Hank Smith: 00:03 Welcome to followHIM 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, Corianton, and you’ve told me you have a story that goes along with what chapter?

John Bytheway: 00:16 It goes along with Alma 40. Alma says this really interesting, very detailed thing about what happens when you die. Verse 11, 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, 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.”

Hank Smith: 00:54 Wow.

John Bytheway: 00:54 Great verses.

Hank Smith: 00:55 Yeah. It’s beautiful.

John Bytheway: 00:56 Yeah, and I have a story. I was speaking down in Australia many years ago, and I met this sister. She briefly told me her conversion story, and I was like, “Oh my goodness. Will you send that to me?” She did. Her name is 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 a “make them as comfortable as you can” type of thing.

Hank Smith: 01:28 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 01:28 It’s an end-of-life care.

Hank Smith: 01:30 Got it.

John Bytheway: 01:30 “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.”

Hank Smith: 01:52 John, can you imagine what a depressing nurse that would be? “What happens when you die?”

John Bytheway: 01:56 I know. “Oh, it’s the end.” Yeah.

Hank Smith: 01:57 “Well, it’s the end, so you want some jello?”

John Bytheway: 02:00 Yeah.

Hank Smith: 02:01 All right.

John Bytheway: 02:02 Yeah, 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 at his place. ‘Who is it?’ I asked nervously. ‘Some missionaries,’ he said quietly.” You know those unsavory missionaries?

Hank Smith: 02:32 Yes, you can tell.

John Bytheway: 02:34 “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 happen 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-“

Hank Smith: 03:00 I would be an angel.

John Bytheway: 03:02 Yeah. I know.

Hank Smith: 03:02 Give me the script. Give me the angelic script.

John Bytheway: 03:04 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.”

Hank Smith: 03:34 Wow, wow.

John Bytheway: 03:34 “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 got to go,’ and off they went just like that.”

Hank Smith: 04:16 “Yeah. Sure, sure. We can do that.”

John Bytheway: 04:17 “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 look so normal and everyday with the whole meaning of life, the universe, and everything within them.”

Hank Smith: 04:33 Wow.

John Bytheway: 04:33 “Long story short, I continued to meet with them, and 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.”

Hank Smith: 04:57 “This is not what I asked you to do.”

John Bytheway: 04:59 “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.”

Hank Smith: 05:23 Wow.

John Bytheway: 05:23 “This story began in Ashton-under-Lyne 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.” That’s the story from Nicola Oliver.

Hank Smith: 05:42 Nicola, we love it. John, what a fantastic story. I was just envisioning it in my mind. Wow.

John Bytheway: 05:49 I loved her description that, “I felt like this puzzle piece was coming out of the air and being fit inside.” I’m like, “Wait. I know this. How do I know this?”

Hank Smith: 05:58 Yeah. What a great description of how it would feel, right, to hear this message for the first time?

John Bytheway: 06:04 Yeah.

Hank Smith: 06:06 What’s interesting is it’s not a profound part of the book. Alma 40 isn’t one where you’re like, “Oh, this is our gem. This is one jewel among thousands in this book.”

John Bytheway: 06:16 Yeah. 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.

Hank Smith: 06:26 Good thing to 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 Bytheway, because, John Bytheway, doesn’t make sense, so.

John Bytheway: 06:43 That’s my picture. None of this makes any sense.

Hank Smith: 06:45 When John Bytheway, Doesn’t Make Sense by Hank Smith. Well, we hope you’ll join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. 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 followHIM Favorites.