When it comes to a person’s conversion to the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, there are generally two types of people. Those who come to the knowledge suddenly like
walking into a dark room and turning on a light, or those whose knowledge
gradually grows like the sun rising in the morning. I am the latter.
I am not sure when I first knew that God lives; however,
I know that this knowledge came to me early in life. When I was five years old, a friend and I
were exploring in the woods around my house, as young boys do, when we got
lost. We tried to figure out where we
were but could not. The inspired thought
came to my mind that we should pray. I
told my friend my thought, and we folded our arm, bowed our heads, and prayed
to Heavenly Father for help. Immediately
after the pray, I had the thought to “follow the stream”. I saw the stream close by us, and we followed
it. After a short time walking, we began
to recognize where we were and found our way back home. I knew from this that God hears and answers
prayers, and the conversion light in my heart was being to shine over the
horizon.
That light grew brighter over the years. Usually, it was unperceivable, but
occasionally a bright shaft burst through.
The next scene that comes to my mind was when I was twelve years
old. I was at church on a Sunday, and I
was walking through the halls after sacrament meeting. I do not remember anything special about that
Sunday’s meeting; however as I walked, I felt the peace that comes from the
Holy Ghost. That feeling again confirmed
the love of God in my heart.
My teenage years brought the normal storm clouds of
confusion as I transitioned from a boy to a young adult. The light may have dimmed, but it did not go
out. However, the clouds quickly
dispersed and the light continued to grow shortly after I started college. My freshman year of college was the first
time in my life that I was completely on my own to attend church on Sunday or
not. Fortunately, I decided to attend
church even when my friends did not.
What a blessing in my life!
Because I was acting for myself and choosing to follow Christ, I was
blessed with increasing light. It was
during this time, I came to know for myself that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
and that He knows and loves me. The
first edges of the sun over the horizon began to be seen.
Jerry Bregg
Otay Lakes Ward
