It is with pleasure and gratitude that I take advantage of this
opportunity of telling of God's wonderful dealings with me. It is now
a little over ten years since I was converted. I had the advantage of
being reared in a Christian home. My parents having been saved for a
good many years.
When I first heard of people who believed the entire Word of God as
it was preached in the days of the apostles, I wondered what kind of
people they were. Some of the ministers were conducting some meetings
not far from where we lived, and, hearing of these people, I asked my
father if it would not be possible for them to come to our community.
Being surprized at my question and glad to hear that I was interested
in hearing those people, he suggested that I should speak to them
personally and ask them to come. These meetings were conducted about
eight miles from our home.
It was a cold October day when I drove to the place with horse and
buggy and asked the people to come to our town. They were glad for
the invitation, and we returned to my home the same day. There was
especially one thing about them which surprized me, and that was how
happy and contented they seemed to be; but I was a little unwilling to
believe that it was really possible for a person to enjoy religion, for
my association with so-called Christian people had made the impression
upon my mind that Christianity, or salvation, was only for those who
could not enjoy themselves in the world.
When the company that were to hold the meeting came to our home,
I decided to study and examine their lives to find out whether they
really possessed the joy and satisfaction that I was longing for. Their
quiet, devoted lives convinced me of the fact that I ought to become
a Christian. Deep conviction settled down upon me in the meetings.
My mother and father, whose lives had made a deep impression upon me,
pleaded with me to yield to God, but I was still unwilling to surrender.
After the meetings closed I tried to quench the Spirit by indulging in
worldly pleasures and associating with my old friends, but it seemed
that the Spirit of God was working so powerfully upon me that it was
impossible to resist him. I remember especially an experience one
afternoon. I was brought face to face with the supreme question, Are you
ready to meet God? I decided that I would not yield, but that I would
enjoy the pleasure of sin and the world for some years and later become
a Christian.
Not being able to quench the convictions that the Spirit of God had
wrought upon me, I deliberately indulged in blasphemy, determined
to make the Holy Spirit leave me, but I am glad to say that God was
merciful to me in not permitting my soul to be lost. For a moment I felt
as though I had committed the unpardonable sin, that heaven was closed,
and that my soul was lost forever. But I turned to God with tears
and a broken heart, the Spirit of God again strove with me, and my
sins were mercifully forgiven. The joy of heaven filled my soul, and
I received the assurance that my name was written in the Book of Life.
This was November 5, 1905.