she was Christian but not Christian like the people around here.

She said that just the night before she prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help her figure the church thing out. She said that there were a lot of things pulling her in her life and she wanted to have a better relationship with God. She said that she just wasn’t feeling complete and unfulfilled so she quit going to her church.

I asked her, do you want me to tell you a little bit about our church? She said, yes! We were passing by the brand new Orem Temple, heading south towards Spanish Fork. I told her that a lot of the differences between her belief and our church have to do with that building right there.

She said, that’s a beautiful building, tell me more. I told her that I would tell her more but I wanted to talk to her about some other things first and would circle back to that building. She said, OK.

I told her that our church believes very literally that our father in heaven is the father of our spirits and he’s the God of us all. Every person in the world and every person that’s ever lived in the world or will live in the world is a son or daughter of our father in heaven. I told her that everything we believe has to do with our heavenly father trying to bring us back home to live with him in heaven.

As I said this the spirit started filling the car. It was very noticeable due to the fact that when she got in the car you could not see the spirit in her countenance. The spirit was not yet engaged and there was not that feeling in the car. It came in the car with force at that point. I could see that she was perked up and the spirit started to work on her.

I knew that this was what my father wanted me to be doing right now. Against the odds, this person who you wouldn’t think of as being a person seeking their father in heaven certainly was doing that. I told her that he is our father and he gives us blessings and picks us up when we need him, and when we call on his name.

I told her that our father in heaven give us prophets who receive revelation from him. They give it to us so that we can be blessed. She said, oh like Moses? I said, exactly like Moses. God gave him the 10 Commandments and those commandments blessed those people and made it so they could be happy regardless of their circumstances.

I told her that if we obey the commandments, we will always have God’s spirit with us. I could feel the spirit intensifying in the car and I asked her, do you feel that? She said yes! I said how would you explain that? She said, I feel like I’m hungry and I want to eat that up. I feel like you’ve got something to tell me and I want to learn this.

I told her that that thing she was feeling was the spirit of God and the reaction she was having to it is how she always felt when she was in the presence of God or when truth was being taught to her. I told her, this is how you know the things you are being taught are right.

She said, that’s true! I know that what you’re saying is true and I know that I need to listen. I told her that the commandments are very important. A lot of people look at commandments as restrictions but we look at them as blessings. I used the example of a dude who has fathered multiple children out of wedlock with multiple women. I asked her if his life is peaceful and happy or if his life is chaos. She laughed and said, chaos.

I told her that if he had obeyed the commandments, there would’ve been less chaos and more peace and happiness in his life. I told her that we don’t believe in drinking alcohol. I told her that my grandfather drank alcohol and was an alcoholic and he was a slave to that.

I told her that if my grandfather had obeyed that commandment, he would’ve been freed from those chains of slavery and happier in his life. She said, that makes so much sense. I get that. I told her it’s like putting the fence at the top of the cliff rather than the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff to pick up the pieces. She laughed and said, that’s awesome. I love that.

I told her that God is all powerful and all knowing and he loves every single person in the world. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to pay for their sins and their afflictions and their pain and their suffering and their torment and their infirmities. He sent Jesus Christ to do that for everyone, not just the people in Jerusalem.

This woman was of Mexican decent but she didn’t speak any Spanish at all. I talked to her about the Book of Mormon. I told her that God sent his son Jesus Christ to America. I told her that God loved the people in America too and that they had prophets as well. I told her that they waited for Jesus to come.

I told her that he descended from heaven and he asked them to take a step up in discipleship. He asked to be baptized by his authority and the way he taught. He invited every one of them to do that and these were her ancestors. I told her that your ancestors were held in Jesus’ arms. I told her, “your ancestors were blessed by Jesus, and their posterity was blessed as well”. I told her, this means you.

This spirit was palpable in the car and she had a tear in her eye so I asked her, what does it mean to you to know Jesus Christ visited your ancestors. She said, it means everything to me. That’s so beautiful. She said, I’ve never heard anything like that but I’m burning up inside. I know that what you’re saying is true. I told her, the spirit is testifying to you that this is true. She said, I know, there’s no denying it.

I told her that we also received that same invitation from Jesus to accept that same baptism. That’s the baptism we do in our church. I told her that when Jesus came to America, most of the other people that were there had previously been baptized. Jesus asked them to take that step up to a new covenant, to a new understanding, to new levels of blessings.

I told her that this brings us back to that building, the temple. I told her that in that temple, we do really important things. We are married for all time not just until death. I told her, we call this a sealing because the marriage is sealed by the power of God. I told her that because we’re married in that building and our marriage is sealed, t means our children that come into that marriage are also sealed for eternity.

Now she was leaning forward and had a tears in both eyes. She said, do you mean that we can all be together with our families? Is that what that means? I said yes.

I told her that it’s not just her family that’s here with her now. I explained to her that every person who was ever born was also taught the gospel once they died. I pointed out in Peter that it teaches this very thing. Jesus set up the preaching of the gospel to those who would pass without hearing it. She said that’s amazing!

I told her that in the Bible it mentions baptisms for the dead. I told her that the people would go and be baptized for the person who had died that had been taught the gospel as a spirit. I told her that this person then has the opportunity to choose whether or not to accept it. They can chose whether or not to become baptized as a member of the church.

She said that this had always bothered her tremendously and that it didn’t seem fair. It didn’t seem like all of Heavenly Father’s children had the opportunity to hear the gospel. She said it didn’t seem fair that many died without being baptized especially little children. She said there was no way in the world she could believe that a child would be condemned for not being baptized. She said it didn’t seem fair and she didn’t see how that worked since God loves all of his children. She said that this is why she was skeptical of her Christian church.

She said, I like that they get to choose. I told her that God is all about choice and he wants us to choose to come home to him. That’s why he sent his son. That’s why he sent his son to America.

I told her that many people who have passed on are waiting for us to go and be baptized for them so that they can accept that baptism and come home to their father. I told her it’s all about family. It’s all about bringing them together and we are all part of the family of God.

She said, I know this is true!

The spirit was indicating to me that I needed to bear my testimony of Joseph Smith and so I testified of Joseph Smith, of the first vision and of the prophets who wrote the Book of Mormon. I testified to her that those engraving were given to Joseph Smith and were interpret by the power of God. I told her that this is the Book of Mormon, the translation that Joseph Smith did of the ancient writings from the prophets in America.

She said, I’ve heard about the Book of Mormon. My baby’s father‘s family are members of your church and they’re very active and they tried to give me a Book of Mormon but I didn’t know what it was so I didn’t take it.

I said, well, now you know. What do you think? She said, I want one. Those are my ancestors. I told her that her baby‘s father‘s family believed very strongly in this. I told her that It was important to them that your family go to the temple so that you all could all be together forever. I looked in her face and she was glowing by this point. She was smiling ear to ear.

This girl who had, at the first of the ride, looked anything but angelic was shining. She said, I have to tell you, last night I prayed that God would help me find truth. I prayed that God would help me find a better way forward and last night I prayed that God would send someone to help me.

I told her about the guy that we baptized a few weeks ago who had done the same thing. He had prayed that God would send someone and God put him in my car. I showed her a picture of me and this man at his baptism. She was happy, with a great big huge smile. She said, I never figured it would be a white rideshare driver. I smiled and said, I guess it doesn’t matter as long as it is a servant of God who testifies of truth. She said 100%!

I asked her, do you believe the things I said today are true? She said yes. She said, next time I’ll accept that Book of Mormon from them. I told her that we can do one better. I reached into my glove box and grabbed one of my Book of Mormons prepared by the Secrists. I handed it to her and said, this Book of Mormon was prepared for you.

I told her that the book has questions in the front that are answered in the tabs and that she should she read them. I said she should read the whole book too. I told her that as she reads it, she should pray to know of its truth. I said that if she he did she would feel the same thing she was feeling right now in the car.

She said that this was exactly what she would do and that she would love to do it. I told her to take this with her to the next family gathering and show it to them. I told her to talk to them about what she felt in the car today and what we learned. I told her to tell them what she now knew to be true.

She said, we get together every Sunday and I will do exactly that.

I told her that I was sure that Heavenly Father put her in my car. I testified to her that he had prompted me with the things to say. She said, that’s clear because you answered the questions I did not even ask. You answered the questions I’ve always had. You’ve answered the questions about how to me, it seemed so unjust that so many people would die without baptism and not be able to go to heaven. Now I know that I was right, that it is not true. Now I know that everyone gets a chance and my heart is full.

She said, I know God put me in your car and I’m excited to talk to my boyfriend’s family about this.

Just then we pulled up to her house and she said, I will read this book, I will cherish this book and I will always remember what I felt in the car today. I told her that this would bring her home if she will follow that feeling. She smiled, said thank you, put her hand on my shoulder for a couple of seconds and got out of the car.

One day I picked up a young man and his dad. The young man was a student at the University of Utah and his dad was there with him. I was taking them from his apartment to a storage unit. It was the end of the semester, right then there’s a lot of changing going on with regards to apartments and such.

When they got in the car they started speaking Portuguese to each other. I have some very basic and poorly pronounced Portuguese knowledge with regards to speaking but I do understand most of it. I listened to them for a minute, then I said tudo bem, which is how you say how are you in Portuguese.

I learned a lot about Portuguese when I was on my mission in Misiones in Argentina and then again when I was in a Portuguese branch in the MTC where the missionaries were learning Portuguese. The missionaries used to laugh at my Portuguese but I said, don’t laugh at me. I’m learning it from you! It was a good time but I did learn how to bear my testimony and say prayers in Portuguese.

I talked to them about how I had served my mission in Argentina and that I spoke Spanish and I could do OK with a combination of Portuguese Spanish. They laughed and said, half the world speaks Spanish . They asked how well I speak Spanish and I said, I do interpretation. They seemed impressed. They asked me how I kept it up after all this time and I told them that I say my prayers and read the scriptures in Spanish every day. I told them that I’ve done that every day since October 31 of 1981.

They thought that was pretty cool. The boy said, I would like to learn to speak Spanish better. This gave me an idea. I had realized that he wasn’t a member of the church and that he probably didn’t know much about it.

I had been looking for an opening and I decided to take it here. I said, when my son was a student at BYU he took a class that they have on conversion from Portuguese to Spanish and vice versa. It’s a class where they help you do the transition and then you can be fluent both languages.

I said that BYU has a Salt Lake center and I wonder if they teach it there. He said, I am so busy right now. I am not sure I would have time to take more on because of my studies here. Then he said, don’t you have to be a Mormon to go to BYU?

I said, absolutely not. To go to BYU you have to promise to live by the rules and be active in your religion but you don’t have to be a Mormon.

I told them that the rules are that you can’t drink or use drugs. You can’t cheat in your classes, you have to dress appropriately and you can’t have sexual relations outside of marriage. His dad chimed in and said, those are really good things! The kid said, yeah, I wouldn’t have a problem with that. I said, what you really ought to do is go to BYU in Provo.

For your information an international student pays a lot of money to go to the University of Utah. It’s like $50,000 a year. That’s what they’ve told me.

Knowing this information I said, you know as a student of BYU tuition is about $12,000 for nonmembers, and about $9000 for members. That’s a huge savings! The kid laughed and said, oh my gosh maybe I need to go there.

I said, there’s one other thing, you have to take a religion class almost the every semester. This is because it’s a church school and it’s funded by the members of the church. Everyone who goes there is expected to learn about the church. His dad said, that would be awesome. I think I would like that for him.

He said, I would love to go down and see BYU and maybe go there if I could get in. He said, do you think they would let me in? I asked him how good his grades have been and he said he had straight A’s at the University of Utah. I said, I don’t work for BYU but I think you could probably get in. He said, I’d love to try.

Then his dad turned to him and said, didn’t your mom tell you that you should consider becoming a Mormon. I almost fell out of the door as I heard him say, “yes she did. I really should go to that church.”

He turned to me and said, do you think they’d let me go to the church? I said yes! He said, what are the rules in the church? I said, kind of the same rules of BYU has. He said, that’s no problem. I’d like to go. How do you get an invitation?

I was blown away. He wanted an invitation so I thought I’d give him one. I talked to him about the church. I said that It’s really important for us to do the things that Jesus wants us to do. I told him we believe in that we receive revelation from God. I told him that Joseph Smith was a young man, not too much younger than he was. He was seeking the truth and couldn’t find it. I told him that Joseph prayed and God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. They called him to be the prophet and assigned him to restore the church of Jesus Christ on the Earth.

As I testified of these truths, the spirit filled the car and it filled our hearts. I could tell that both he and his father were moved. I asked him what he felt, and he said, amazing and happy. I told him that what made him feel like that was the spirit of god. I said that the spirit of god testifies of truth and can guide us and let us know the truth when we hear it.

I told him that because of this he knew that these things were true. He said yes. I asked him if he liked that feeling. He said he loved it.

I told him that we have the same church that Jesus organized on the Earth. I told him that after Jesus’s resurrection, he came to America to visit the people. I told him that they had prophets and they had been baptized. When Jesus got there, he invited them to receive his baptism by his authority. He invited them to become part of his kingdom.

I said to him, I guess that would be your invitation. We invite you to come to church and get ready to be baptized! He said, I would like that. His dad said, that would be great! I asked him if it would be OK if I had missionaries come over to teach him. He said yes.

He asked me, do I have to just go to church all by myself or is there someone that could go with me? I told him that this is what the missionaries will do. They will either go with you or they will find someone to go with you.

He said, that’s great! I’m looking forward to it. I reached into my glove box and grabbed a Book of Mormon. I said, do you remember when I told you that we had prophets in America and Jesus came to America.? He said yes. I handed him the Book of Mormon and said, here is your invitation to come to Christ and to church.

I said, just like the Old Testament the New Testament, this is another testament of Jesus Christ. I told him it talks about Jesus coming to America and his invitation for all of us to follow him. He looked at it and asked me, is it OK if I take this? I said, yes! It’s for you.

His dad said, that’s very generous of you. I said this is why we have these books. We want to let people know of their father in heaven’s love for them.

His dad said, your mom will be so pleased! You finally listened to her! They laughed and I chuckled as well. I smiled knowing that our father in heaven was very pleased.

I used the Tools app for members of the church and found out who the missionaries were that were assigned to the place he lived. I called them and they initiated contact with him right away. They said they would follow through.

A few days later I got this message from him after he and his mother attended church and met the missionaries. “Thank you, for introducing me to the church. I guess god really put our paths together for the better”

Yes he did!!

I picked up a guy at the University of Utah hospital who was in a wheelchair. Wheelchairs are dicey because you have to worry about how to fit them in your car or if they will even fit in your car. These rides are kind of a pain and a lot of times they put you in a bad mood. This guy got out of his wheelchair and into the car. I went to pick up his wheelchair and I found it was no lightweight wheelchair. It was 50 pounds! Not that I can’t lift 50 pounds, I can lift 50 pounds easy but when you’re expecting 15 ponds it comes as a shock. I picked it up and put it in the back of the car and we started off.

I noticed that this gentleman had use of his arms and legs, but he had a colostomy bag and seemed he quite weak. I think this is the reason why he had the wheelchair. It seemed like a top line wheelchair and he said he got it from Thailand or something like that.

Anyway, we spent some time talking about his situation. He had been in a coma for almost 18 months. He said that it wasn’t really a coma because he could remember hearing everybody and knew exactly what was going on but he couldn’t respond and they called a coma. One thing was for sure, he couldn’t move anything, he couldn’t open his eyes and he couldn’t speak for that whole time.

During that time his wife decided to divorce him. She got a no-fault divorce and sold everything they owned. She used the money from the sale to purchase a home in Maine and moved there knowing that by doing this, he would be totally out of the picture.

When he came around, he couldn’t remember the 2 years of his life before the hospitalization. He couldn’t remember a lot of things and so he’s learning them bit by bit while he gains strength. This is why he was in the wheelchair and this is why I picked him up at the hospital. I took him to his friend’s apartment because he had no other place to go.

He said that his wife moved to Maine because that way she could keep the kids away from him. She’s in a small town in Maine and she’s getting ready to start a Satanic club for kids. She seems to be a piece of work.

He said she is working full-time to turn those kids against him and in his condition he has no ability to confront or object. This was his situation.

I listened to him tell his story and all I could feel was God saying, he needs to know that I love him. He needs to understand the atonement. I felt rebuked for being in a bad mood and not being more perceptive to the spirit and compassion that should accompany a member of the church. The spirit sternly warned me to “get in the game”. When he got done telling me these things and after I had heard these words in my heart, I started to speak.

I told him, you need to get close to God. If you are close to God, it will change everything and give you an opportunity to have your family.

I had wondered what religion he was and I didn’t think it really mattered at that point. I told him that Heavenly Father is our father and he loves us and we are hardwired to the feeling of his presence in our lives. I told him that we crave that feeling and it makes us feel whole and it makes us feel better.

I asked him what religion he was and he said, kind of non-denominational. I asked him if he believed in God and he said, yes, I do. I told him, God loves you. God wants me to say to you that he loves you and that he’s given his son, Jesus Christ, so that you don’t have to suffer as much. He looked puzzled and said what do you, mean by that?

By this time I was getting promptings of things to say so I started saying them. I said, that same spirit that you’re hardwired to feel and desire and crave is the thing that can bring you together with your children someday.

I said, as you change your life and embrace God and his son, Jesus Christ, that spirit will be around you and in your countenance. When your children come to see you, they will feel that spirit and desire to be in the presence of that spirit. They won’t even know what it is, but they’ll know that they like it and they’ll know that they want to be around it.

They’ll know that they feel good in your presence and therefore they will want to be around you. I said, I feel like they’re probably already pushing away from the lies and evil that their mother is doing. He said, yes they are. They ask me questions all the time about what’s going on with the things she’s doing.

I told him that the spirit had let me know that this was the case. I felt prompted by the spirit to promise him in the name of Jesus Christ, if he would do the things I say, if he will go to the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, talk with the bishop and do the things he says, the spirit will be with him. His children will not be able to deny that.

I told him that this is real and that God loves him and wants to help. I told him that God knows what he’s been through and he has given him help.

I said, the atonement of Jesus Christ was the greatest gift ever given, and the only way we can make it through life in one piece. I told him that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be made clean through repentance and then we can have Jesus lift our burdens so that we don’t feel them as much. I asked him if he would like to have Jesus lift his burdens. The spirit was very strong in the car. I asked him if he could feel that and he said yes.

I asked him why he hadn’t let me know that he was a member of the church. I asked him why he said that he was non-denominational. He said that his life had just been really messed up and he had lost some faith. I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the church and told him that the atonement was the way that he could put himself in the position that he needed to be in.

I told him that it seems to me like his wife was making accusations about him that could not possibly have been true because he was in his coma. I told him that I felt like that was weighing heavily on him. He said, that’s right, that’s exactly what is happening. He asked, how did you know? I told him that the spirit of God, the Holy Ghost whispered it to my heart. I said, you remember the Holy Ghost?

He said, yes, I’ve been feeling it in the car. I told him that this message is for him and that he needs to understand that God can lift him through these burdens. God can help him with his family and that the only way he can be happy is if he surrounds himself with the love of God and uses the atonement to heal his soul and his heart.

I told him that in the Book of Mormon, there was a people that were with Alma. I told him that they were captive. He told me he knew the story. I told him that those people called upon God and accessed the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told him that the result was that their burdens were lifted to the point that they could barely feel them. I asked him if that sounded like a blessing he would like to have. He said, yes

I told him that since Covid, I lost my job and things have been really tight but I have relied on the atonement of Jesus Christ. It has made the situation bearable and helped me be happy while I worked this job.

I told him that because I’m happy God has given me ways that I could serve him by testifying.

He said, I really appreciate your testimony because it’s made all the difference for me today. He said, no one has tried to help me. I asked him if he knew where his ward was and he said, yes. I asked him where he needs to be this Sunday. He smiled and said, at church. I asked him if he would promise me and the Lord that this Sunday he would go to church and talk to his bishop.

I told him to lay out the whole thing to the bishop and let him know what’s going on so that the bishop could help. I told him that part of the way the atonement might work in his case is through the bishop and the hands of others the Lord sends to bless his life.

He promised me that he would go. I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon and he said, yes. I asked him how long it had been since he read it and he said, years. In fact, he said he remembers stories from the Book of Mormon but he doesn’t remember reading it for those 2 years that he lost. I told him it’s time to get in the game, t’s time to read that book.

I told him that when he reads that book he will feel the spirit of God, the peace of God and the love of God.

I got out the car and got his wheelchair and got it set up and got him in it. He was ready to go, but I said, in the Book of Mormon, do you remember when they talked about, the fiery serpents that were venomous? He said, yes. I said, Moses lifted up a bronze serpent for everyone to look at. If they they had been bitten and looked at it would be saved, and if not, they would die.

I told him that horrible things happen to people in this life and he knows this better than most. I told him that what is happening is a spiritual battle as well. Satan is there telling everybody to blame God, leave the church and be angry! God is pointing to Jesus, the bronze serpent, and saying look to Jesus. I told him that if we look to Jesus, we will live.

He apologized to me for not saying that he was a member that church in the first place. He said, I failed that test. I could see the pain in his eyes and I said, well, now you know and it’s time to look at the serpent and live. He said, I will never deny it again. He said, I’ve never felt the spirit like this in my life that I can remember. He said, I know for sure that God sent you here today to lift me up and give me hope.

Once again he thanked me for my testimony and promised he would go to church, meet with the bishop, pray and read the Book of Mormon. He said, after all this despair, I see a light and a pathway forward. I should never have doubted and I will never do it again.

Sometimes we are wounded in our hearts, in our souls and in our bodies all at the same time. The only hope we have for a full recovery is the atonement of Jesus Christ. By the way, one thing I noticed was that the wheelchair was lighter when I pulled it out of my car. It’s all about our attitude and whether or not we’re looking to Christ.

One afternoon it was pretty slow and so I was a little bit more open to getting a ride that was outside of downtown. I got a ride up at the University of Utah Hospital going out to Magna. I figured I could do that if I turned off and went directly back into town so I wouldn’t get dragged all over the west side of the valley.

I went and picked up the young man. He worked at the University of Utah Medical Center and he was heading home at the end of his shift. The spirit indicated to me when I saw him I had that better get ready to go. A lot of times when you pull up on a situation where there are 10 to 30 people outside waiting for a ride you either have to call to recognize who they are or just sit there forever untill they recognize who you are.

As I drove up, I knew exactly who I was supposed to pick up. This is how I knew the spirit had chosen him. I knew that we were going to lift this young young man today.

We started to drive and talk a little bit about what he did at the hospital and it was pretty interesting. my mom is a nurse and worked in hospitals until her mission and then again after her first mission. After their second mission she put the nursing thing away, but I guess once a nurse always a nurse.

I talked to this young man about my exposure to medicine through my mom to establish some common ground. He seemed very interested and we chatted for a minute.

I turned to him and said, you know I’ve had some impressions of some things I’d like to talk to you about. Would that be OK? He said, go for it! I said, about God. He said, I love God, that would be awesome.

I asked him if he had lots of people he worked with who were members of our church. He said that he did. This was an interesting question because I had never asked him whether or not he was a member of the church, but I just followed the guidance of what was in my heart and started talking to him as if he were not a member of the church.

I asked him if he had ever wondered what the differences were between his religion and our religion. This is a question I like to use because it allows me to open up and talk about Heavenly Father and his love for everyone and aspects of the gospel that teach us more profoundly about his plan for each and every person to be able to come home.

My first thought was to teach him about the temple. I thought that this was strange, but I dove in. I asked him if he had seen or thought about what went on in the temples around the valley.

He said, yes, I know that they’re beautiful buildings, but I’ve always wondered. It doesn’t seem like they are the main place you go on Sunday for your meetings but they seem very important and they are very beautiful.

I said, in the temple, we find out that God has a plan to save everyone of his children if they will be saved and how he plans to do it. I asked him if he considered how many people in the history of the world had died without hearing about Jesus Christ.

He said, no, I hadn’t but now that you mention it, oh my goodness. I asked him if he believed that every person needed to be baptized to go to heaven. He said yes. He said that his church taught that.

I, at this time, had the impression that he was Catholic and I said, doesn’t your church even teach that if the baby is born and is not baptized that they can’t go to heaven if they die? He said, yes, but nobody really believes that.

I asked, do you want to know why you don’t believe that? He said, yes. I said, you don’t believe it because you believe that Heavenly Father loves you and he loves everyone just the same. It doesn’t matter where they lived or when they lived. I told him that I believed his understanding of God‘s love would preclude him from condemning a baby. I told him that God would’ve had to make a plan for that situation. He said yes, you’re right.

I asked him about somebody who’s mentally challenged. They can’t understand, should that person be condemned because they weren’t baptized? He said, no and no for the same reason. God loves everyone and that person should not be held responsible.

I asked him about the people that were born in India, Africa, and China thousand of years ago. I asked, what about them? Did they ever hear about Jesus Christ? Were they able to accept Jesus Christ? Was there an opportunity for them to be baptized?

He said, no! I asked him if it would be just for them to be condemned. I told him some of them maybe were very very very good people. Would it be just to condemn them? He said no, no it wouldn’t.

I asked him if an all loving God who loved all of his children would allow 90% of them to be condemned without an opportunity for salvation. He said, no. That’s not the God I know.

I asked him if there was a doctrine in his church that taught him about an opportunity for salvation for these and he said no.

I told him that after Jesus died, in the three days before he was resurrected, we are taught in Peter in the Bible that he went to the spirits in prison who had not had the opportunity to hear the gospel. I told him that Jesus went to them and taught them the gospel. He also organized the teaching of the gospel to everyone who dies without having the opportunity to hear the gospel on the Earth.

I told him that every one of God’s children will hear and be taught the gospel whether it happens on the earth or there in the spirit world. He asked me where it said that and I pulled out the scripture and we read it. He said, I’ve read the Bible, especially the New Testament and I’ve never noticed those scriptures.

I said, so now you know that everyone will be taught and know that Jesus is the Christ. He said, yes, I love that.

I asked my first question again, can they go to heaven without being baptized? He thought for a minute and said how are they going to do that.

I told him, that brings us back to the discussion on the temple. In our temples, we do work to save those people and give them the opportunity for exaltation and eternal life with God.

I told him that one of the things we do there is we are baptized for those people. They have the opportunity at that time, having been taught and with knowledge of the divinity of Jesus Christ, to accept or reject that baptism. He said, I don’t know what to say. That’s amazing. He said, literally every person then would be equal and have the same opportunity. I told him that this is correct.

I told him that a loving father would not condemn 90% of his children without giving them an opportunity to decide for themselves whether or not to come home. I told him that a loving father is always about saving his children, providing for his children and bringing them home safely. He said, that’s right, I believe that.

I told him, your father in heaven is a perfect loving father and he will do everything he can to get us home. He has prepared an opportunity for everyone. He said, that is amazing.

I told him that we are married and sealed in those temples. Marriages that are sealed are valid after this life through that marriage in that temple. I told him we have the authority given by Peter to do this. Peter was given the authority to seal things on earth that will be sealed in heaven, and we have that same authority. We use it in those buildings to seal marriages and seal children to their parents.

If a child dies, not only will they live with God, but the parents of that child have the assurance through their sealing in the temple that this child will belong to them and will be with them in heaven. I told him that God is all about families and we are all part of his family.

He said, those are really important buildings. I said, yes they are. I told him that they tie heaven and earth together. It’s where everything comes together. He said, I love that. They tell me I can’t go in. I said, because of how sacred those buildings are, we can only go in after we have become clean through baptism and repentance and are worthy to go. You have to show a recommend after an interview with your religious leaders. This is how we maintain the sanctity of the things that go on in that building. He said, I get that, but I would still like to see one.

I had a prompting right then. It said, “the Taylorsville Temple is still doing their open house”. I knew that had been going on for quite some time and I thought it was over. I’ve driven by there many times and haven’t seen very many cars out there lately. I decided to verify what the spirit and told me and I called my friend Gene.

Gene lives in that area and I put him on speaker. We asked him if the temple open house was still going on. He said, yes! It’s going on for another two weeks. In the backseat, my passenger said, that’s awesome. Do I need a recommend to go? My friend Gene said no. You don’t even need to set up a time because right now they’re being very lax and you can just go whenever.

We said goodbye to Gene and thanked him. My passenger said, I know where that temple is. It’s right off the freeway and it’s beautiful. I would love to go there.

He said, Thursday night is the night I have my church meeting but I think I might grab a couple of my friends and go there instead. He said, I have never contemplated the depth of the question of God‘s love like I have in the car today. I’ve never really seen everyone as children until this conversation.

I asked him what he was feeling, and he said he felt happy. I asked him to describe it to me. He said, I feel happy like I am just beaming. It’s like nothing can touch me. I’m so happy.

I told him this that was the spirit of God testifying the truth of the things that we had discussed. I told him that spirit of God always testifies of truth. I told him that when he felt this he knew that the things he was hearing were true.

I told him that because God loves us. He gives us prophets and they give us commandments. They write down those commandments and so we have the Bible. He agreed and said the prophets are really important.

I felt really impressed by the spirit to be bold right here about Jesus coming to America and so I did. I asked him, if God loves everyone in the world, why wouldn’t he have prophets other than just those in Israel? I asked him, if God loves everyone in the world why wouldn’t he give instruction, commandments and love to everyone else through prophets like he did in Israel?

I asked him why he would ignore everyone else except the people that lived in Israel. He said, that really doesn’t make sense. I told him that God had prophets in America and that they received revelations from him just like the prophets in the Bible. I told him that these prophets taught about and the people believed in Jesus Christ and that he would come to them.

I told him that they were baptized and worshiped the best they knew how. I told him that they were taught to look for the coming of Jesus Christ and they did. I told them that Jesus Christ appeared to them. He descended from heaven and stood on the steps of their temple.

I told him that the Bible says other sheep I have which are not of this fold and that he was going to go to them. I told him that these were some of the other sheep. As he stood on the steps of the temple the people touched the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet. They asked him to save them.

As a direct answer to that plea, he called up 12 and gave them authority to baptize and commanded that every single person be baptized in the way he taught and by that authority that he gave them. Even though they had already been baptized, he wanted to make a new covenant and have them take a step up to a higher level of discipleship. I told him that he blessed the people and their posterity. He blessed their children and he loved them because God loves everyone.

The spirit was filling the car and I could tell he believed everything I said through the confirmation of the spirit. I asked him, what are you feeling now? he said, really happy! I told him that’s the spirit of God confirming to him that this happened.

He said he heard something similar with regards to ancient America and people waiting for the return of a white God but he had no idea that this was Jesus Christ. I told him that there are legends, histories and archaeology the point to this but the important thing is that this points to the fact that God loves everyone. I told him that in America after Jesus taught the gospel and after he blessed the people, said, there were still other sheep he had to go because God sent his son to all of his children. God loves his children.

He said, I’ve never seen the love of God in such a way. I told him that because of the love of God, Jesus offered this new baptism, this new step up. Part of taking those steps up and that new level of discipleship is the temple and what we do there. It’s a very holy place.

He said, that makes sense. I love this, I love how I feel here in this car.

I told him that there was a prophet named Joseph Smith. He said, I’ve heard of Joseph Smith, didn’t he found your church? I said yes. I told him that Joseph Smith had been trying to find truth and that he went and prayed. God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet to restore the church on the Earth. He was given the same authority to baptize that Jesus gave to the people in the Book of Mormon. I told him that the coming forth of the book was this restoration. I told him that those records that were kept by the ancient American prophets were given to Joseph Smith by an angel, who had been one of those prophets. He gave them to him and told him to translate them into English. I told him that this young man with a second grade education, translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God.

I could see the spirit working with him as I testified of the Book of Mormon. Testifying of the prophet, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon always brings the spirit.

He said, so that is the Book of Mormon? I said yes. He said, I’ve always wondered what that book was about. I told him that it was about God‘s children and their dealings with him in another part of his vineyard. I told him that God loves all of his children. He said this is amazing.

He said. I’m going to have to go get one of those books because I’d like to read it. He said, I like to read. I’ve even read the Quran, but that didn’t make any sense. He said, this seems to make sense and it feels right.

I told him he didn’t have to buy one. I reached into my glove box and pulled out a copy of the book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists and handed it to him. I said, this is the Book of Mormon and he said I can’t take your copy. I said, I’ve got lots of copies. This is your copy and it has the questions of the soul that people ask all the time inside the front cover. The tabs take you to the answers to those questions. He looked at it for a second, then he said this means a lot that you would give this to me.

I told him that it was no accident that he was in my car today. I told him that God put him here so that he could receive this book and learn how to bring his family home.

Right then I had the impression to say, the last few minutes you’ve been thinking about a particular friend of yours who went on a mission. You’ve been thinking about asking him about this.

He said, yes, I have. How did you know? I told him that the Holy Ghost whispered it to me. I told him that he should take this book and go to that friend and tell him about our ride. I told him to tell his friend what he learned, show him that book but most importantly of all he should tell him how he felt right now. Tell him the truth you’ve learned because the spirit has let you know these things are true.

He said that he would see that friend on Sunday and he would do it. He said, I’ve got a full week now, go to the temple on Thursday and talk to my friend on Sunday. We pulled up to his house and he said, I can’t tell you how much this means. I’ve never felt this happy. It’s answered so many of my questions and even questions I didn’t know I had.

He got out of the car and went in the house.

These temple open houses can be a great missionary tool.

The other night I picked up a ride at the Mavrick Center after a concert. It took me a while to get in to the ride after three different police officers gave me four different suggestions on how to get to the spot I needed to get to. Sometimes it’s confusing and quite frustrating.

I pulled up to the curb and this woman was waving at me. She has my car description and license plate number plus a photo so she knows what she’s looking for. I have nothing so I assume that was her.

After she got in she just gave off a vibe of being very alone and unhappy. I’ve developed a sense by the spirit to sometimes recognize people who are members of the church that feel disaffected and a little bit upset. Generally it has to do with the misunderstanding of intentions or doctrine. One thing I know is that the doctrine of the gospel in its impurity should not make anyone that is a good person angry including this woman, yet that’s what the spirit was whispering to me about her.

We started driving and we talked a little bit about the concert for the first couple of minutes but this was a long trip to Herriman. I felt prompted to talk about her family with her even though that’s a big no-no . I started by asking her where she was from and she said, Orem Utah and asked me if i’d ever heard of it. I said, as luck would have it, I live in Orem and I coached football at Orem High School up until a few years back.

She said, I went to Orem High School but I got pregnant my senior year and so I didn’t have a great experience. Then she launched into her family. She said, I have four children from four different men. None of them like me. I said, I’m sure that’s not true. She went on to talk about her 19-year-old daughter who was a competitive cheerleader. She aid she spent thousands of dollars and drove all over the country to support her and she wouldn’t hardly talk to her.

I said, that’s kind of how it goes sometimes with mothers and daughters. It goes on for a few years but if you just continue to show your love she’ll come back to you. She talked about how her kids had all decided they wanted to live with their dad and it was quite depressing for her. I started talking about being happy and loving and then eventually that would bring them to her side.

She looked at me and said, I’m angry at you Mormons. I said why are you angry at us and why are you angry at me. I said that’s definitely going to affect my tip isn’t it and I laughed. She laughed too and she said, well it’s not personal but I just hate the way you all teach that I can never be with my children in the next life. She said, it makes me so angry.

One thing I knew from this discussion at that point was that she believed the church was true or it wouldn’t have had the power to make her so angry. I knew that on some level she knew it was true.

I asked her what she knew about her Heavenly Father, I wanted to find out what her relationship with him was. As I guessed, she didn’t have one per se. She said that she didn’t pray to God. She said that occasionally she prayed and talked to her mother who has passed. Her mother had been her friend and helped her with her children but had passed away several years ago

I told her that it was nice that she felt the presence and love of her mother but she had a father in heaven too. I told her, I knew you were a member of the church when you got in the car. I asked, did you have your records removed? She said, no! I said “still a Mormon then!”

She laughed and said, I guess so. I talked to her about our relationship with our father in heaven and how the spirit of God isn’t something we feel by accident or occasionally now and then. I told her that it’s meant to guide us and be with us and embrace us so that we can live our lives with God’s love.

I told her that the neat thing about the spirit is that when you have the spirit it brings peace to your life and others feel that and they want to be part of that. She said, I felt that since I got in your car. I felt relaxed and like I should talk to you. I said, that’s because I pray to have the spirit with me so that people will feel that way and feel the presence of their father in heaven . She said, mission accomplished.

I asked will you tell me what you feel in the car? She said, happy and peaceful. I said, do you like that feeling? She said, yes, I like being in your car. I told her that if she had the spirit with her, her children would feel that when they were with her and that bit by bit it would smooth out the rough edges of their relationships. It might take years but eventually they would be attracted to that because they would like how it feels.

I told her that everyone likes how that feels . We got so used to being in the presence of our father before we were born. Our spirits crave that recognize that and it’s like a magnet drawing us to him. I could tell that her countenance was changing as I looked in the mirror. She was a little bit emotional and said, how can I’d be sealed and have all my children with me.

One of the things I’ve come to understand about being sealed is that most parents think they’re going to be in heaven with their wife or husband sitting on a throne with their children around them . This is what they think of when they think of their family being sealed together. They don’t consider that they will be sealed to God and their spouse and so will their children. And while they will be family, they won’t be hanging out in the same house necessarily . They will all be serving God and working on their own progression at the different levels where they find themselves. I talked to her about this and asked her if she ever thought about that.

She laughed and said, I guess that’s right, they will be their own people. I asked her, that’s how you want it, right? She said yes. I told her that what she needed was faith in God that if she did what was right that everything would work out and it would be fine and just. I told her that the power of God and the power of Jesus Christ to save his children is incredible and that if she lived like she knew she should, God would work miracles in her behalf. I told her that with regards to them being sealed to her or not, she needed to trust God.

I told her that if she didn’t get them all sealed to her here on the earth, they would still be her children. I told her that if we all do what we need to do we will be there together. She said, that’s good because I don’t want to be in a place where my children can’t be. I told her they would have that opportunity and that if she did the things she was supposed to do that God would help them. I told her that the influence of a righteous mother is more powerful than almost any other influence.

I told her about Elder Holland saying that heaven wouldn’t be heaven if he didn’t have his wife and family with him and that God makes that possible. She said that she believes that is true. I said, see, you agree with an apostle! She laughed and said, I guess I do.

I told her that I felt like the problem she was having was that she put a shield around her heart and she wasn’t letting anyone in. She wasn’t letting God in and when anything would come her shield would smother it out or knock it away. I told her she was doing this intentionally and subconsciously and that it was very powerful. She said, I absolutely have a shield.

I told her to let God in so that he could warm her heart and this would change her countenance and change how others felt around her. I told her that eventually this would win over her children because they crave that love. They crave the love of God and the love of their mother. Again she was very emotional and she asked how do I do that? I said, tonight is a good start. You’ve allowed the spirit to penetrate your shield and touch your heart. She said, and it feels amazing.

Then I said, well, what do you think you need to do, what do you need to change, as you step forward. She asked what I thought she should do. I said, first you need to start with praying to your father in heaven. He is the one we pray to and occasionally you’ll feel the spirit of your mother but talking to her is not praying. We pray to our father in heaven. I said, that doesn’t discount that your mother might be there to help you through the tough times.

I told her that she needs to get right with the Word of Wisdom. This is something we had not discussed but I felt by the spirit that it was an issue even though she wasn’t impaired by any substances at the time. She said OK. I can make those changes

I said you need to go to church every Sunday. She said that’s going to be a tough one. I’ve gone to church and I think I burned my bridges there. I said, the good thing about going to church is that we’re all burning our bridges all the time and we all need to reconstruct the bridges every week. You need to go to church. She said, I don’t want to go to Relief Society. I told her that she should start by going to sacrament meeting, sitting in the back if she wanted and feeling the spirit. She said, OK. I said going to sacrament meeting will fill your tank. I told her as she got closer and closer to God there would be other steps to take but she had to go to God‘s house to take that first step.

I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said no. I pulled out one of my Book of Mormon copies prepared by the Secrists and gave it to her I said, here is your Book of Mormon. You need to read it every day. This one will start you out easy because there are tabs and questions that are marked and answered. They will teach you about God, how he is your father and how he has the same concerns for you that you have for your children.

I told her that her Heavenly Father loved her and he wanted her back and that he would help her gather her children. I asked her if she would commit to do the things I had asked and I repeated them;

Pray

Obey the word of wisdom

Go to church

Read the Book of Mormon

I told her that if she does these things that her children will be drawn to her and her example will bring them home. I told her that the gathering is not a rounding up but is a coming together by invitation. God invites us, we invite others and the power of God is the thing that brings us together. Trying to do it otherwise brings frustration and disappointment. This is what she had already experienced and she agreed. She promised that she would do these things.

I asked her what it was that she had felt in the car and she said that now she knew it was the spirit of God and that it had been years since she felt it. She then said, I’ve never felt it this strong. I told her that the spirit of God was there because it testifies of truth and that everything we had discussed was what God wanted her to hear today. He was validating these words. She said that she believed everything.

So if you live in Herriman and you see a lady pop up in the back of your sacrament meeting, run back and say hi and give her a bunch of love . That’s really what she’s looking for. She’s been through a lot but she wants to come home.

I think about the scripture from 3rd Nephi 10: 4-6 in the Book of Mormon where Christ talks about how often he has gathered his children like a hen gathers her chickens under her wings. This work is all about gathering us “chicks.”

One day I got a ride up at Primary Children’s Hospital. The nurse came out with a mother, about a two-year-old daughter, and probably 12 bags of food. These were plastic grocery bags and she filled the whole back of my car with them. We put her daughter in the car and then put the stroller they were using on top of the food. It was all packed really tight.

We started to drive out and I told her that I hoped it have been a good day but you never really can count on that when you pick people up at that place. She smiled and said, I know what you mean. It was pretty good, she’s not 100% better yet but we’re getting there.

The two year-old daughter looked kind of out of it and had fallen asleep before we were out of the parking lot. I think that’s how I must look when I’m tired.

I started to talk to her about her daughter and she said that her daughter was on the spectrum but that she had had pneumonia. She said it was really hard on her for whatever reason.

I could tell she was a good mother and the spirit told me that it was time to talk about church. I started trying to figure out a way to get into that conversation. First we were talking about the colleges in the area and then we were talking about how much college cost.

I said that I went to BYU. She said she had lots of friends from her work when she lived in Seattle that had gone to BYU. That was my in. I told her that for a private school BYU was very affordable. I told her the most private schools are $50,000 to $100,000 a year for tuition. I said that private schools are really expensive.

I said that, however, BYU is very affordable. I told her that members of the church pay around $9000 a year and nonmembers pay around $12,000 a year. She was astounded. She asked how it could be that inexpensive. I told her, we call the tithing scholarship in our house. I told her that each one of my kids had gone to BYU, and that this was the only way they could have afforded that education. The fact that the people in the church pay tithing and the church uses tithing to pay a large portion of what the actual cost is. It turns out to be about 70% to 80%.

She was impressed. She said, even the nonmember rate is much better than most in-state tuition. I said yes. I said, the members of the church really believe in education. I asked her where she went to church and she said that she didn’t really go to church but she was Catholic.

I told her that while she was here and living here in Salt Lake, she should look into our church the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. She said, I was just thinking about that yesterday. She said, I was thinking that I should do that.

She said, I think the closest one is down on 2100 S. given the fact that she lived just off 13th South I told her that I was sure that she wouldn’t be going that far to go to church. I asked her how well she knew the Catholic doctrine and she said she knew it pretty well. I asked her if she knew what the difference was between the Catholic doctrine and the our and the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. She said she didn’t.

I asked her if it would be OK if I told her some of the differences. She said she would love that. I started by saying a prayer in my heart to know exactly what this obviously frazzled mother needed to hear. The thought of a loving Heavenly Father came to mind and that worked for me. I love to teach that.

I told her that we believe that our father in heaven is exactly that. He’s not a detached God looking for revenge, but a loving father in heaven. A father, who wants to love us, help us and bring us home. I told her that we lived with him for thousands of years and he knows us and we know him.

As I started talking about my father in heaven, it felt very personal and the spirit filled the car. I could tell she was feeling it and loving it. We had arrived at her house and I could tell we had more time because her daughter was snoring.

I went a little more deeply into it. I said our father in heaven loves us, everyone of us, no matter where we were born, or when we were born. He wants us all to come home. I asked, what kind of a father would he be if he wasn’t trying to get everyone of his children home. She said, I really believe that.

I told, her we believe that because he loved everyone he didn’t just have prophets in Israel. I told her that God blesses his children by giving them commandments through his prophets. She said, so he would tell them what he wanted them to say to the people. I said, yes. God would reveal his word to his prophets, they would tell the people and they wrote them down. That’s why we have the Bible.

I told her there were also prophets in America and they did the same thing. I told her that they wrote the words of God, so that the people could be blessed, so that his children could be blessed and feel his love. She said, that’s beautiful. I said, these prophets in America prophesied of Jesus Christ and that he would come.

I told her that in the Bible, we know that Jesus Christ loved the people, blessed the people and suffered and died for all of us. I told her that we know in the book of Peter in the Bible, that while he was dead, Jesus went to the spirit world and taught the people. He set up the organization for the teaching of the people who had died and would die without having a good opportunity to receive the gospel.

I told her that our Heavenly Father loves all of his children and he wants everyone to be taught. She said, that is so cool.

I told her that after this, Jesus was resurrected on the third day. He taught his disciples and then he said “other sheep I have which are not of this fold”. He said that he was going to go to them. I asked her who she thought he was talking about. She said she didn’t know. I told her he was talking about the people who lived here in America. The people whose prophets had prophesied he would come. I told her that he descended from heaven, bright and brilliant and stood on the steps of the temple. I told her that the people touched the prints of the nails in his hands and asked him to save them.

I told her that in response and as an answer to that plea, he gave the authority to baptize and commanded that each one of them be baptized. Even though they had already been baptized previously he wanted everyone of them to be baptized to this new covenant, to this new level that he brought to them.

I told her that this new level of discipleship was really important. I said that in this new level of discipleship we are able to save not only ourselves but those who have passed on. I told her that through the teachings of the Book of Mormon, we understand that those who die before they are able to sin and or those who are unable to understand sin are saved through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Every one of them!!!! I said, that’s different than what you guys believe. Her eyes filled with tears and she said, I have never believed that they would go to hell.

She said, every time I was told that all throughout my life I knew it wasn’t true. I told her that the spirit has always born witness of the truthfulness of the atonement of Jesus Christ to her and that this atonement paid for those children. I told her that the original sin of Adam was paid for by Jesus Christ and that we are only held accountable for our own sins, once we are at the age and understanding to be able to commit them.

The spirit was intense. She was very emotional. I asked her, do you feel that? She said, yes! I said, how does it feel? She said, I can barely contain myself, it’s very powerful. I told her that it was the spirit of God. His spirit was there with us and it was there to testify that the things that I was saying were true.

I pointed out to her that she had felt it earlier in the car as I taught about the gospel and it testified then as well. She said, I don’t think it ever left.

I told her that the spirit helps us know God‘s will. The spirit helped her know, the baptism that Jesus gave, and this new level were of him and he expected that of all of us. She said she agreed. I asked her if she knew that this was true and she said yes. I felt that right then it was really important for me to bear my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.

I bore my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and about how ama young man with a second grade education translated the Book of Mormon as we have it today from a language he didn’t read, nor did he understand. I told her that he did it by the power of God and that there’s no other power that could’ve made that possible.

I told her that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that under the direction of Jesus Christ, he restored his church. Today we have a prophet and 12 apostles who teach us and bless us. They help us so that we can know how to come home to our father in heaven.

I told her that this new level included salvation for those who had passed on. I asked her if she remembered when Jesus went to set up the preaching of the gospel to those were passed on? She said yes. I asked her, do they need to be baptized? She said yes (in a questioning tone) I said, you’re right, they do need to be baptized unless they were under the age of accountability. I asked her how they could be baptized.

She said she had no idea. I told her that we go to our temples and we do what is called baptism for the dead. I told her we go there and we are baptized for and behalf of the person who has died. That person gets the opportunity to accept the teachings that they have received. I explained it a couple times and a couple of different ways because I didn’t think she was getting it. All of a sudden the light came on and she said I get it, you are baptized, but they are the ones that make the covenant and get the blessing. I said yes.

I told her it’s really important that we bless the people who have passed on, who are our family members. It’s very important that we help them come to Christ just like he invited us to come to him. She said, that so cool!

I said, in our temples we are also sealed, married for all time and all eternity. She said, is that just husbands and wives or is the family sealed to them as well? I said, husbands and wives are sealed. Their children are added to that sealing, and we are sealed for our ancestors, who have passed so that they can all have those blessings in the eternities.

She said, that is amazing. I said, these are some of the differences between our church and your church. I told her that our church has the fullness of the gospel. We have the plan of a loving father, making it possible for every one of his children to come home no matter where they were from or when they lived.

She said she liked that. I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said she didn’t. I reached into my glove box and pulled out one of the Book of Mormons prepared by Secrists. I gave it to her and explained the questions of the soul, and how to find the answers. I told her that this book was the book that was written by those prophets in America that lived here in ancient times.

I told her that if she reads this book she would feel the same feeling that we were feeling right now in the car. Again, I felt the prompting to bear my testimony. I testified of Joseph Smith. I testified of the Book of Mormon and that we have a latter-day prophet and apostles.

I asked her if it would be OK if I helped her find where her church was. She asked me if I was sure it wasn’t on 21st South and I said, I’m sure it’s not. I looked it up and it was only a block and a half away from her house. I asked her if she wanted to drive over there and she said yes. We drove over and she talked about how beautiful it was and how she couldn’t wait to go there.

I asked her if it would be OK if I had missionaries come over and teach her and help her get to church. She said yes but her daughter was just out of the hospital with pneumonia. She thought that she should wait until the following week to go. She didn’t want to expose her daughter to a whole bunch of germs. She asked if that would be OK. I chuckled and said absolutely.

I looked up the missionaries in the members Tools app. They’ve redesigned it and it’s a lot easier to use now. I quickly sent in her referral and was given the names of the missionaries. I called them.

Once I had them on the phone, I explained the situation and I mentioned that she would like to have them come over. I asked if I could give her my phone so that they could set a time. They said yes and I handed her my phone. One thing to note here is that she had not lived here very long so she didn’t have a phone that was operating yet so establishing this contact was important.

They set the appointment for the following week and decided that they would meet in the church house with a member sister.

To wrap it all up, everybody’s excited. She wants to be baptized and wants to go to church. That’s what I call a good ride!

One day I picked up a girl from work and was taking her to her home. On the way we talked about the church and I gave her a Book of Mormon. I didn’t feel like I could ask for personal information so I didn’t but I immediately started making a plan to find the missionaries in that area and point them to her door anonymously.

While I was driving around the block, after entertaining which ward she would belong to or which building she might go to, I got another ride that was close by.

It was another young lady that I was picking up from a preschool where she worked. When she got in the car I could immediately feel that she had a soft heart and was very approachable. The spirit was letting me know this before we even started talking. I knew that there had to be a reason and I knew what that reason would be.

I was taking her from Orem down towards BYU so I knew that she was a member of the church but also felt that she was unsettled and in some kind of distress with regards to her membership.

These are the things that the spirit began saying to me and they guided the next 10 minutes of our drive. After the standard pleasantries, I jumped right to tell her what I had been doing. I told her the story of the previous girl and that I’d been formulating a plan with regards to getting the missionaries to the previous girl. When I looked at her face in the mirror, she seemed shocked that I would talk about religion.

She said, you’re the first driver I’ve ever had that talked about religion to me. I told her it’s because we’re not supposed to talk about religion. Then I said that I felt like I was supposed to around her.

I told her a little bit about my story and that God puts people in my car like the young lady who had previously been in my car to receive a message.

Then I felt impressed to tell her that it wasn’t just nonmembers. Many times Heavenly Father will put a person in my car and I’m prompted to tell them things even though they are members. I shared a couple of my stories from my blog with her and told her that this happens quite frequently and that I always try to be close to the spirit.

I told her that there are a lot of members who go through the motions and fall into and out of activity because they are disillusioned, disaffected or upset. I told her that I get a lot of these people in my car, and I have an opportunity to help them focus on the important things. I told her that I get to testify to them of their Heavenly Father’s love and what the Lord would have me tell them.

I could tell she was very engaged in the conversation. She asked me what some of the things were that people were struggling with. I told her that with people her age a lot of times it has to do with the history of the church, the history of the leaders of the church, the doctrines and teachings of the church and nowadays many times young ladies are unsettled about their memberships because of their activism with LGBTQAI+ and other social justice issues. I told her that a lot of young people also struggle with the pressures of the expectations of society to participate in the debauchery that is rampant these days. I went with these issues.

She said that she could see how this might be a problem. I could see that she was one of these people. I looked at her in the mirror and she was engaged. Her eyes were wide open and she was leaning forward. I decided to go in with what the spirit was telling me right there at the time.

I told her, I believe Heavenly Father put you here for me to give you a message too. I told her that she had become inactive and that she was struggling with her testimony. I told her that she had found it difficult to stay active due to the judgments of others and that she was fighting back against her upbringing a little bit.

I told her that her father in heaven loved her tremendously and that I could feel it in my heart. I felt very impressed that the people in her ward and family had pressured her tremendously to serve a mission and because she hadn’t she had been ostracized. I told her that her father in heaven loved her and that serving a full time mission was not her responsibility. It was only an option and her father in heaven didn’t require it from her but that he loved her.  I told her I could feel this love and I wanted to help her feel his love for her. She had tears in her eyes and she said that this was a huge issue for her.

I talked to her about living with her father in heaven and that love. I talked to her about that being central in her existence from the beginning. As I talked about her Heavenly Father’s love, the spirit was undeniable in the car and you could feel it. It was touching both of us. I asked her what she would do to save a child. Where she worked with children this was a very very personal question to her. I didn’t even think about that when I asked it but that’s how she answered it. She said, I would do anything to save a child. I asked her if it was her child, is there anything that could keep her from trying to save that child and she said no.

I told her that was how her father in heaven felt. He loved his children and he wanted them to come home safe. I told her that  he gave us a savior, Jesus Christ. I told her that Jesus Christ taught us how to come home. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross for us then he was resurrected so that we could all come home.

I asked her what she thought about when I said atonement and she said, all of my sins. I asked her if the atonement had any other application other than the forgiveness of sins and she said she didn’t think so. She said that she’d always been taught by her parents and by everybody that the atonement was about repentance.

I told her that there are a lot of people that don’t access the full power of the infinite atonement, only the very important part regarding repentance.

I told her that when Jesus suffered for sins he also suffered for our infirmities, injustices, anxieties, and all the problems that we would go through. This is how he lifts us, how he gives us relief and makes it so that we can manage in life.

I asked her if she had problems with terrible anxiety. She said that she did. She said that she didn’t think anyone could possibly understand and she asked me how I would know that. I told her I knew that because the spirit whispered it to me, I told her that Jesus Christ suffered this for her so that she could look to him.

I told her that he understands and he loves her. He can lift her if she will learn about him and his sacrifice. I told her that if she would learn to trust him, he could help her through her issues of anxiety and other things.

I kind of got a laundry list in my heart of things to say right then. I told her I felt like she hadn’t gone to church in some while because of the fact that she felt that the people were very judgmental. We were sitting right by apartment number 54 and I looked up at that apartment and then said, how much time did you spend thinking about the people in apartment number 54 today? How much time did you spend thinking about the bad things that they do, or may have done or what they wore last time you saw them? She said,not a second.

I said, we’re all the same way. We are too busy to be very judgmental. I asked her how much time she thought that the people she thinks harshly judge her spent thinking about her that day. She said, I never thought of it that way, they probably didn’t think about me at all.

I said, that’s probably true. We don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about the people around us. She laughed. I said, Satan has whispered that in your ear. He’s whispered in your ear that these people are judgmental and that they don’t want you there.

I said, because of this you felt anxiety going to church. You’ve given room in your heart for Satan to convince you of this and because of that you haven’t been to church in quite a while. I said, I don’t think you’ve even been to church so far this year, have you? She lowered her head and said, no, I haven’t.

I told her that when she goes to church, Satan is going to whisper things like that but he whispers things like that to everyone. Anything that tells you not to go to church or anything that tells you not to pray is from Satan, not from God. It pushes you away from God because that’s what Satan does.

I told her, once you quit praying and going to church it weakens you and Satan can then lead you down other paths. I told her that when I was on my mission, I learned about the importance of taking the sacrament. I told her that especially the first of my mission I felt empty and tossed around by my mission. I told her that the only time anybody ever understood me was God when I was praying or when I was feeling the spirit. I told her that when I took the sacrament it filled my tank and that this is how it works.

I told her that we go to church to take the sacrament and have our tank filled so that we can have the power we need to fight Satan. His pressure is relentless and unless we have the power of God with us it is very difficult to do the right things and make the right choices.

She said, when you say it like that it sounds very clear. She said, I was raised in a very strict religious home and they didn’t explain anything to me. I said, your parents love you and it’s the opposite of being judgmental. They just want you safe. They see you as their child in a dangerous situation and out of their love for you they tried to hold on to you. I said, it looks like being overbearing  and it may be to you but to them they are just trying as hard as they can.

She said, I talked to my dad yesterday. He said that he was praying for me and that he loved me. She said, he really doesn’t know how to talk to me so that makes me think that what you just said is true. I told her that the most important thing is that he loves her and he was praying for her.

I told her she wouldn’t be the first person to be put in my car because their father was praying for them. I told her that her father has a lot of fears for her safety and that Heavenly Father knows how hard it is to be a parent. When her father prays to Heavenly Father with faith, Heavenly Father listens.  I could feel the rush of the spirit when I said that and I asked her if she felt it and she nodded fervently and said, yes I do.

I said, back to the thing about praying. I kind of feel like it’s been a couple of years since you’ve prayed. You quit praying and then everything got worse with regards to the anxiety and everything. Then you left the church.

She said, it’s kind of amazing, you hit that right on the head. I thought I could skate through without you knowing that but clearly our father in heaven didn’t have that plan.

I told her that Heavenly Father misses her and wants her back.  He wants her to pray so that they can communicate just like her father had wanted to talk to her the day before, to communicate with her. I said, the good thing about that is your father in heaven is perfect and that if you’ll develop that communication, it will be perfect as well.

I told her that when she prays she should pray until she feels the communication. She said, well a lot of times I just don’t feel like I should pray. I said, it helps us to know that the Book of Mormon teaches us that whatever teaches or inspires us not to pray is not of God, it’s of Satan. Satan is the one that makes you feel self conscious when you pray. Satan is the one that makes you feel weird when you pray. Satan is the one that tells you there’s nobody there listening to you. Satan is the one that tells you that your prayers are never answered and none of that is true.

I told her that with regards to judging, if anyone IS judging, they are committing a sin. I told her that just as she expects other people to be tolerant of her sin and loving of her regardless of her sin, she also needs to be tolerant and loving of these people who sin against her. I told her about a person that has a problem with me in my ward and my plan is to go up and tell them I love them and I just want them to know that and if there’s anything that I can ever do for them to let me know. She said, that would disarm the whole situation.

I told her to go up to these people put her arms around them and say, I love you and I think you’re a great example. I think that would change everything. She said, this is a great way to look at it. I need to do that.

I asked her about the spirit she was feeling, the emotions in her heart and what it meant about the things that I was saying. She said that it meant that the things that I was saying were true.

I told her that when she feels the spirit she knows that the things she’s hearing are true. I told her, that’s how God reaches out. I asked her again to identify what she was feeling and she said she was feeling an amazing amount of peace and joy. I told her that this is how she felt in the presence of God in the preexistence and that this feeling is what she should look for. I told her that this is how God would confirm to her the truth.

I told her that I believed that she had not understood that she had ever received a testimony by the spirit. I told her that this is a common thing. Many people grow up in the church around the spirit and feeling the spirit without understanding what it is.

They want a huge emotional outpouring or manifestation. It doesn’t always come like that. I told her that what she was feeling right now was the spirit of God and it was confirming these things and that now she knew that God confirmed them to her. I told her that in the past she had justified leaving the church by saying that she didn’t have a testimony and had not received a witness.

I told her that from now on, she couldn’t say that, because now she knew and I knew that she knew.

We’d been sitting in her parking lot for quite a few minutes at that point and I said, well, I need to get you out of here but I want you to know that your father in heaven knows who you are. He loves you and want you back. I told her that nobody is judging her anymore than she is judging the people in apartment 54. I told her that she needs to make a move here because this is the time.

I felt prompted to bear my testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, so I did. It came with power and I could tell it touched her heart. She said, I know that’s true. I’ve heard those words so many times before but today they resonated in my heart.

I asked, well, now that you have this new understanding that has been confirmed by the power of the spirit what is your next step? What do you need to do? What action do you need to take?

She said, I need to go back to church. She said, I can’t believe I let myself go like that. She said, I need to quit judging others like my parents and other people whom I have perceived to be judging me.

She said, I will go to church this Sunday. She said, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I asked, just this Sunday? She said, no, I am back, you’ll see.

She smiled and then got out of the car and went into her apartment. It’s good to know she’s back.

—-update——-

At the end of last year, I gave a ride to a young man and wrote a story about it. Yesterday was his baptism day and I was fortunate enough to be asked to participate. Here is a picture from the baptism and I am including a link to that story below. 

Hurrah for Israel!!!

If any of ye lack wisdom let him ask of God

I was up by the mountain east of I-215 one day and I got a call to pick up a man. He came out of the house and got in the car and we started talking.

He was an actor in town filming a movie about the aftermath of a school shooting. He had been here for about six weeks and had about a week left of filming here in Utah.

I asked him what he thought about Utah. He laughed and said it was lot different than he thought it would be. I asked, what do you mean? He said, well, at first I confused the Mormons and the Amish. He said since he’d been here, he’d learned how silly that was. He told me that he really enjoyed the Mormons that he had been associated with and admired the peace that they seem to experience in their lives.

I asked him why he thought that there was a different feel. Why he thought they had that peace. He said he didn’t know but that he felt like he wanted to keep that when he left but he didn’t think it was possible. I asked him what he would say if I told him it was possible to take that peace with him. He told me that he would love that. He said, would you share that with me?

How could I refuse?

As soon as he said this I felt the spirit and knew that the Lord would give me the words to say.

I told him it’s because the people here believe in God. I told him it’s because the people here, many of them, strive to keep the commandments of God.

I told him that the peace he felt was the spirit of God and as I spoke the car flooded with the spirit. I asked him if he could feel it and he said, yes. I told him he could take that with him. He asked how?

I asked him if he’d ever heard of the Book of Mormon. He said he’d been to the musical several times. I told him that didn’t count and we laughed. I held up a Book of Mormon and I said, this is the Book of Mormon. I asked him if he knew what the Book of Mormon was about. He said no. I told him it was an ancient record of prophets who lived in America. I asked him if he thought it would be possible for God to love, lead and guide all of his people, not just the ones in Jerusalem and he said, yes. He said that’s exactly how he thought it was supposed to be but that to him the Bible had seemed to become kind of exclusionary.

I told him that the Book of Mormon testifies that God loves all of his children not just the ones who lived in Jerusalem. I told him that the Book of Mormon also teaches that Jesus visited America and other people in the world. He said, I’ve always believed that. He said, my ancestors in Africa love Jesus just as much as anyone else. Why wouldn’t he visit them? I said that I personally believe he did.

I opened third Nephi, chapter 16 and read to him the first three verses. We discussed Isaiah mentioning that God would visit his children, the house of Israel, who were in Kush. I asked him if he knew where Kush was and he said, yes! That was the first great empire in Africa. I said yes. I asked him if he thought it was possible that some of those other sheep may have been his ancestors and he said, yes!

I said, this book testifies that God went to his other sheep wherever God had sent them. He said that this made more sense to him than anything else he had ever heard in Christianity. I told him it’s because the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel. None of it has been taken out. It comes straight from God to us. I felt prompted to ask him what he felt right then and he said that the peace just keeps getting thicker. I thought that was an interesting observation and description.

I told him that the reason why I believe his family loves Jesus so much is because their spirits remember this connection. There was stunned silence. He said, this is a good point.

I told him that Joseph Smith was looking for for the truth and he couldn’t find it. He went to the Sacred Grove and knelt to pray. I told him that God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be the prophet. They called him to restore the church of Jesus Christ and its full teachings including the Book of Mormon which he translated from the plates. These plates were engraven by the prophets who wrote them in ancient America. He loved that. I asked him if he was still feeling the spirit, the peace and he said yes. I asked him why God would give him that if it wasn’t true.

I asked him if God would trick him and he said, no God deals in truth. I told him that is how he knows that this is true. I told him that as he reads the book he needs to be aware that if he follows that spirit it will lead him to baptism. Once he’s baptized he is cleansed of all of his sin. He can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and that’s how he can take the peace with him. He said, that’s amazing!

He asked me if he could have a copy. I said, you can have this copy and I gave it to him. He loved that it had the colored tabs and that he could look up the questions and the answers to the questions of the soul from preach my gospel. He said, I love to read and I promise you that I will read this book.

He told me that he had a friend from the movie that was a member of the church. He said his friend had been a missionary once. He said he thought he would bring this up with him.

It was amazing to see the Lord reach out and touch this young man who is clearly brought here not to make a movie but to receive a book

I picked up a kid in Midvale and was taking him out to Magna. He got in the car and we started talking about what he did for a living. He was a barber. He told me he really liked his job but that his life had been pretty troubled lately.He said that he had lots of stress and problems and that it just seemed like sometimes it was overwhelming. Right then he was going out to visit his mom. He talked about the stress and how he didn’t know sometimes how he could do it.

He was currently living with his girlfriend and things didn’t seem to be going well. This is when I was prompted that he was a less active member of the church. He just seemed lost to me. Lost in sin, lost in his relationship and lost in life.

I asked him about his relationship. I asked him to tell me what he wanted out of it. He told me he wanted to be there for his girlfriend and his kids when he had kids. He was afraid that life would rip their family apart like all of his friend’s families. He asked me how you can make a marriage last. I told him that there was only one way that I knew of and that was understanding how to forgive and be forgiven.

I asked him if he was a member of the church and he said no. I knew immediately that this was not true but he was another one of those people that quit identifying themselves as a member of the church. I think they do this because their sin makes them feel separated from the church. They tell themselves they’re doing it because they really want to fit in with and fear the judgment of those in the great and spacious building. They deny who they are very loudly in an effort to cover up that constant voice that calls them back.

I told him that as the husband or father of the family there’s really no one standing around to give you atta boys and pick you up. The only way to make it through with your heart intact and your family together is by embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the atonement. I told him that through Jesus Christ the stresses, challenges and burdens could be made light.

I was prompted that he was going through a tremendous amount of pain and that he had previously gone through a tremendous amount of pain in his life. I asked him to tell me about the pain he had gone through. He told me about a couple of relationships and how his trust had been shattered and abused. He felt like he was damaged and he could never have or find the right situation.

I told him that bad things happen but that if we are looking to Christ and his atonement he can be there for us. I told him, “I know you’re saying that you’re not a member of the church but I feel like you are, why did you say you weren’t”. He looked surprised and asked, how did you know that? I told him that the spirit told me. He said, to answer your question I guess it’s because I don’t live it.

I said, that’s why God puts people in your life that can help you live it and can pick you up along the way. He gives us apostles and prophets. I talked to him about Elder Renlund’s talk from April 2021 conference about the atonement and how none of us get through this life without having to go down that road and understand the greatness of that sacrifice. We all need to access that to be happy. I talked to him about Elder Holland‘s talk from that conference as well and texted both talks to him.

These have to be two of the finest talks given in conference on the atonement in my opinion. Not just details of the atonement but the application of the atonement in our lives as a tool to overcome adversity.

I then asked him, why are we going to Magna? I had an intense curiosity that I think was brought on by the spirit. He said, my mother is sick and I’m going out to take care of her. He said that she was not doing very well. I had the prompting to ask him what her view on life was. He said she was happy and he didn’t understand why. He said her relationship had failed and she was happy, her children had bailed on her and she was happy, she was sick and dying and she was happy.

I told him that she understood what Elder Holland and Elder Renlund were saying in these talks and that brought her peace and happiness. I told him that she had hope for him and that she was praying for him and that’s why I was here talking about these things. I told him that she prayed him into my car. I told him that she saw something in him that he didn’t see in himself and that she knew God could touch his heart.

I looked back and God was touching his heart. You could see in his face that he was engaged and his heart was being softened. I asked what he did with his mom when he went there. He said they sat and talked. I asked him to take those talks and sit with his mom and discuss them with her. I told him that if he did that, he would understand his father in heaven‘s love for him and he would see that in her life as well.

I asked him if I could bear my testimony and he told me to please do so. I bore my testimony of Joseph Smith and how he felt lost and confused. I told him that I knew Joseph Smith went to the Sacred Grove and that God the father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. I told him that the Book of Mormon was the word of God and that it was translated by the power of God.

I told him that if he would read the Book of Mormon he would hear the voices of his ancestors pleading with him to come to Christ. I told him that the prophets in the Book of Mormon prayed that it would be preserved for him and that he would feel the power if he would read it and pray.

The spirit was strong, he was crying and apologizing for it. He said, I just don’t cry. I said, the spirit brings emotions to the surface that we’re not used to feeling if we haven’t been close to the spirit. When you feel that, you know that God is with you and that he is telling you that what you were discussing is true or what you are hearing is true.

He said, this changes everything. I need to do what it takes to have this in my life. When you say those things, this feeling that I have in my heart right now tells that it’s true. I asked him to describe that feeling and he said it was euphoria and it felt like his heart was going to explode. I told him to remember that feeling and keep that memory with him. It would give him a light and indicate the way back.

I told him that power would transform his life if he would allow it to. It would improve all of his relationships, not just his relationship with God. I told him that if he would take this seriously, God would lift his burdens and walk with him. I told him that this is what his mother was praying for and that she was a woman of tremendous faith.

He said, you don’t know the half of it. She prays nonstop! I laughed and said, someday when you’re a parent you will understand. You also need to understand that your father in heaven is a parent and he wants you to obey so he can bless you. God loves you even more than your mother loves you and he wants you to be happy.

I could tell that impacted him. I asked him what he would be willing to give up to have that kind of peace and joy. He said, if I could get that I would be willing to do anything. I said, do you mean that? He said yes.

I told him to remember that God doesn’t give us commandments to make us feel trapped. He gives us commandments to make us free, free from sin and free from pain. He gives us his son to lift us above those things and that all we need to do is look to Him. He gives us commandments and one of those commandments has to do with being married before you live with your girlfriend. Another says you need to go to church. When you live those Commandments you will feel his love and you will be lifted and blessed.

I told him if he meant that then it was time for him to make a decision about his girlfriend. He needed to change that relationship to fall in line with the commandments of God. I told him that God didn’t care whether he got married or moved out but that they had to get on the same page with God or God could not bless them in that relationship. I told him that if God wasn’t in that relationship that they had to do it all by themselves and I don’t see how that’s possible these days.

I asked him to tell me what he thought about what we discussed. He told me that he knew it was true. I asked him what he knew about the Book of Mormon that he didn’t know before. He said he knew it was true. I asked him what that meant that he needed to do. He said that it meant that he needed to go in and read those talks with his mom and figure out how to make those changes to get his life on track. I told him, I think she’ll help you. He smiled and said, I don’t think anything would make her more happy.

I told him, you know that this is what your mother has been praying for. He said, yes, she always gets her way. He smiled, thanked me and got out of the car with a spring in his step and ran upstairs to his mother’s apartment.

Here are links to the talks by Elder Renlund and Holland from April 2021

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/25renlund?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/23holland?lang=eng

I picked up a man headed home from his friend’s house. He lived in Rose Park and was of African descent. I normally would not indicate that because it doesn’t matter except for in his story it does. This part of Rose Park is a rough area and he seemed to be a bit rough as well and a little roughed up too.

We started driving down the road and chatting about history. We both lamented the fact that there are people that want to erase history. The Taliban had as its first order of business erasing the history of the people so that there was no history taught about things before the Taliban. Karl Marx espoused the same philosophy. We discussed that.

I told him I thought that it was stupid and horrible for people to destroy history because that’s what we learn from. I told him about the Mormon pioneers and how there had been an extermination order. I told him that many died along the trail to Utah and some were killed before they left. I told him that they went through hardships that were unjust and wrong.

I told him that in remembering those people and what they suffered we are able to honor them by living in a righteous way and doing what our father in heaven would have us do.

This young man obviously was a descendent of slaves here in the United States and I mentioned to him that his ancestors suffered unimaginable pain and indignity but that by living a great life lifting others and following God he could honor them.

He said that he totally believed that. I felt the strong impression to let him know that God loves him and that he needed to quit listening to the voice telling him that he wasn’t good enough, that he didn’t belong and that he would never measure up. I told him that’s why he had backed away from faith because he felt uncomfortable trying to measure up, all the while hearing these voices tell him that he wasn’t worthy of God’s love.

I told him that wasn’t true. I told him God was his father and he loved him. The Spirit of God was amazing in the car when I said that. He noted it and said, man that feels good. I said, it’s the spirit of God and his spirit is here because the things we said were true. He said, I know that true.

I told him that his Heavenly Father loved him and that he had sent his son, Jesus Christ, to make it so that he could come home. I asked him, did you know that Jesus came to America? He said, no! I told him about Jesus coming to America. He descended from heaven pure and bright. The people touched the prints of the nails in his hands and knew that this was their God. I told him, then Jesus said still other sheep I have which are not of this land or the land of Jerusalem and I have received a commandment to go to them.

I asked him, where else do you think he went besides America and Jerusalem? He thought for a minute and said, I don’t know, I suppose the rest of the world? I told him that in Isaiah it mentions that he would go to Europe, Asia, the isles of the sea, Pathos and Kush. I asked him if he knew where Pathos and Kush were. He said, yes! Pathos was the kingdom of northern Africa and Kush was the great kingdom of Africa.

I told him that when Jesus was in America he blessed them, he taught them, he blessed the children and he loved them. I asked him, if Jesus went to Africa what do you think he did there? I told him that he blessed them, loved them and taught them just like he did in America.

I told him that if he reads the Book of Mormon he will be able to know exactly what happened when Jesus went to Africa like Isaiah prophesied because God loves all of his children. The spirit was very strong as I testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. As I testified he said, I have one I’m going to have to read it I guess. He said I’d love to get this new information.

I had the impression to tell him that God loved him and that even though earlier in his life he felt forsaken, God had never left him and had helped him through.

I told him that he had felt betrayed, bitter, taken advantage of. He had suffered injustice and abuse. I told him he felt helpless and no one came to the rescue. I told him that God was there and he’s the reason he made it through. It’s interesting when the spirit testifies about something like this. You say the thing that god gives you to say, yet you have no knowledge of it or no way of knowing it but the spirit testifies of your words as you say them.

The spirit indeed testified of God‘s love for the man and the truthfulness of what I had said. It validated the words that he gave me to say. This young man said, that’s powerful. He said that he had hoped in his life he would be able to learn from the things he went through and help other people and lift them.

I told him that one of the most important things to know was that we never suffer alone if we look to Jesus. He suffered every pain and injustice imaginable so that we wouldn’t need to be stopped or stifled by the pain and indignity of these things. What he suffered was unimaginable but he did it for us, if we look to him. Then he was crucified and later resurrected so that each of us can look to him for help in rising above our trials and having new life.

I told him that this was completely possible for him. I told him that God would want him to lift other people. I asked him what he thought about me discussing his past without having any knowledge beforehand. He said, frankly I’m wondering how you got that information.

I told him that when we’re baptized we are clean and we get the gift of the Holy Ghost That gift gives us the ability to receive revelation and promptings from God so that we can speak his words and represent him. He said, so you’re getting it from the source! I said, yes I am. He said, there’s no other way you could’ve known these things.

I told him that baptism is a beautiful thing because when we are baptized we are cleansed from our sins, we’re clean inside and out 100%. I told him that is an amazing gift and he agreed that it would be. I asked him if he would like that and he said yes.

I told him that once you’ve been baptized and you get the gift of the Holy Ghost, God can lead you and guide you in helping other people. The spirit was almost overwhelming and I called it to his attention one more time. He said, this is incredible. I asked him, so what does that spirit feel like? He said he felt happy and energetic. I told him, that’s the spirit of God. It makes him happy, it makes him want to be better and it makes him want to serve others. I told him that it also testifies of truth. I asked him if he believed that the things I had said were true and he said yes.

I asked him if he sees missionaries ever around in his neighborhood. I happened to know that they live about five doors down. I knew what the answer would be and he said yes, he sees them all the time. I asked him if he would do me a favor and promise me that he would go talk to those missionaries. He said, yes. I asked him to go up to those missionaries and tell them about what happened to us in the car that day.

I asked him if he had read the book of Mormon. He said that he hadn’t. I reached into my glove box and grabbed one of the copies of the book prepared by the Secrists and gave it to him. I told him that this book testifies of Jesus Christ. I told him that this book would bring him closer to Christ and help him access the power of Jesus Christ and his atonement so he could apply it in his life.

He reached out and grabbed the book and looked at it for a minute. I said, do you want that book? He said, can it do for me the things you said it would be able to do? I said yes. He said, of course I want this book. I said, it yours.

I bore my testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon and the prophet, Joseph Smith.

I asked him how he felt about that and he said he felt like what I was saying was true. I told him that I learned that by reading this book. I told him to take the book and read it every day. I told him he should pray about the book and develop a relationship with his father in heaven.

The spirit testified of the truthfulness of what I was saying and I knew that he felt it. We were both basking in the spirit and the ride had been over for 10 minutes.

He lingered for a while longer and said that he really hated leaving the car. He shook my hand and said, it feels like I need to get busy. I’ve got some things I need to learn and some things I need to do. He said, I need to talk to those missionaries. He got out of the car and walked away.

On this Easter I want to say that I believe that Jesus Christ made this all possible and that is what Easter is about to me. It isn’t about whether we can come home or that we should come home, it is about HOW we can come home. He is the way and we need to bury our past lives and rise with him, even if we have been roughed up. The tomb is empty and a new life awaits.

Happy Easter.

One Friday night Heather and I had just got done with the volleyball game and we’re hanging around at home for a while. It was late and I needed to go out to work. I thought about just staying down in the Provo area and even turned left instead of right coming out of our street but felt impressed to go to Salt Lake instead.

With only about three hours left to work, spending 40 minutes driving to Salt Lake didn’t seem like a great idea but thats where I decided I was supposed to go. I drove a few people around Salt Lake. It was snowing that night and people that would normally walk were taking little short rides which works very well for me.

I had the opportunity to take a couple of longer rides but I opted for shorter rides because I didn’t want to take long rides.

We were in the middle of the night time closing rush and I got a long ride opportunity. I’d been turning those down all night and thought to turn this one down too but felt impressed to take it. I had the thought that this was the reason why I was there in the first place. I took the ride.

I pulled up to the establishment where I was to give the ride and three guys got in my car. They were speaking a language I didn’t understand so I asked them where they were from. Some people get really offended when you do that and they say California, Arizona or something like that.

These guys said California and Arizona. I said, oh I’m sorry. I like to learn how to say hello and thank you in the languages of the people who are in my car. The two guys in the backseat apparently didn’t speak English but the guy in the front seat spoke really good English. I didn’t recognize the language they were speaking, so I thought I would ask what language it was. At this point, the person was still trying to be offended. He decided to test me. He said, how many languages can you say hello or thank you in? The guys in the backseat couldn’t understand what was going on in the front seat and they weren’t participating. They continued their chatter in their own language.

I said, other than English I think it’s 20 but I’m not sure. He said well, let’s go. Tell me the languages you can do that in and say the words. Before you start, I’ll teach you how to do it in my language. He said, we speak Armenian. He taught me how to say hello. It was not easy.

Then it was my turn, I started rattling off hello and thank you in the languages I know and he started counting them. Occasionally he would chime in with one that he knew. It didn’t take long for me to realize that he had an affinity for languages as well. This icebreaker with him turned into a conversation.

The last one I said was aloha and mahalo. He said, I love that one! I normally wouldn’t count that one or even say it but I felt like I should, and he lit up. He said, that’s 20 and you ended on my favorite. I asked, why is that your favorite? He said, I used to live in Hawaii.

I asked, why did you live in Hawaii? He said I went to school there. I asked, did you go to the University of Hawaii or Chaminade? He said, no, I went to BYU Hawaii. It’s always a little bit disappointing when you pick up a former BYU student from a drinking establishment but I’ve learned to take it in stride and understand it as an opportunity for discussion.

He said, I went for one semester to BYU Hawaii. I asked him where he went other than that semester and he said BYU Idaho. I told him that going from Idaho to Hawaii must have been a shock, but the greater shock probably was the weather shock. He laughed and said, that’s why we went there. We wanted to escape the winter.

I said, you went with friends? He said yes! I went with several friends of mine and my girlfriend and her friends as well. I asked, do you mind me asking how you go from being a BYU student to me picking you up at that place tonight? He put his head down and said, yeah, that’s fine.

He started telling me the story about how he had a girlfriend and he really liked her. When they went to Hawaii things got a little weird and he didn’t know why. He and his guy friends wondered what was changing with those girls.

He said that after a month and a half they started following them out at night. They found out that the girls were slipping out to the navy base and were being casual and physical with the sailors. He said, the sailors did what sailors do. The girls would go over every Saturday night and then go to church on Sunday. He said, it killed something in my heart.

He said to me it, dirtied them and it dirtied the church due to the fact that they were showing up in full participation after that kind of activity week after week after week.

He said that after the semester was over he dropped out of school and quit going to church. This was a lot of information. I prayed to know how to answer the question that wasn’t even being asked. I said, why in the world would you let some girl dictate what you do or how you exercise your beliefs.

I said why in the world would you allow some person that doesn’t really care for you dictate your relationship with God? I said, do you think those girls have spent 30 seconds since you last saw them thinking about whether or not you’re going to church? You’re not punishing anyone or making a statement to anyone but yourself and your father in heaven.

I realized that sounded bold but I felt that I needed to call him out on that a little bit. I said, it’s true that they sinned and did things they shouldn’t have done. It’s also true that you let the actions of somebody else dictate your progress with your father in heaven.

He said, well, I still know the church is true. I asked him if knowing the church is true is the same thing as being converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. I told him about Elder Bednar, where he discusses this very topic about how the Anti-Nephi-Lehies at first believed but when they were converted to the Lord Jesus Christ, they were willing to suffer death, rather than dishonor the covenants that they had made.

I said, you may have a testimony but we need to work a little bit on your conversion. He was silenced. I said, you need to have such a firm commitment and burning in your soul of the veracity of the church that nobody’s actions or words will have the ability to sway you from that belief. This includes the actions subsequent to those beliefs, including fulfilling, the covenants you’ve made.

I felt very strongly prompted to bear my testimony of the love of our father in heaven and of Jesus Christ. I testified of Joseph Smith, the first vision and the truth of the Book of Mormon. As I bore this testimony, he started to crumble in his seat.

When they started out the ride, he was sitting tall and kind of aggressive with me. Now he had collapsed in his seat and he started to cry as I bore my testimony. I could feel the spirit there and I asked him if he could feel that. He said, yes. I asked, what does it feel like? He said it feels like a long lost friend. I told him, that is your father in heaven and that is the spirit of your father in heaven.

I told him that he didn’t intend to apostatize or leave the church but that faced with tribulation instead of embracing God, he had blamed God and his church.

I told him that he had thought that he could get to heaven on his own and that all he had to do was pray. I received the very distinct impression that this was a very prayerful man and that he prayed often.

I told him, you pray often to your father in heaven and that has not changed. If anything it’s increased but you’re not listening when you pray. You’re not reading the Book of Mormon and you’re not going to church.

I told him that the question he had is, why do I have to go to church when everybody there is so fake? I said, that’s your question, isn’t it? He said, yes. I told him that the church is where sick people go to get better and they are not the perfect people as the aspired to be and neither was he as evidenced by where I found him tonight.

I told him that when we go to church the focus is on God. We prepare to go to church, we repent, and we go to take the sacrament. I told him that if somebody takes the sacrament without repenting that it’s just bread and water. They’re not renewing a covenant and it doesn’t damage anyone else in the room.

I told him that what does damage you is when you don’t take to sacrament. I told him about when I was on my mission and I was struggling and it was hard. I didn’t speak the language. My companion didn’t like me and I was miserable. When I took the sacrament it filled my tank and lifted me. The spirit pointed me to my purpose and let me know that this spirit was what I had to offer the people. It let me know that this is what they needed to feel, this communion with God and the ability to have his spirit in their soul.

I told him that he hadn’t had that because he quit going to church. As a result he felt lost because of this he had wandered into forbidden pathways. He had made bad decisions and he was blaming other people. I told him, you can’t blame other people. This is on you. Everybody makes mistakes but you have to be willing to worry about your mistakes and not other people’s mistakes. They’re not talking about you, they’re not worrying about you, so you have to worry about you. You have to take care of you and the way you do that is you come to church, you take the sacrament and you renew that covenant with your father in heaven.

He was crying, visibly and audibly. The spirit touched him and had prompted me to be bold and even plain with him in the words that I used. It’s not a highly suggested approach to one’s customers!

I told him, furthermore, the kind of woman you’re looking to marry is not the kind of woman that you’ll find in that bar where I picked you up tonight. That woman in that bar tonight is someone that will lead you further away, not closer, to God. The woman you will find that will help you and bless you will be found in church.

A little bit earlier we had talked about how the ladies these days in the bar scene are very promiscuous and aggressive. I asked him if that’s the kind of woman he wanted to have as the mother of his child. I asked him if he wanted a woman who had been shared by many men and he said, no.

I said, so why are you looking for the woman you want in that environment? Satan has convinced you to go there but all you meet with is disappointment. He has told you that you were disappointed at church too, in an attempt to pull you away into his trap.

We pulled over and let his friends out at their apartment and continued onto his apartment. This gave me the opportunity to be more personal and to double down.

I told him that due to the fact that the spirit was so strong in the car, it was clear to me that God had put him in my car so that he could have a course correction. He needed to get back to church, get close to God and make himself a viable candidate for the kind of woman that he wanted to marry.

He said, I haven’t cried in years and I’m sobbing like a baby. We were pulling up to his house right across the road from the church house. I said, Sunday is fast and testimony meeting. This week you need to go to church. That’s why God sent me. This week you need to go to church and be filled with the spirit of God. You need to get right with God, you need to go to church and commute with him. You need to fill your tank.

I told him this is why I was sent here to get you today. He said, everything you said is true and most of them are things that I have thought but I haven’t dared say them out loud. I know God sent you tell me these things. I know that I need to make this change.

I told him, God didn’t just send me to tell you these things he needs you to commit to go to church on Sunday. He said, I’ll try. I said, God didn’t send me here to have you commit to try. God sent me here and gave me these words so that you would commit to do.

I said, how does it feel to be so loved by your Heavenly Father that he sent someone to help you see the path again. It’s time for you to get right with God, have his spirit and find that path forward with him as your guide.

I asked, will you commit to go to church on Sunday.? He said, yes I will! I will commit. With tears running down his face he said, thank you for bringing this message to me. He said, I will do that. He got out of the car and started walking away.

In this ride it was almost as if he were in a zone. I could see the spirit working with him and I could see Satan fighting not to lose him. In the end, the spirit of the Lord chased Satan out and the peace of the Lord settled in his heart and blew his mind.

It’s important for us to understand what Elder Bednar taught and this is that our conversion has to be a conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ and not the social structure or the people in it because they will fail you as they had this young man. Christ will never fail you and we need to build on that rock.

One night at 2 AM I was downtown knocking out rides when the app pulled me out to the airport to pick up a man. I needed to take him 55 minutes south. It was a Thursday night because it was busy. I wanted to stay downtown longer but rather than fight it I just said, fair enough and started heading to the airport. Just as soon as I had that thought and started going I got the prompting we would be talking about the gospel.

When I got to the airport the man got in the car and we headed off. He was coming home from a business trip where he got some kind of training for manufacturers. The conversation was all about what he did. Then I asked him why he didn’t have his wife come pick him up at 2 AM and he laughed hysterically he could tell in my face that the suggestion of his wife getting him was a joke all along. I said that wouldn’t go over well would it! He said no.

When we talked at first he implied that he wasn’t a member of the church. He didn’t do this as a direct answer to a question but through various statements he made.

He and his wife had two young children and they were in bed and his wife was as well. We headed out to Spanish Fork. I remembered again that I had the impression to talk to this man who seemed to be a really nice man who had a tremendous weight on his shoulders. It almost seemed like he wanted to be active in the church or that he felt something that turned the light on inside of him.

I saw this as a sign that he was ready to get going. I started asking him about his wife and his family. He talked a lot about his father who was a very religious and devout man. He almost spoke as if his father was that overbearing authoritarian type. Then he just changed it up and talked about how his father had the most precise and heartfelt way of looking at things. He always said things just right.

I didn’t believe him when he indicated that he was not he was a member of the church for some reason. It didn’t feel right. I knew that he grew up with his dad in the Navy and they had been all over the world. I knew that he had gotten a girlfriend pregnant when he was very young and not even known about it for about 12 years. The mother had appeared suddenly and said, this is your daughter give me child support.

He talked about how that was hard for his wife and his kids at first but his dad really helped him move that through. We talked about the challenges of life and faith. He talked about integrating his 12-year-old daughter into the life of his family without disrupting everything and threatening his current family in the process.

I talked about how important it would be to have Jesus Christ as a centerpiece of anything you were doing and grab onto the atonement. When I started talking about the atonement he started warming up big-time. The spirit came in the car and I could tell he felt it. I talked about how Jesus had suffered not because he had to, and not until he couldn’t suffer anymore, but he suffered for us until it was done. It went far past what any man could do because he was a God and he loved us with the perfect love and power of a god

The spirit opened up to me seeing this guy being someone who had been judged and hurt and leaving the church. He seemed to be having a tremendous amount of regret over the whole situation.

I saw him as a member of the church and maybe a returned missionary. I perceived that his father was a good member of the church as well. I started talking to him as if he had told me that he was a member of the church following the prompting the spirit had given me.

With this knowledge I said, a lot of times in church we have people that we think are judging us. They say things or they do things to make us feel bad or make us feel uncomfortable. What the natural man or Satan would have us do is turn against God. What God would have us do is turn to Jesus for the lifting of our burdens through the power of his atonement.

I told him I felt like that was him. I told him I felt like he had been offended at our church. I felt like someone had said something and it really bothered him. He told me about going to the store to get some formula for their baby. He there was a mother pointing at him while talking to her little son about what horrible people bikers are. He happened to have a beard and a mustache and be riding a motorcycle wearing his motorcycle gear at the time.

He knew that woman from church and it hurt him that she would say that. I asked him if he knew that Satan whispers in everybody’s ears? I told him that Satan whispered in his ears all the time about not being worthy, about not going to church, about people judging you at church and saying that you shouldn’t be there. He told me that’s true, that he hears that in his head and it makes him not want to be around those people.

I asked him if he wanted people to be tolerant of his sins and love him despite the sins and help him along and he said, yes. I told him that judging is their sin. Making judgments about other people is their weakness. I asked him if he thought maybe he should be tolerant and loving of them in their sin. He thought for a second and said, I never thought about it that way.

I told him that the thing about the atonement is that Jesus has enough for everyone and he fills us all up with his love regardless of what point we find ourselves, if we will look to him. I told him that we need to quit looking to other people and allowing them to affect us.

He said to me that he was a returned missionary that he had served a mission to florida. He said that his wife had a horrible experience when she went through the temple and that she had quit going to church because of it. Subsequently he quit going to church along with his wife.

He said it was like his whole family was on a pedestal and everyone was judging them and it was just too much to bear. I told him that Jesus felt that embarrassment, that pain and that injustice as well. I shared with him stories of people I know that have been through what his wife has been through. These people had similar experiences and were affected in such a way that they didn’t know how to deal with it. Not going back to the temple and sometimes leaving the church followed.

I asked him what he thought the difference was between the successful ones who stayed in the church and went back to the temple and those who stayed away. He said he didn’t know. I told him that they read their scriptures and said their prayers.

I felt to tell him that reading scriptures and saying prayers is really important and that it is one of the things that the successful people do when they have challenges. They hang on to those things. They keep going to church even though it’s hard because they learn that it’s about their relationship with God and not their relationship with their ward members that matters.

I asked him if he was surprised about how the conversation we had experienced hit point by point the things that were concerning to him and he said yes I told him that I knew these things because of the spirit. I told him the spirit had spoken to my heart and gave me those things to say. I happened because God needed him back.

I told him that if we listen to the spirit and say the words the Lord puts into our heart, our missions don’t end when we get home from serving for two years. God will put people in our lives for us to testify to and he’ll give us the words to say. I told him the Lord had put him in my car and given me those words tonight. I told him it happened because God wanted him and his family back and that he loved them. I also told him that God expected him to start to pray and read the scriptures.

I felt a prompting to bear my testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I bore that simple testimony but I felt the power in my words. I knew he felt it too. I asked him if he recognized the spirit and he said yes. I told him that the spirit that he was feeling was the love of his father in heaven and that it testified to him of truth. He said, yes, I know that but it’s been so long since I felt like this.

I could see the wheels turning in his mind. This was a returned missionary who had been a good missionary and he knew exactly what was happening. Right then I had the impression to say, the Lord let me perceive the thoughts in your heart right there in that moment. Right now you’re thinking about your patriarchal blessings because in your patriarchal blessing you were given the spiritual gifts necessary to deal with the crisis that your family and you are going through right now.

I told him to read his patriarchal blessing and become worthy to exercise the spiritual gifts like a weapon to defend his family. He said, wow! You could not have been more right on this whole trip. I told him it wasn’t me. I told him that the Lord wanted him back.

I told him that the Lord knew that he would go through this and gave him those blessings and gifts of the spirit for this day and this battle. He said, that is exactly right.

I told him that he needed to go to church and asked him if he would and he said yes. I told him that he needed to read the scriptures and pray with his family and if he would I promised him that his family would eventually come with him. I told him that they would eventually come to church with him if he would do this in a loving way.

I told him he would have to rely on the atonement of the Savior and the word of God but if he would have that faith, God would give him that blessing. The spirit of God was very powerful in the car and he felt it. His face was glowing.

I asked, would you like me to pray for you? He said he would love for me to pray for him, right now! He said that the spirit had been so strong in the car and the word of God so clear to his mind. He wanted me to pray for him right there in the car. I said OK. I bowed my head and prayed the words that came into my heart. During that prayer I saw in my mind the things unfold that this young man really wanted.

Heather is concerned that you might think I was driving at the time. We had arrived at his home and we were parked out in front of his house.

I saw him and his family at church. I prayed and I asked God to give him the strength and the faith to lead his family to that point so they could feel the power of God in their lives.

When we finished the prayer he was crying and he shook my hand for about a minute. He told me that he could’t have ever imagined something like this would’ve happened today. He told me that several drivers had declined him and that he almost gave up. He thought he would have to sleep at the airport but he gave it one last shot. That’s when I accepted the ride. God knows what he’s doing and he sent him a ride so that he could touch this young man and save his family. It was an amazing experience.

I picked up a lady in Deer Valley who was heading into Park City. I love these runs! It’s like eight minutes and you make $10. When she got in she added a stop. She was going to the airport. My heart sank. That $10 ride became $23 and an hour and a half commitment. When you take out $12 worth of gas it makes you sad.

I had a decision to make and I decided to stick with it. I felt like canceling her and telling her that I was not able to go to Salt Lake but I felt like I should stick with it. As we drove to our first stop, we started talking about people on the road for business and how crazy they get. She was out for business and she said she didn’t recognize some of the people in their office by the way they acted.

I told her that I had traveled extensively in my life and that was some thing I was well aware of. People get away from home and they think they get away from all of their obligations.

I had told her that as a frequent traveler you take precautions when you’re on the road, so not to find yourself in a compromising situation. I told her that I always ate my meals in my room watching TV and not in restaurants. I limited exposure with those people to work hours.

I told her that I’ve been married for 37 years and that, in our religion, we take marriage seriously. She asked me what religion I was and I told him that I was a member of the church. She said, I’ve got one million questions about the Mormon church.

She asked me if I would be offended if she asked ne blunt hard questions. I told her no, and that I might actually give her some blunt hard answers. She laughed as we arrived at her stop.

She told me she had to get out of the car and get her bag and asked me if she could take five minutes to smoke a cigarette. I wanted to scream no because I hate how it stinks up my car. They all think that if they’re done smoking, they’re done stinking and that’s not the truth. But I knew we were going to be talking about the church so I said, yeah I’ll wait.

I went back and loaded her bag while she was smoking her cigarette. The bellman who helped me was from Argentina. The kids come up on J1 visas during their summer and work in the ski resorts. There are literally hundreds of Argentina kids running around Park City in the winter. This was one of them and we spoke in Spanish. He is from Bahía Blanca and I have several friends from that area.

Finally, she finished smoking her cigarette and got in the car. As she did, she said, wow! That was impressive! I chuckled and said, what? Your cigarette tasted good? She said, no, your Spanish was amazing. Where did you learn that?

I said I learned it in Argentina on my mission. She said, it sounded a little bit like Italian, I am Italian. I told her that Argentines are 75% Italian descent and that there is an Italian influence on the way they speak Spanish. I told her that my son says we don’t speak Spanish, we speak Italian, using Spanish words. She laughed and said that’s what it sounded like.

I told her that I served my mission when I was 19 years old for two years. She said, my boy has friends that are planning to go on a mission, so I’m a little familiar with that. I asked her how old her boy was and she said he was a junior in high school. She said, let’s get down to the hard questions.

She said, I don’t want to offend you but I want to find out what’s different between you guys and the Catholic Church. I want to clear up some of the things I’ve heard about your church. I said, where do you want to start?

We had 45 minutes and I knew we could cover a lot in that time. She said, I want to start with what is the difference between your church and the Catholic church.

I told her that the differences between our church and the Catholic church boil down to the fact that we believe that the Saints were wonderful amazing people and that Mary was an amazing woman but that they are not Gods or semi Gods. They don’t have authority to hear our prayers and take our message to God. I told her that in the Bible, Jesus said he was the only mediator between us and God and we believe that.

She said, well, that’s a huge difference! I said that it’s kind of a huge difference, our prayers go to God, it’s just that we believe that Jesus has this power and the authority the Catholic church relegates to the Saints and to Mary. She said, that makes sense, you believe in a more powerful Jesus.

I said, we also believe that God loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem. I told her that Israel was scattered all over the world and that, according to Isaiah, Jesus was sent to all of the house of Israel not just Jerusalem. I taught her that there were prophets in America because God loves the people everywhere. I told her that the prophets in America taught God‘s word because God‘s words bring light and happiness.

I told her that many people look at commandments as restrictions and prohibitions but that we look at commandments as guard rails to keep us on the path to happiness and true joy. I gave her the example of my grandfather who was addicted to alcohol and tobacco. I told her that he was not happy because he couldn’t be anywhere without those substances. I told her that those substances were more important than anyone or anything.

I told her that if he had listened to the prophet, he would’ve loved his family instead of beating them and he would have served God instead of cursing him. She said, that’s beautiful that makes sense.

I told her that the ancient prophets in America gave commandments to the people so that they could be happy. I told her that they prophesied that Jesus would come and visit them after his crucifixion and resurrection.

I told her that the Book of Mormon was the compilation of the writings of the prophets from ancient America. They compiled their prophecies just like they did in the Bible. They compiled the words of Jesus Christ just like they did in the Bible and this was given to the prophet Joseph Smith.

I told her that Joseph Smith was a young man seeking truth from one religion to another and finally he turned to the Bible. He read that he should ask God, so he went and he prayed. God the father and Jesus Christ appeared and called him to be a prophet. Later a prophet who lived in ancient America appeared to him and gave him those records and he translated them and that’s why we have the Book of Mormon.

I pointed out to her that in the Bible Jesus said that he had other sheep that he would go visit. After his resurrection he did just that. He descended from heaven and stood on the steps of the temple. I told her that the people went up and touched the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet. They cried in one voice for salvation.

I told her what he gave them was really special. He gave them an invitation to take a step up in their discipleship. He invited them to be baptized with his baptism and by his authority.

I told her that they had all previously been baptized because they had been taught it was important but Jesus invited them all to be baptized again by his authority and the way he prescribed.

I said, we accept that same invitation and are baptized by that same authority. We are baptized in the way, he commanded that we be baptized.

I told her that Jesus loves everyone, no matter where they lived, or when they lived, and he was here to prepare a way for all of us to come home if we want to.

I asked her, “how many people in the world, do you think die without hearing about Jesus?” She said, I have never thought of that question. I asked her how many of those people were God‘s children and she said all of them. I asked her if God loved all of his children and she said yes. I asked her again, how many of them die without hearing about Jesus or being baptized? She said I don’t know?

I said, consider all the people that live in China, all the people that have ever lived in China, consider all the people who live or have ever lived in Africa or the people that live in Saudi Arabia right now. How many of those people go through their lives or have in the history of mankind, gone through their lives without hearing about Jesus?

She said that’s the a huge number, that’s like 90%. I asked does God love all of them just the same as he loves you and me? She said, yes. I asked her if God was perfect and she said yes. I asked her if God‘s plan was perfect and she said yes. I asked her by the doctrine of the Catholic church how many of that 90% can go to heaven and she said none of them.

I said that’s a huge difference between our churches. We believe that God has a plan to save every one of his children if they will be saved. I told her that in the book of 3rd Peter, in the Bible, when Jesus was crucified and his body was in the tomb his spirit went to the spirit prison. He organized the teaching of the gospel to those who died without hearing it or without a good chance of accepting it.

I told her that God has set it up that everyone no matter when they were lived or where they lived will have a chance to be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I asked her if it would be fair to teach them and let them know but not give them the opportunity to be baptized. I told her that our religions agree that you need to be baptized, and she nodded her head. I said, would that be fair? She said, no! I asked if that would be loving, and she said no. I asked her what kind of a perfect father would condemn 90% of his children and not even give them a chance. She said, no father would do that.

She said, I am a mother and that doctrine has bothered me forever. I’ve never believed as a mother that God would condemn a little child. Hearing this brings so much power and peace to my heart. I know that’s true.

I told her I agreed with her.

I asked her if she’d seen the San Diego Temple. She said, yes she had. She said it’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful. I drive by it everyday. I love that building. I told her the temples are very special places and one of the things we do in those temples is we are baptized for a person that has died. She was confused and asked if we have to have the dead person there and I said, no. We are baptized in behalf of the person who has passed on, no matter when they passed on. Then in the spirit world, having been taught the gospel, they have the chance to accept the baptism preformed for them.

I told her that by doing this everyone of God‘s children will have the opportunity to accept the gospel, be baptized, and come home and live with their father in heaven.

The spirit was in the car and I could see that she was feeling it. I said, that makes sense to you doesn’t it? She said, yes it does because a loving father would bring his children home. I asked, her if a little child doesn’t get baptized and dies, should that child be caught in limbo or in hell forever?

She said, my church teaches that but I do not believe it. I told her that I have taught thousands of Catholics in my life and I can count on one hand the number of Catholics that believe that an innocent little baby that dies doesn’t go to heaven. I told her that Jesus said we had to become like children to go to the kingdom of heaven. I told her that we learn in the Book of Mormon that Jesus Christ paves the way for all little children to come home. She said, you don’t believe in the original sin? She said, we believe in the original sin.

I told her that we believe that the original sin was covered and paid for by the atonement, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I told her that we believe that we are only responsible for our own sins. She said, that makes so much more sense.

I told her that we believe in families and that our families are sealed for eternity, they don’t dissipate at death. I told her in the world people are married until death do us part but we are married for eternity.

She said, this word “sealed” kind of confuses me. What does that mean? I said, it means that it is made permanent. It’s a blessing that is given to us and made permanent through the power of God and endorsed by God. She said, that’s amazing.

I told her that in the temple there in San Diego we do baptisms and we do marriages not just for people who are alive, but people who are dead. I told her of a guy that I baptized whose wife had recently passed. I told her that there was a strong presence of his wife in my car and we had that discussion. I told her that he was baptized four weeks later and has now gone to the temple and his wife has been sealed to him forever. She had a smile and said, that’s great.

We were at North Salt Lake on I-80. Almost to the Redwood Road exit heading out to the airport. I had a strong impression to ask her if she wanted to go down and drive around Temple Square. This never happens, people going to the airport, go to the airport.

She said, yes, yes! Would that be possible? Would that be OK for you to do? I said, absolutely let’s go. I got off of Redwood Road, whipped around on I-80 and we went right back into town. We turned up West Temple and headed to Temple Square. Coming up on Temple Square, I pointed out the family search building on the left.

I told her that in that building is where the majority of the genealogical records in the world are kept. I told her that ancestry.com and all the genealogy websites cross reference and get their material from this place. She said wow. I told her there are missionaries there and every time she comes back, if she wants she can go in there and they will help her learn about her family. I told her that we do this so that we can do baptisms for our family and so that we can seal them and complete their family units with a blessing from God.

She said, that makes a lot of sense. I love that! We went around the corner and we could see the temple. They had the inside lane blocked off, so I pulled over so she could take pictures of the Temple with all the scaffolding and stuff on it. She was very excited to do that. I pointed out the conference center and she wanted to take a picture of that. We then went by the church office building. I told her I had friends that work in there and then we rounded the corner and saw the view of the new gardens leading up to the temple.

She snapped a bunch of pictures there. We continued around the block to the Beehive House and the Lion House which are under construction but I explained their purposes. I told her that the lion House was Brigham Young’s home. She snapped pictures there too.

We passed the administrative office building and I told her that this is where the prophet has his office. I testified that we have a prophet that guides us today that gives us the words of God. He helps us live our lives so that we can be happy. She said, that’s amazing. Can I take a picture of that building too. I said, yes. I stopped so that she could take a picture.

We went around the corner as she marveled at the Assembly Hall and then I pointed out that the tabernacle was built by pioneers without using nails. They use leather straps. I said that the acoustics are amazing in that building. She took a picture of the tabernacle then we got on North Temple and headed towards the airport.

She said, this trip has been an answer to my prayers. My son attends a Catholic school and plays baseball. He has been looking for a school to attend and I had thought about bringing him here to Utah to look at BYU. BYU was on his list because it was a private school, a conservative school, and a religious school. She said she was a little afraid of that but this made her excited to recommend it to him. I discussed with her BYU admissions policy and the honor code. She said, that’s amazing, he has to do that right now. He is used to that. He goes to a very strict religious school.

She asked if they would let a non Mormon into BYU. I said yes! I told her that right now our quarterback is a Jew and our three big men on our basketball team are all Muslim. I told her we’ll take anybody that wants to follow God love, their neighbors and be part of a community like that. She said I’m not only going to recommend that, I will insist on it as an option.

As we were driving, she got a call from her husband. He said, what are you doing? She said I’m talking to my driver about the Mormon church and it’s incredibly interesting. She said I need to hang up with you right now because I need to learn as much as I can. He said, will you tell me when you get back? I’d love to hear. She said that she would.

She hung up and said that her husband loved researching religions and learning about God, so this was going to be fun.

On the way to the airport. I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said no. She said that she had heard about the Book of Mormon but only today did she understood what it was. I asked her if she would like a copy, and she said, do you have one? I said yes! I reached into my glove box and pulled out a copy of the Book of Mormon, prepared by the Secrists and I handed it to her. I said, this copy of the Book of Mormon should help you in your search.

She said, this will be more than a search, me and My Husband are going to read this. I asked her if she had Mormon friends and she said yes. I asked her to give them a heads up that she was going to be reading it and asked them any questions that she had. She said that she would do that. As we approached the airport she said, I want you to know that this ride has been exhilarating. I’ve never felt like this. She said she had peace and joy consuming her soul and her heart was full.

Never wanting to miss an opportunity to teach someone about their relationship with their father in heaven, I told her that she and her Heavenly Father lived with each other for thousands of years. I told her that this feeling was how she felt in his presence. I told her that this feeling was present when she heard the truth because her father was testifying that it was true. I asked her if she would be able to feel like that if what I was saying was not true. She thought for a minute and said no.

I told her that the spirit of God whispered to me the things to talk about and then he sent his spirit to confirm the truthfulness of my words. She said, I know that’s true. My heart is full.

I think she said that like 10 times in the drive up North Temple out to the airport. As she got out of the car, she thanked me and said this ride that started with a cigarette had changed her life.

One afternoon I was working in Park City and trying to play my schedule correctly because I wanted to be back in Provo by about 5:30.

We have a filter that we can set that keeps us in an area and I had it set for Park City so I could stay there. Around 3 o’clock I re set it for Salt Lake, Provo and Park City. I figured that I would take one or two rides and then get home. I hoped that the filter would get me a paid ride home.

I took a ride and it took me downtown in Park City and then I picked up another ride to the airport. By that time it was going to be nip and tuck because I would have to deal with rush-hour traffic so I didn’t know if I should take it, but I decided to.

I pulled up and the guy got in my car. He was a big guy with blonde hair and a beard. He looked like a Viking to me. We started talking about what he was doing in Park City. He said that he was there for work but he had done his share of skiing as well. He said that he was from Longmont Colorado but that he really enjoyed skiing here.

We talked about his work and my work and general things for a large portion of the ride. All of a sudden I had the prompting to say to him “you are a Jew aren’t you? “

I was a little uncomfortable for a couple of reasons, one is that a lot of Jews have fear these days because of persecution. Two was that I really don’t know exactly what a Jew looks like. It was kind of a random and weird thing to say, especially given the fact that he looked like a Viking. The third thing was I received no prompting of where to go with it. I just felt like I was supposed to say “you are a Jew aren’t you?”

The words all of a sudden erupted out of my mouth and he looked surprised. He said, “yes I am”. He said, I’ve never had anyone come up to me and ask me if I was a Jew but yes I am.

It was a little awkward and I felt like I should tell him that I pray for the Jewish people in their current conflict. He told me that he was grateful for my prayers and that it is just sad. He said that they need my prayers.

After I had done this, for the rest of the conversation, everything was clear that I should say. I started by saying that I’m a Mormon, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. He said, I figured that! And he laughed. I told him that the Jewish people have no better friends in the world than the Mormons. He said, that’s good to hear.

I told him that we believe that we are brothers in kind of a very biblical sense. I told him that we believed that we were from the house of Israel. He said, really? I said, yes. I told him that Abraham was promised that through his seed all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. I told him that Israel was scattered to the whole world and that this is how the lord set up the plan so that could be accomplished.

I told him that Jews, being from the house of Israel, had a spiritual connection with. God and a responsibility to bless their families and those around them. I told him that as Israel was scattered around the world, God didn’t forget them. I told him that some of them even had prophets.

He said, don’t you guys believe that some of the lost tribes are here in America? I said, we do believe that some of the people from Israel were brought to America before the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem in 600 BC. I told him that they included a family of a prophet and also the son of king Zedekiah.

He said that he studied Jewish history that he knew about this and that there were people who believed that one of his sons of Zedekiah escaped. I told him that son ended up in America and they met up with the descendants of this prophet from Jerusalem.

I told him that they had prophets in America who spoke with God. I told him that they obeyed the law of Moses and taught all of the things he’d heard about his whole life only it happened here in America.

He said, that is so cool. To think that when the house of Israel was scattered, they took with them their knowledge and their relationship with God made him happy. I told him that they had prophets who prophesied and taught. They wrote their prophecies. I told him that is what we call the Book of Mormon.

He said, I have heard about that book but I’ve never known what it was. I told him it was the story of a family from Jerusalem and their dealings with God. He said, I’ve read the Old Testament and the New Testament but it seems to me like I need to read the Book of Mormon as well. I was kind of shocked by this. I asked him, you read the New Testament? He said, yes! My wife is Christian and so I’m trying to find my way through this and I’m trying to get all of the light I can.

I told him that the Book of Mormon was written on plates, metal plates, and given by an angel to the prophet Joseph Smith. I told him about Joseph Smith and I bore my testimony that he was a prophet and that we have prophets in the world today. I told him prophets are really important today just like they were thousands of years ago. The spirit was pulsing in the car. It was like it was coming in waves and I could tell that I had his full attention.

He said, with everything going on that makes total sense. To have a prophet to guide everyone seems to be the kind of thing that God would want to do. I told him that Joseph Smith as a prophet had the power to translate those writings from the ancient prophets and that’s how we got the Book of Mormon.

I told him that the Book of Mormon contains the visit of Jesus Christ to America. I described the arrival of Jesus Christ to America,and how the people had been told by the prophets that he would come. The were told that their Messiah would come and deliver them, he would save them. He said, that sounds like Jewish doctrine to me!

I told him that we believe that our purpose is to gather Israel. I told him that as we had discussed before they were scattered all over the world and it was our responsibility to gather them. He said, that’s cool! I like that. I said, we believe that we are of the house of Israel as well. I told him that I was of the tribe of Ephraim. He said he got chills.

I told him that we go out on missions to help with this gathering. I told him that I went to Argentina but that Israel was scattered to every corner of the world and that’s why we have missionaries everywhere.

The spirit was in the car and I said, do you feel that? He said yes. I said, I want you to remember that when you feel this you know that your father and heaven loves you and that the things you’re hearing are true. He said, I believe what you’re saying because it makes sense. He said, I also believe what you’re saying because it feels right.

We go on missions to gather the tribes of Israel. He said, I have never imagined the gathering of Israel being like this. I told him that when Jesus Christ came to America he instructed people to be baptized. I told him that baptism wasn’t new and that it was done in ancient Israel. He said that he had heard of that but he had never been baptized, and that he didn’t know anyone else who had been baptized.

He said, I really do need to read this Book of Mormon. I asked him if he would take one if I gave it to him. He said, yes! I’d love to have one. I pulled out one of my Book of Mormons prepared by the Secrists and gave it to him. I said, in this book you’ll find an additional history of the house of Israel.

We were at the airport and it was time for him to go. He said, I’m going to read this book because I need to find out more. He said, I need to feel what I’m feeling right now and I need to find a way forward for myself and my wife. He said, this might be the ticket. He asked me if I thought his wife might be a member of the house of Israel too? I told him that it is likely and that’s what we’re here to do. We are working to find those people. I told him that many many many people are descendants of the house of Israel and some people come to Christ who are not but they are accepted into the house of Israel because of their belief. Everyone is or can become part of the house of Israel.

He said, that’s beautiful. It was time for him to get out of the car now and he looked at me and said, before I go, I have one question, why in the world did you ask me if I was a Jew? It started this conversation which I loved, but I was wondering what made you think that I was Jew

He said, no one in my life has ever guessed that I was a Jew until you did here today. I took a minute to tell him the story about Ammon, who went before the king and told the king what was in his heart, things that he had no way of knowing. I told him that the king was shocked and asked if he was God. I told him that Ammon’s answer was no, I am not God, but he sent me and he told me these things about you that I shouldn’t know so that you could know that the things I say are true.

I told him that this happened again today in the car. I told him the God revealed to me that I was supposed to ask him if he was a Jew so that he could know that only by the power of God could I have known this. Therefore the power of God was with me and the other things I was saying were true. He said, I accept that. He took the book and got out of the car.

God knows exactly what the things are that will grab our attention and open our hearts. He can give them to us to say. As for the Book of Mormon, it is for the convincing of the JEW and the Gentile, that Jesus is the Christ.

The problem I had next was that I had to get home by 5:30. It was 4:45 and if you’ve ever driven from the Salt Lake airport to Orem at 4:45 you know that rush-hour made it impossible to be home by 5:30, unless you have a passenger and can ride in the HOV lane.

Earlier, I mentioned that I had put my parameters on for Salt Lake and Provo. As soon as I finished the ride, I received a ride to Orem. The drop off was only five blocks from my house. I got to get in the carpool lane and drive the speed limit all the way home, and I made it in time. It’s almost as if it was choreographed!!!!! if you take care of Him, he takes care of you.

One night I went out late in Provo. I just got back from the BYU basketball game with my wife. Cougars won! I dropped her off and then I went out to work.

I had just had a skin cancer removed from my lower eyelid that day and so my wife had thought that I wasn’t going to go out. I had thought that too but I felt like I was doing all right and that I should go out. It wasn’t a strong push, but a gentle nudge by the spirit.

I turned onto the street trying to decide where I should go before I turned on the app. That’s kind of my process. I want to turn it on where I’m supposed to. This time I drove down to Provo and was right by the old Provo High School when I turned it on.

When I do this I am not sure whether or not God’s going to bless me with lucrative rides or missionary experiences, but I’ll take either or both. I knew the game had just gotten out so I thought that this was as good a places as any.

I turned it on then drove two blocks down the road and got my first ride. It was over at one of the fast food establishments on Cougar Boulevard. I drove over there to pick up this young lady. She and a boyfriend came out.

They got in the car and I started talking to them. As I looked in the mirror, he was almost standoffish but she was really chatty. She seemed a little rough at first. She had a tattoo on her face and I could tell she had been through a ringer emotionally.

We talked for a minute and he just never said anything. We talked about the weather and stuff like that. This was a two stop ride and the first stop was where I let him out. The second he got out of the car things changed. The spirit woke up or exploded. I started getting impressions.

I asked her why he didn’t say anything and she said that there were two reasons. One he didn’t speak English and the second was that he was angry. He had met her and they were trying to discuss the relationship that they had broken off. It seemed to me that it was still broken off and probably not a good thing to continue.

I asked her how she was doing and she said, I just want to be with a good person that loves me. She said, it seems to me that all of the guys I date don’t want to commit and they don’t want to go all in.

I thought about the many rides I have given where I have listened to women complain about the people they date and when I asked them about it, I always ask, what was your first date like? In almost every one of these cases they say we went to dinner and then went to one of their houses and became inappropriate.

I related this to her and said that part of the problem is the way we date in many circles. I told her that the expectation on her part should be that he prove himself to her and to her family. I told her that this is how courtship always has been and that’s how it should be now.

She said, I need to be better at that. She said that she had a difficult history. She said that she had been in a long-term relationship with a guy and that they had a son together but it broke up after her daughter who was older had passed away. She said that he could never get over the death of that child and it scarred their relationship.

She said that he would never talk about it with her but she could tell it was ripping him apart. She said that it sure would’ve made a lot of difference if they had been married first because they also had their son together. I told her that the family, based on marriage, was God‘s plan.

She asked me how long I’ve been married, and I said 37 years. She said, that’s great! How do you make a marriage last that long? I said, you’ve got to want to be married more than you want anything else. I said, you’ve got to want to be married more than you want to be a great sister or a great friend. You’ve got to want to be married enough to prioritize anything the challenges that.

I told her that if you want a career more than anything, you’ll have a career and you won’t be married. I told her that if she wants to be a daughter to her father, first she’ll be a great daughter, but she might not be married. I told her we have to put marriage first and have it be what we want more than anything.

She said, oh, that makes a lot of sense. I told her that if you take that mindset into dating and date looking for that person, it will change everything.

I also asked her how often she went to church. She said that she never went to church. I explained to her that this is part of the problem. I told her that when we are going through the depth of sorrow, I don’t see how there’s anyway that we can deal with it if we don’t have the Savior and his atonement.

I told her that the Savior’s atonement lifts us through our burdens and carries us through our rough patches. I told her that he has felt the suffering and anxiety that we experience and therefore has the power to nurture and bless us in the midst of our tribulation.

I felt inspired to tell her that when her child died she went to her mom and her sisters and she talked to them and she cried with them and she shared feelings with them. I asked her, who did the boyfriend go to? She said that he didn’t go to anyone and that he just clammed up.

She said that he stopped talking about it and started separating himself from the situation. She said that it was really sad because her family all loved him and she could’ve seen them getting married.

I told her that this is where the atonement could have helped him. If he had understood the atonement, he could’ve gone to Jesus Christ with his fears and his pain. I told her that many men don’t feel comfortable looking weak and that’s why it’s so important for them to have a relationship with Jesus Christ so that they can go to him and be lifted and blessed. I told her that he didn’t have the network she did but he only needed one person in his network and that was Jesus Christ. I told her this is why having Jesus Christ in our lives is so important. He could have blessed her, he could’ve blessed him, and if they had done the things necessary to be worthy to have the companionship of the spirit, it would’ve made it easier. I emphasized and said, not easy, easier to deal with. You would’ve received extra strength.

I sensed by the spirit that she had concerns regarding her daughter. I told her that I was prompted that the sorrow she felt from her daughter’s loss was compounded by the fact that she believed that her daughter was OK in heaven but she had been taught that her daughter was not OK because she had not been baptized.

I told her that in her Catholic upbringing she had not been taught that her daughter still had an opportunity to be with God but I could tell by the way she spoke that she hoped that it would be different.

She said, that’s exactly right. I can’t believe that she wouldn’t be with God. She was so beautiful and innocent. How could he turn her away? She said, they always taught that Jesus loved the little children and she sang that song “Jesus loves the little children”. She said, I believe that and I don’t believe he would condemn a child.

I told her that she was 100% right. I told her that the atonement that I talked about also covered little children. I told her that every little child that passes away goes straight to live with our Heavenly Father forever because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I told her that this was the most important gift that we had ever received.

I told her that the atonement could save her in her grief and put her daughter in her Heavenly Father’s arms. She said, I’ve never heard that, but I love that.

I said, you had relatives from Mexico, right? She said, yes. I said, were you aware that Jesus visited your ancestors? She said, no, I had no idea. I told her that Jesus came to America after he was resurrected.

I told her that there were prophets in America that had prophesied of his coming and they wrote down their prophecies. I told her that they also wrote down the story of the visit of Jesus Christ to America where he took the children in his arms and blessed them and loved them.

I told her that Jesus loves the little children. I told her that he loved those children. He blessed those children. I told her that this was not all he did when he was here. When he first arrived, the people begged him for salvation and he called up 12 of them. He gave them authority and instructed them how to be baptized properly. Then he commanded that they all be baptized, even though they had previously been baptized.

I told her that later he gave them the Holy Ghost so that his spirit could be with them always. He told them to become like their little children so that they could be saved with their little children. She was touched by it and the spirit was really strong in the car. I asked her what she was feeling and she said, usually when I think about my daughter I feel sad but what you say gives me hope and makes me happy. She said, right now I feel like I’m floating full of happiness and joy.

I told her that was the spirit of God, confirming to her the things which I had taught. Then I said, it’s confirming to you that your daughter is with God and the God’s spirit can be with you. I told her that the invitation that Jesus gave to her ancestors to be baptized is the same invitation that is extended to her.

I told her that she could be baptized and she could have the spirit of God with her all the time. She said, I would love that.

I asked her if she had ever thought about joining our church. She said that she had thought about it quite a bit recently and had asked some guys at work about it. She said she asked them how you join that church or what you have to do to join that church. She said she needed religion and she needed to feel close to God so she figured she’d ask people that went to church.

She said they told her that she needed to read the Bible and said they would read the Bible with her.

I said that we could do better than that. I pulled out one of the Book of Mormons I have that’s prepared by the Secrists with the tabs. I turned to Moroni chapter 8 and I bent the corner down and I handed it to her. I said, this chapter right here, chapter 8, talks about little children who die. I told her that these are the words of Jesus Christ through his prophet and that she should study them. When I said that a wave of joy and happiness hit both of us and she smiled.

I told her that this book, the Book of Mormon is the compilation of the prophecies by the ancient people of America, some of whom were her ancestors. I told her that they knew that little children were saved in Jesus and they knew that they were invited to be baptized. I told her, this book is for you, but more than that the words in the book are meant for you. She grabbed the book and looked at the page I bent over and then held the book close. She said, I want to get baptized. I want to have this feeling.

I asked her if it would be OK if I had missionaries stop by or give her a call. She said she would love that. I told her that they would be able to teach her how to get baptized.

She asked if it was really hard? She said, the other people told me that I had to study a lot before I could get baptized. I told her that generally, she would have to go to church three times, take five lessons from the missionaries and gain a testimony, as well as a desire to be baptized. I told her that fortunately she had a head start on the testimony part because the spirit had testified to her that night and she knew it was true.

I told her that the missionaries were there to help her get to that point, and that there would be a ward family that would accompany her on the journey.

She said, that’s what I need. I told her I would send in her information to the missionaries and have them get a hold of her so that she could start that process. She was really excited and thanked me.

She got out of the car and went inside the house. I imagine she read that chapter in Moroni. Here’s the thing; that spirit was something she recognized. That spirit was something she wanted. The atonement was something she needed for her and for her peace of mind regarding her daughter.

God‘s plan is perfect and I’m so glad we get to be part of it.

One weekend my grandchildren were in town and we had a lot of fun. On Monday we had gone around playing and I hadn’t worked. I felt like I would just let it go because I had to go to the doctor first thing Tuesday morning. I didn’t think that as late as it was when everybody went to bed there would be any point.

As everybody went to bed, I got the prompting that I needed to go out and work. This was very contrary to what I’d previously been thinking because I had to get up early the next morning for the grandkids to leave before my doctors appointment. Again I got the prompting to go out and work after everyone went to bed. I grabbed a hat and told Heather I was going to go work but just until midnight.

It was 10:30 when I finally turned on the app. When I turned it on, I was down in Provo. My first ride was from a place down by UVU from what I could tell. I started to drive there and as I approached UVU it looked to me like the person was in Wolverine Landing which is on the west side of the freeway.

As I started to pass the entryway to the college, the location switched and then I was past the entrance. My first thought was, just get in the turn lane, do a U-turn and there you are. I got in that lane and then looked up and saw the no U-turn sign.

Now I was in trouble. I had to drive clear down to Provo to turn around and come back up. I called the passenger and told them what I had done and that I would be a while and that he might want to call another ride. He said, no, we will wait for you.

I said, where are you going? He said, we’re going to the UTA station by the hospital on 53rd South. My heart sunk. My thought process had been to go out and get a few rides and now I was only gong to get one. I was going to spend an hour and 15 minutes and make only $15.

I silently prayed that if this wasn’t a ride that was going to be good that they would cancel. They didn’t cancel and several minutes later, I pulled up in front of the building where they were and they got in.

These kids had been down to a show at UVU. They said they missed the train by 15 minutes and so now they were having to take Uber. We did all the normal chat about who’s who and where everyone is from. They were from West Valley City. There were two in the back seat and the guy who ordered the ride was in the front.

The guy in the front had 1 million questions and he was asking me everything. Sometimes that gets old because you answer the same questions thousands of times in a month. I went through the questions and then the thought occurred to me, you know if he’s asking questions that means you can ask questions too.

I heard the words “you know why you’re here.” At that point I just knew I needed to get into a gospel discussion with him but he seemed like a non-interested party.

They didn’t seem like bad kids but just kids that were all about everything. All they could talk about was everything worldly that they had going on in their lives. Nothing ever included anything that would give me an inkling that religion was one of the things that they might be interested in. It was funny how quickly the two in the backseat began to fade. The one in the front seat was the only one I could see and the only one I could hear.

I have learned that this is kind of an indication that the Lord wants me to talk to that person specifically and not everyone in general. I started asking him about friends of his that went on missions. I said, you grew up in Utah right? He said partially Mexico, but he was born in Utah and came back to Utah for high school.

I said, you have friends that went on missions, right? He said, yes! He said he had one that went to the Philippines and one good friend that went to Mexico. He said he loved that because even though that kid never had a desire to learn any Spanish before his mission, when he came back, he spoke really well. He said that he was really impressed by that.

I told him I went on my mission to Argentina. From that point on he wanted to only speak Spanish even though his English was perfect. That is usually not the case but with him it was. We talked about how my sons went to Latin American missions and so we can talk in Spanish if we want. He was really enjoying that conversation. Then I threw the pitch. It was a fastball right down the middle.

I said, well, if your friends went on their missions, why didn’t you get baptized. I hadn’t even asked him if he was a member yet, but the spirit said be direct and so I asked the question point blank.

He said, well, it’s because I’m so busy. I don’t have time with everything‘ that is going on and it’s just not in my schedule. I told him that we can’t let work get in the way of doing God’s will. I asked him if he loved God and he said yes. I asked him what he would do for God. He said anything. I asked him if that included going to church once a week or having five lessons with the missionary so that he could be baptized. He thought for a second and said, I guess I need to prioritize God.

He said, I have been prioritizing my business that I have and the things I’m doing so much that I guess I really never considered the importance of giving any time to God. I told him that’s what his friends had done. They had gone on their missions and they had spent two years serving God, loving people, and teaching about Jesus Christ. I asked him if he thought that hurt them. He said, no! They were much better people after their missions!

I told him that’s how it works when we get close to God it makes us better. He said that he hadn’t thought about that. I asked him if he wanted to know what his friends taught while they were on their missions. He said yes.

Culturally and by the spirit, I discerned that he was Catholic and said, do you believe the things that you learned in Catholicism about Jesus and Heavenly Father? He said, yes. I told him that we believe those same things but we believe more.

I told him that it is like he had lived his life eating meat and meat is good and he liked meat and thought that it was good enough. The problem comes when now he’s finding out that with our church, we have potatoes, salad and dessert. It makes the meal more amazing.

He said, what are the different things that you believe? I said, we believe that God loves everyone in the world that ever lived, that ever will live no matter where they live. God loves everyone not just the people in Jerusalem.

I told him we had prophets in Jerusalem and because of their writings we have the Bible. I told him that there had been prophets in America too. They wrote the prophecies that were given to his ancestors because God loves everyone, not just the people in Jerusalem.

I told him that Abraham’s seed had been scattered throughout the world according to the Bible and they were always remembered by God.

I told him that when Jesus came here to the Americas he taught the people. He loved the people, he blessed the children and then he said, other sheep, I have, which are not of this fold or this land. He said, I have received a commandment from my father to go to them. I asked him if he had any thoughts about where those other sheep might’ve been. He looked puzzled for a second and then I said, in America. Your ancestors are some of those other sheep.

I told him that the prophets here in America had prophesied that Jesus would come. He appeared to them and descended down and stood on the steps of the temple. I told him that his ancestors, his many greats grandparents touched the prints of the nails in his hands, and they asked him to save them.

I could tell he was really connected to this idea and the spirit was in the car. I said, your ancestors knelt at the feet of Jesus Christ. I said, your ancestors touched his hands and feet and your ancestors were held in his arms and blessed by his power.

I said that in answer to their plea for salvation, he instructed them how to be baptized, gave them the authority to baptize and then commanded that they all be baptized by his baptism, even though they’d been previously baptized in their church. I told him that it was Jesus‘s expectation they each receive this baptism. They needed to take that step to get the rest of the meal. He said, to complete the whole picture. I said, yes.

I told him that they were all baptized, and that the children were brought to Jesus. He blessed them, and angels came down and surrounded them. I said, these are your ancestors and that is your religious heritage, it is your spiritual inheritance.

He said, wow, that’s amazing. The spirit was really strong and I asked him to tell me what he was thinking and feeling. He said, my mind is exploding right now. What I am learning makes so much sense and it’s like a light in my brain is coming on every second you talk.

I asked him how he felt and he said, peaceful and happy. I said, that’s the spirit of God and it’s here to help you know that the things that I am saying are true. I told him that God put him in my car so that he could hear these things and know that they are true.

He said, I know that this is true. He said, this feeling is undeniable. I said, once Jesus had done these things, he said to the people, still other sheep I have that are not of Jerusalem or America and that he was going to go to them. He was going to these others because he is the God of all the people on the earth.

I told him that those prophets that were in America wrote down those prophecies just like they did in the Bible. They wrote the teachings of Jesus Christ and his visitation just like they did in the Bible. I told him that because of this we have the Book of Mormon. I told him that the Book of Mormon is the collection of those writings. I told him that they were given to Joseph Smith. He said, I’ve heard about Joseph Smith. Isn’t he the one that founded your church? Didn’t he have a vision of God and Jesus? I said, yes, and he also interpreted the book written by your ancestors by the power of God. That book contains the teachings of Jesus to your ancestors and that’s how we know this.

I told him that in Mexico it is a great tradition and knowledge, that there was a great white God who came, blessed the people and said he would come back. He said yes Kukulkan is his name, and yes, I’m very familiar with that. He paused a moment and then said, oh, that makes sense. I like this. It’s completing the meal.

A few minutes earlier on, I had been contemplating talking about baptisms for the dead but had gone straight into Jesus coming to America and the Book of Mormon. The spirit came back with force again and told me that the complete message would not be given until I talked about baptism for the dead.

I decided I had better do it, so I asked, what does your church teach happens to a child who is born and is never baptized?He said, they can’t go be with God. I asked him if he thought that was correct and he said, no, nobody believes that. I asked him if he thought that the complete and finished version of the gospel of Jesus Christ would include a better answer for that question. He said, yes.

I asked him if that would include the people that were born in Africa or China 1000 years ago. He said, yes. I said, it’s because God is a perfect father, who loves all of his children. A perfect father will not condemn 90% of his children just because they didn’t have the opportunity. He said, that’s right

I said, we were taught by Jesus in the Book of Mormon, that children who die without having the opportunity to be baptized are saved by Jesus Christ and go straight to heaven. He said, kind of the opposite of what we believe. I said yes.

I said, furthermore, all of those people who died in China or Africa without receiving the gospel, God has a plan for them, too. God has a plan for everyone of his children to hear the gospel because he loves each of us individually. I said, if someone is not baptized because they didn’t have the right opportunity to be baptized God gives us the ability to be baptized in their name and they have the opportunity to accept that baptism.

I said, we go to temples, we’re baptized in the name of that person, and then in the spirit world they have the chance to accept that baptism. He lit up.

He said, so what you’re telling me is that let’s say, someone wanted to get baptized, but was not able because of circumstances to do it, they would then be able to accept a baptism I did for them?

I said, yes that’s how it works. He said, this is an amazing answer to a question I’ve had. He said, my grandfather was never baptized in any church but he met some Mormon missionaries in San Diego and decided to get baptized. Right before the baptismal date he got an emergency transfer out of San Diego. He spent the rest of the war fighting in the Pacific theater. When he returned, he was a bit messed up. Then he married my grandma and it never came back around.

When he died, he mentioned that this was one of his great regrets. He wished he’d been baptized and hadn’t had to leave early.

Now I knew why the impression to teach this doctrine came so strongly. I looked in the back and it seemed like it was a different world back there in the backseat. In the front it was light. I felt like his grandpa was there and I told him that once he’s baptized he can go to the temple and be baptized for his grandfather. I told him his grandfather could have that baptism and fulfill that wish through him.

He was emotional and riding high with the spirit. I told him to feel again and remember that feeling that he had right then. He said he could never forget it. I told him that this feeling was given to him so that he could know how to come home to his father and how to bring his grandfather with him.

He said, this is something I need to do and this is something I will do. I asked him if he had a Book of Mormon and he said no. I reached into my glove box and grabbed one of the books and gave it to him. He said, are you sure? Is it OK if I take this? I said, yes, it’s yours.

It was one of the books prepared by the Secrists and I explained the tabs and the questions of the soul. I told him that as he reads this book, written by his ancestors, he will know why his grandfather wanted to be baptized and it would prepare him to go do that very thing.

I asked him if he was still in touch with his friends who went on missions and he said, yes. I told him to call the one who went to Mexico and tell him about tonight. I told him to ask him if he could go to his church and if he would go with him. He said he would do that.

We had arrived where we were going and the other guys got out of the car and started walking off, but he stayed for a while because as he said, “I love how it feels here”. I said, when you are baptized you can have that with you all the time.

I told him that the invitation that Jesus gave to his ancestors to be baptized was the same invitation that his grandfather had accepted and it was the same invitation that was being extended to him through that book. I asked him if that made sense to him. He said, yes. I asked him if he would do that, and he said, at this point, I think I have to.

He said, I’m going to call my friend, go to church, and then take care of my grandpa. I said, I think he is here with us and maybe it’s him taking care of you too! He said yes, I love that.

He turned around and walked off. On the drive home I contemplated about balking at the thought of going out that night. I was so blessed by the fact that I listened to the spirit.

One night in 2022 I picked up a lady going to Layton. I hate going to Layton! Nothing against Layton but you drive up there and then you drive back empty. It’s no way to make money! She got in the car and seemed happy enough so I decided it would at least be a pleasant if not profitable journey.

I drove down 400 south and was headed for the freeway to go north. Before I hit the freeway entrance I knew what I was supposed to tell this woman.

I looked at her in the mirror and the spirit told me that today had been a bad day and that she was feeling down and that she was a member of the church but needed to pray. I felt that she hadn’t prayed or gone to church for quite some time.

None of this made sense, she had just been at the opera, she was all dressed up and she was leaving what would seem to be a friendly interchange with the man who went to the opera with her. She seemed classy and sharp and everything you would expect from someone that has it all together.

I prayed to recognize the opportunity and that I would be given the words to say.

We started talking about families. She said that she had three boys and the oldest was 14. I talked about my three kids and then I thought to tell her about our tradition of going for a car ride.

In our family if we went for a ride what that meant was that between me and the child, whatever was said in that car never left that car. It was like the cone of silence or Switzerland where there was no judgment, no punishment, only listening and strategizing and understanding. A place where advice could be given and received freely.

She was blown away by that idea and she thought it would be really good. Then I saw an opportunity to say that I also prayed for my kids, in front of my kids. I said, there’s something special about a kid hearing their parents pray for them and call down the power of heaven for them. She was silent.

I followed the primping of the spirit and told her she seemed like she was a less active member of the church and I asked her how long it had been since she’d been to church. She said, a few years. I laughed and said, “you’re in good company then, the rest of the church hasn’t gone much for the last two years either!” We laughed and then she proceeded to tell me about her sons and how the oldest would struggle with wanting to go to church.

The spirit prompted me to talk to her about what she had gone through and what her kids were going through and how horrible it was. I told her how in her divorce the oldest son probably felt like he got the short stick. They probably thought that compared to others they had a hard life and that their burdens were great. She agreed. I talked about the importance of Jesus Christ and the atonement. I talked about the analogy of the cups. It is like when a mother puts out 5 cups for her children she makes sure each one is equal. It doesn’t work that way with Jesus everyone’s cup is at a different level. Jesus comes and makes everyone’s cup full regardless of their position or stature or what they have done. I told her that the atonement of Jesus Christ was the answer that could lift her today.

I got the impression that she was especially struggling today and I said, for some reason God needed to give you a hug today. I explained to her about her relationship with God and how he loved her and how he was a perfect parent and he wanted her to feel his love and wanted her to come home. I said he loved her just like she loved her children.

The spirit was strong in the car and I said, that feeling that you’re feeling right now is the Spirit of God and it is the same feeling you felt in his presence for all of eternity. She said, “ I can feel that”. I said, this feeling is your guide. It will lead you home to your father in heaven. If you keep that feeling with you, he can help you make decisions and pull you through.

She said, I always thought I had to cry to feel the spirit. I explained to her that the spirit is a very individual thing and that it is impossible for me to tell her what the spirit feels like but it’s important that we identify it so that she can know what it feels like to her. She said, that makes so much sense. I love this feeling. She said that no one had ever helped her understand this.

I said to her that this is the same feeling she had always felt in the presence of her father in heaven. I said that the fact that he sent me to pick her up and give her this message was intended by him to show her how much he loves her because he sent his spirit to validate what had been said. She said, this is amazing.

I said, furthermore, back when we were getting on the freeway in Salt Lake I had the prompting from God that you haven’t been saying your prayers and that this is something God would love for you to do so that he can bless you with his spirit.

I asked her how long it had been since she had prayed. She said, I haven’t prayed in a very long time. I said, God knew that and he wanted me to tell you this so that you would know that this message comes from him. She was silent for a bit and then said, I know this is from God. There is no other way for you to know this.

She said, this is exactly what I needed today. I am so grateful that God sent you here. We need to start going back to church. Two years is way too long. Her oldest son had started to be a bit rebellious.

I said, if you’ll pray with your son and do these things we have discussed he will feel the spirit and want to know God. I told her that the problem he was having with wanting to attend church was because of the emotions of the unsettled situation in his life which had obscured the spirit to him. I asked if he would go to church if she asked and she said,yes but not happily. I said that as she exposed him to the spirit at church and in prayer he would be touched and feel the truth. I told her she should identify the spirit to him like I had with her. She said that this would be awesome.

As I dropped her off I told her that I got the impression that she needed to have the missionaries over and that they would be instrumental in helping her son. She said, it’s so funny you said that because I’ve been thinking about asking them to come over. I said, you need to do that, you need to have them in your home. You need to feed them and they will feed you and your son. She said, this is the best! I’m so happy! I’m going to go in and pray because I don’t want to lose this feeling of the spirit that we have in the car.

She got out of the car and waived. Heavenly Father knows us so well and it is a blessing to see him move his hand to recover his children.

One day I was getting ready to go out to work thinking about where to start. I always either go to Salt Lake City or Park City so I was trying to decide which one of those to go to. Lately It’s been Park City a lot because they pay more money per ride. Second is Salt Lake City because you get a lot of rides so therefore you make more money. Since I started driving, you can count on one hand the days I started in Provo/Orem. Sometimes I’ll go out in Provo or Orem at night but that’s when I’ve worked a lot earlier in the day in Park City or Salt Lake.

I don’t see starting in Orem as the way to go financially but nevertheless, I found myself feeling a strong prompting that started the night before while I was saying my prayers. The prompting was to start in Orem on the west side down by Krispy Kreme. I just had the strong feeling that’s where I should start.

I drove there and turned on my app and I got a ride. I picked up a young lady in the parking lot by Swig. She had just got done working out at the gym there and I was giving her a ride home. I wondered to myself if this was the reason why I was out there today.

She had several piercings in her nose., a few tattoos, and a general party girl vibe. The spirit indicated to me that indeed, this was the reason why I was here so I started talking to her.

I asked her if she was from here and she said that she was born here but that her parents were both from Mexico. She said that she understood Spanish but she couldn’t speak it very well.

I told her about a time several weeks ago where I had three girls in my car who spoke Spanish. I told her that they got in the car and started talking about how much they hate white men and that they wished their driver wasn’t a white man. I told her that I didn’t say a thing, I just let them talk in Spanish but that when we were pulling up to the place where I was dropping them off, I said., quieren que los dejo acá o prefieren que haga una vueltita para ponerlos al otro lado de la calle. I told her that the car went silent and then one girl screamed. I told my passenger it was a lot of fun.

I told her that racial profiling was in full effect in the car at that point. She laughed. I said, the thing is, I don’t sweat it and it doesn’t offend me. I told her that I thought it was funny but that what we really need to do is forget about calling people out on racism and forget about calling people racist and not be racist but start loving people like Jesus taught.

I told her that Jesus taught us to love and if we would do that the whole racism thing would disappear and be replaced with love. I told her that every problem we have in society happens because we don’t follow Jesus. She said, I love Jesus and what you said means a lot to me because it’s true. She said, I’m a Christian. I said to her, how awesome is that! As a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, I am a Christian too.

I never want to concede any ground with regards to branding under the Christian name.

I told her that we believe that Heavenly Father loves us and that he sent his son Jesus Christ to pay for our sins, inequities and problems so that we don’t have to suffer. I told her that he can pick up our burdens and carry us through.

She said, I needed to hear that today. When she said that the spirit prompted me with some additional things to say and the power of the spirit in the car was very noticeable.

I told her that she was a good person and that she had a soft heart but that she was covering her heart to protect it from being damaged by other people. I said that she hoped that other people would not be able to see her distress. She didn’t want people looking into her heart and seeing that. I told her that she had also done some things that she was ashamed of that she held close and didn’t want anyone to know about. I told her that these things weighed heavy on her.

She looked astonished and she said, you’re correct on all three. I’ve never had anyone see right through me. That’s an amazing ability that you have there. I told her that it was not my ability but that I had merely spoken the words that the Holy Ghost put in my heart.

I told her that in our church when we’re baptized, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost. I told her that through the gift of the Holy Ghost God can whisper things to our hearts and if we say them we will be speaking the words of God. I told her that God put those words in my heart to say so that she would know that the other words I say today are true. She said, I’m all ears, this is what I need because in my life I’ve had so many struggles.

She told me that she had a son. I said, that’s awesome. Do you teach him about God? Do you read the scriptures with him?She said that he was a little young for that. I told her that she could read the stories and then tell those stories to him. She lit up and said, that’s a great idea. I asked how old he was and she said six.

I said, that would be perfect, a six-year-old boy loves to hear stories from his mom. I told her that in the Book of Mormon we find one of my favorite stories. I told her I’ve taught this story a bunch of times. It’s about Nephi and his bow. He breaks his bow and because of that everybody thought they were going to die. No one knew how they were going to get food and they were angry with him. I told her that he prayed and then went to his father and said, you’re the prophet, you pray to God and ask him where I should go go to get food.

I told her that he was told where to go and he went out and got food for the family. I told her that they learned that they didn’t need a bow to get food, they needed faith in God to be delivered from their situation. I told her that this is a lesson we could all take the heart these days. We should trust in God and not our own ability to take care of business.

She said, that’s amazing. I’m always trying to fix everything and I rarely turn to God for help. You hit that right on the head. She said, clearly the spirit hasn’t quit talking to you about me, and she laughed.

I said to her, what the spirit is saying to me right now is that some of the things you are hiding are the fact that multiple times you have been abused. She said, I’m just getting out of a very violent, abusive relationship. I don’t know how you could know that. I smiled and said, God knows. Then I felt prompted to say, it’s not just this relationship, it’s the time you were abused when you were a child. You never talk to anyone about that but you’re Heavenly Father wants you to know that he knows and that he loves you and he’s there for you.

She was clearly emotional and she was tearing up. She said, there’s no way you know that. I said, God gave me those words so that you could know that the rest of the things I say are his truth, so you could know that the things I say are from him. She said, I believe you.

I told her that God loves everyone and that he’s her father. She said, I grew up without a father. I told her that her father in heaven was her father and that he loves her and that he sent me there today to help rescue her. She said, I need that

She said, I have my six year old boy for visitations on weekends and I’m trying to teach him the right things but I need help. She said, he always says that we need to pray right before every meal and I think I need to be the kind of mother he deserves.

I told her that she could tell him the stories like we talked about. I also said that she should pray with him more than just at dinner. I told her that her father in heaven loves her and that he sent his son for her so she can look to him for salvation.

I told her that in the Bible Jesus said other sheep I have that are not of this fold and he had been given a commandment to go to them. I told her that in America they had prophets that were with her ancestors, I told her that they were waiting for Jesus Christ to come. After he had been resurrected, he descended from heaven and her ancestors touched the prints of the nails in his hands and his feet and they begged him for salvation.

I told her that he blessed them, loved them, taught them, gave them baptism and commanded that they be baptized. I told her when we are baptized, we become pure and clean before God.

I asked her how long it had been since she had been in a position where she felt pure and clean before God. She said, I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way or it’s been a long time. I told her that this was the message that her father in heaven had sent me to deliver.

I told her that her father in heaven had sent me there that day. I explained to her that I never go to Orem to start but today I was commanded. I told her that this was the reason. The spirit was surging in the car and I asked her to describe it to me. According to her those three words were love, joy and peace.

I said, you feel those because the spirit of your father in heaven is here and that’s how you feel in his presence. That’s how you feel his spirit. Her eyes were still teary and I said, your father in heaven is inviting you to have that baptism and have that gift of the Holy Ghost and he’s begging you to let him be part of your life.

I said, he wants his son, Jesus Christ, to be able to be there for you to lift your burdens and bring you home. She said, thats crazy! It just seems like this fits for me.

I asked her how long it had been since she had felt that way and she said that she didn’t think she ever had. She said that this is more powerful than in anything she had experienced. I asked her if she would like to live her life with that feeling in her heart and in her home where she lives with her son. I asked her how it would be to have her son grow up with that feeling. She said that would be incredible. She said, when I think about it, I know that what you’re saying is true.

I asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said no. I pulled out one of the copies of the Book of Mormon prepared by the Secrists and explained it to her to her and then gave it to her. She said, I love to read, I’m going to read this. I told her that the Book of Mormon did not replace the Bible but it testifies of Jesus Christ and is a companion to the Bible. I told her that the stories are awesome and her son would enjoy them.

She said, I have a new boyfriend and he was recently baptized in your church, he keeps asking me to go. I told her, well, that would be a good start! I told her that when God sends her a messenger, that’s an active action on his part to bless her and help her. I asked her if she thought it would be a good idea to turn away help from God. She said, no, I want this.

I asked her if she knew where she was supposed to go to church. She said no. I asked her if she wanted me to look it up and she said, yes, so I did. I texted the information to her. She asked me if her boyfriend could go to services with her and I said, absolutely. I told her that the ward also has primary for her son. I told her that he would go the first hour with her in the second hour with children his age to be taught. I told her, She said that her boyfriend and her son would be so excited. She said, I had kind of been caught up in a competition about mine versus his, but now I know that this isn’t about mine or his, this is God’s.

I asked her if she would commit to go to church and she said yes. I asked her to reflect on the things that had happened that day. I asked her to reflect on how it made her feel. She said, God let you look into my soul and he sent his spirit. I told her that this is how she knows that the other words I said were true and she said, yes. I said, now you can go to church on Sunday and your boyfriend will probably be able to baptize you when you’re ready.

I told her that he had to go in and talk to his bishop and make sure that he was ready. She said she would have him do that

She said, you know, at any other time in my life I wouldn’t have been receptive to this but God knows when we’re ready I guess. I’m grateful he sent you today because this is going to change everything for me. She got out of the car clutching her Book of Mormon and went inside.

Then I went to Salt Lake City to work.

One of the most difficult times of the year is the Sundance film festival. The problem with the Sundance film festival is that the people who attend that festival don’t believe in God. To me the vast majority of people there feel like they bring a negative spirit to the car. They don’t believe in God, they mock God and they don’t believe in commandments. In fact, they celebrate everything that is opposed to God and the commandments.

That spirit permeates the city and the people who ride in the car. I find myself needing to pray several times throughout the day because it is so draining to be in that environment for so long. I almost didn’t want to work the film festival because of this reason but on the other hand, you can make four to $500 a day so there’s that.

One night I picked up a girl from New York. She was a writer, a producer and African-American. It was the end of our day and we had about a 15 minute ride down to the Canyons from old town Park City.

As we started to go, we began to chat. Initially our discussion was, where are you from? How long have you lived there? We both asked each other these questions. Not having felt impressed by the spirit to share much the previous few days with people who were not wanting to receive light or willing to receive light I was somewhat surprised to receive the prompting and thoughts to discuss that I came to Utah to go to BYU after my church mission in Argentina.

That’s a risky strategy but if the spirit says to say that, you say it! Once I said that she lit up and said, you know, I’ve always been interested in those missions you guys go on. It seems to me like that’s a real mission! I said, yes, it is, two years in a country where you learn the language and customs and how to love the people. It’s two years in a country that you spend bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to people and watching it transform their lives.

I asked her if it would be OK if I talked about religious things. Given the nature of the people I was driving that week I was a little gun shy and wanted to ask consent. Just to be safe!

She said, that’s amazing! She wanted to know about missions. Her questions were, can you go anywhere you want? Who sent you to where you go? In that area can you go anywhere you want? Do they pay you? Did you enjoy it?

I began to discuss with her how we are called by God through prophets, mission boundaries and how missionaries are attached to wards and they work with the people giving service and teaching about Jesus. I talked to her about how the purpose of the church is to bring people to Jesus Christ and the purpose of the missionaries is to bring people to Jesus Christ and build up the church.

She said, do some missionaries get sent to places to start the church where it previously did not exist? I said, yes but for the most part, almost everyone that goes out goes to an established situation to try to build there and lift the people there. We want to bring the gospel to everyone,

I told her that our Heavenly Father loves everyone no matter where they’re from or when they were born. I told her he loves everyone and not just the people in Jerusalem. I asked her if she thought that it was strange that the only record we have in the Christian world, for the most part, of God‘s interaction with people are with the people in Jerusalem? I asked her if she thought possibly God loved other people as well? She readily agreed.

I told her that we believe in the things that everybody else believes in, the divinity of Jesus Christ, his birth to Mary, his crucifixion, and resurrection, and all of the things contained in the Bible. I told her we believe in the Bible, but I said that God also loved everyone else in the world and they were his children.

I told her that a perfect God with all power would find a way to show his love to all of his children not just the children in one little place. I told her that we believe that God had prophets in other places. We believe that God had prophets here in America amongst the ancestors of the Native Americans.

I told her that God revealed his commandments to them and that the reason why God gives us commandments is so that we can be happy. I told her that the purpose of commandments is not to punish us but to make us happy. I asked her if she saw a lot of happy people around Park City? She said, come to think of it, I see a lot of people that seem to be having fun but they feel empty. I told her that it’s because a lot of them aren’t following the commandments of God.

I told her that this is why God had prophets in ancient America. He gave those people commandments so that they could be happy and feel his love just like we have the commandments so that we can be happy and feel his love.

I told her that we have a prophet on the Earth today. I told her that when we go on missions, the place we go is chosen by prophets. I told her that this way we know that we are sent exactly where God would have us go.

She said, wow! That’s pretty neat. As I started talking about the Book of Mormon and the prophets the spirit came in the car. It was noticeable because of it’s absence in the Park City environment. I could tell she was feeling it and feeding off of it. I asked her if she felt that and she said, yes.

I talked about how in the Bible, after Jesus was resurrected, he said that he had other sheep that were not of that fold and he was commanded to go to them. I told her that Jesus came to America and descended from heaven in front of all the people. I told her that they touched the prints of the nails in his hands and he bless them. I told her that Jesus held their children and blessed them and loved them, just like he had in the Bible.

I told her that then he said, still other sheep I have, which are not of this land or the land of Jerusalem, or the lands roundabout, and that he was commanded by his father to go to them. I asked her who else she thought would have been visited by Jesus? She thought about it and said well, wouldn’t God send his son to everyone? She said, I would love to think that my ancestors met Jesus Christ.

I talked to her about how in Isaiah he mentions Kush as one of the places where the house of Israel had been scattered to and that would be visited. She didn’t know where Kush was.

I spent a minute orienting her to the history of Africa and the great African Empire of Kush. This is who Isaiah referred to. I told her that Jesus loves everyone and I believe her ancestors were included. She had a smile on her face. She said, I’ve always felt a connection to Jesus Christ.

The spirit was burning in the car. She asked me if there were lots of Mormons in Argentina where I went on my mission. I told her that there were. She said, I thought all Mormons were in Utah. I told her that is definitely not true. We are one of the fastest growing religions everywhere in the world because this message speaks to people’s soul. In their soul, they know that God loves them and that he sent his son Jesus Christ for them.

I asked her what it meant to her to think about Jesus Christ possibly blessing her ancestors when they were children. She had a tear in her eye and said that was a powerful image.

I told her that her father in heaven loved her and that same gospel of Jesus Christ is here today. The same thing he taught when he went to America and the other places is here today.

I told her that just like how in the Bible they wrote down their prophecies that they received from God and because of this we have the Bible. I told her that in America, the prophets wrote down the prophecies they received as well. They wrote down the things they learned from God and the blessings they received by his hand. I told her that this is the Book of Mormon. It’s the word of God to us through his prophets just like the Bible.

She got excited and said, the Book of Mormon, I saw that play. Then she thought for a second and she said, you know, that wasn’t really a very favorable portrayal of your religion. She said, from what I am feeling in this car and seeing in your eyes, that portrayal was wrong.

I said, it was some guys making jokes and they happened to use our church as the vehicle. It was nothing more or less than that and we’re not really that offended. She said, that’s good. I told her that when those prophets wrote down their prophecies they wrote them on metal plates and they were given to Joseph Smith to translate. I told her that Joseph Smith was from New York and that is where our church was founded.

She really liked that and she said, that’s amazing! I wish I’d known that. I told her that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon and that the Book of Mormon not only included the prophecies of the ancient prophets in America but the account of the visit of Jesus Christ. We have those words in the Book of Mormon.

She mentioned that she was eager to learn about this because those would’ve been similar to the words taught to her ancestors, if this were true.

She said, that’s amazing! And it happened in New York? I said yes! I told her that we have a temple in Manhattan. Now she was shocked. She said I had no idea. I need to go there.

By this time we had been sitting for five minutes in front of her hotel and I had another ride that I had accepted that I needed to pick up. I ended her ride because I didn’t want to charge her while I testified. Avoid priestcraft at all cost😀!

I was talking about her going there to the chapel at the temple and feeling the same spirit there that she felt in the car. She agreed to do that. That spirit was powerful and we both acknowledged it. She had recognized the truth of the things we had discussed. Just before I was about ready to give her a Book of Mormon her door opened. It was the other ladies that I was supposed to pick up at that same spot.

The ride ended abruptly but it was obvious to me that she didn’t want to go. It was obvious to me that there was a difference in the spirit between her, and the people that replaced her. The difference in the feeling of the spirit in the car between our ride and the next one was also a stark contrast, it was palpable.

I thought about that ride all night long. I wondered if I failed because I wasn’t able to give her a Book of Mormon. I felt the spirit comfort me and tell me that she now knew where to go. The next day was Sunday and I was sitting in church when my phone dinged. It was a message telling me I received a tip from that ride of 20%.

They give you the option of one dollar, three dollar or five dollar tips. When somebody customizes a tip and adds more you know that they appreciated the ride. This was a confirmation to me that she had recognized the difference of the spirit and the truthfulness of the words that were spoken, and that it had sunk in.

I don’t know what the Lord has in store for this young lady but I know she felt the spirit and she had all the right questions. I know she was supposed to be there in the car. She now knows where to go. I know she loves her father in heaven and he loves her. I felt it in the car that day