Follow Him: A Come, Follow Me Podcast - Help me get rid of the missionaires • followHIM Favorites • Aug 5 - 11 • Come Follow Me

Episode Date: August 3, 2024

TRANSCRIPTSEnglish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM32ENFrench: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM32FRGerman: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM32DEPortuguese: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM32PTSpanish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastBM32ES YOUTUBEhttps://youtu.be/6R7OX0QSTOwALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTESfollowHIM website: https://www.followHIMpodcast.comFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookWEEKLY NEWSLETTERhttps://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletterSOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

Welcome to Follow Him Favorites. This is where John and I share a single story to go with this week's lesson. John, we're in Alma 39 through 42 today. Alma is speaking to his son Corian, and you've told me you have a story that goes along with what chapter? It goes along with Alma 40. Alma says this really interesting, very detailed thing about what happens when you die. Starting in verse 11, concerning the state of the soul between death and resurrection, it has been made known unto me by an angel that the spirits of all men as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life and then it shall come to pass the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care and sorrow."

Wow. Great verses. That's beautiful. Yeah. And I have a story. I was speaking down in Australia many years ago and I met this sister and she briefly told me her conversion story and I was like, oh my goodness, will you send that to me? And she did and even Nicola Oliver, these are her words and I'm sharing this with her permission. She said, I was working at an oncology hospital and the ward that I was on had several patients whose disease had become terminal and they were there for palliative care. Hank, I didn't know what palliative means but it's kind of a make them as comfortable as you can type of

thing. It's an end-of-life care. Got it. On many occasions the conversation between them would turn to the thought of what happens when you die. Indeed many residents there would ask me this question. At the time I was training to be a nurse I wanted to be the very best I could be. So I felt I could really use some comforting answers as I unquestionably believed at the time of death. That was the absolute end. John, can you imagine what a depressing nurse that would be? What happens when you die?

Oh, it's the end. Yeah. That's the end. So you want some jello? All right. Yeah. I know. Yeah.

What do you do? She said one evening after a late shift, I went home via a friend's house. He had recently got his own place and I promised to see it. When I arrived, he answered the door looking concerned. You have to help me, he said. I looked at him and said, help you what? He said, you've got to help me get rid of someone in the flat. Now, this wasn't the most savory of areas. I became quite concerned. Who might be lurking in his place. Who is it? I asked nervously. Some missionaries, he said quietly. You know, those unsavory missionaries. Yes, you can tell. My relief was palpable. I assured him I would gladly get them out for him. No worries, she says.

So before I was going to get these gents to leave, I realized this was an excellent opportunity for me to hone my best comforting skills when it came to work. I decided to ask them what they believed happened when you die, and then I would tell my patients that. Then they would feel better and I would be like an angel of peace and reassurance to them, job done. Well. I would be an angel. Yeah. Give me the script. Give me the angelic script. Isn't she great? Yeah. She said, well, I wasn't prepared for what happened next. As they began to explain to me about the next life and our loved ones that had already passed,

I realized I instantly knew that. How could I have forgotten? It was an odd feeling. Eager to see if it happened again, I asked them another question. And then another. Each time their answer took place somewhere inside me like a jigsaw piece, neatly making its way inside, making the picture obvious. I didn't know what to make of what was going on.

I know. I hadn't experienced the Holy Ghost before, so it felt peculiar but wonderful. I knew it was something good. As the world that I knew began to change right there in the flat, they announced that they'd had to leave as it was getting late. This seemed disastrous to me. I didn't want this experience to be over. I felt like things were just beginning. I asked the missionaries with mostly disbelief but a smidgen of childlike hope. Can you answer all my questions about life and everything?

My heart still before their casual reply of, yeah, just not tonight, we gotta go. And off they went. Just like that. Yeah, sure, sure, we can do that. Yeah, yeah, we can do that. I was stunned how they could have all this knowledge. The answers that I firmly believed

didn't exist in this life. Two guys that looked so normal and everyday with the whole meaning of life, the universe and everything within them. Long story short, I continue to meet with them and my every discussion filled my heart right up. I had become accustomed to the spirit I felt during the lessons and I knew that's how I wanted my life to be from then on. Not just a life like that, but that's now there was no other way to live. So my friend was not impressed with my skills in getting rid of these unwelcome guests at his place. This is not what I asked you to do. You were supposed to get rid of these guys. In fact, I continue to have the discussions there as my family would have no part

of this wonder I had found. Towards the end, I even had to pay him per discussion for the use of his place as he soon got tired of them being there. I got baptized shortly thereafter and I was married in the London temple the following year to my wonderful returned missionary Craig. This story began in Ashton under Lynn in the northwest of England in 1996. We now live in Mackay, Queensland, Australia. My husband of 20 years, that's when this letter was written anyway, is the district president and we have eight children. And that's the story from Nicola Oliver. Nicola, we love it. John, what a fantastic story. I was just envisioning it in my mind.

Wow. I loved her description that I felt like this puzzle piece was coming out of the air and being fit inside. And I'm like, wait, I know this. How do I know this? Yeah. What a great description of how it would feel, right, to hear this message for the first time.

Yeah. And you know what's interesting is it's not like a profound part of the book. You know, Alma 40 isn't one where you're like, oh, this is our gem. This is one jewel among thousands in this book. You know, that's a good point. That was what she needed at that time, even in her occupation. And it just happened to be the question she asked, touched something in her. Thank you, Nicola. Good thing that'd be a prepared missionary too.

Thanks, John. I actually remember reading that story in your book. I think it came out a couple years ago, When It Doesn't Make Sense by John, by the way. Because John, by the way, doesn't make sense. That's my picture. He doesn't. It is, he doesn't, none of it. When John, by the way, doesn't make sense by Hank Smith. Well, we hope you'll join us on our full podcast. It's called Follow Him. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. We're with Dr. Adam Miller this week.

He's a fan favorite. So come over and join us there and then join us next week. We'll do another follow-in favorites. ["Pomp and Circumstance"]