A few weeks ago during Sunday school, we all shared our conversion stories about when the Lord called us to be baptized. Even though I know the brothers and sisters in my mission pretty well, I’ve never heard their full conversion stories. It was interesting and a blessing to hear how differently the Lord spoke to us, from those who were born and raised in this gospel to those who met the Lord from their spouse.

This September is going to be 20 years since I surrendered to the Lord. I can’t believe how quickly time goes by!

I was at an Atlantic Coast Area Campout. As a 14 year old, my plan was to hang out with my friends and the cute boys who were going to be there.

As we were roasting marshmallows that Saturday night, my friend, Stephanie, and I were talking with my dad and a couple other ministers about why we had to be called to be baptized. We went to church on Sundays, prayed, and followed the Lord’s teachings. Why couldn’t we just be baptized then and there? Instead of preaching to us, the brothers simply told us to pray about it. If we woke up in the morning and the first thought we had was baptism, then we were being called and that would be our day.

Steph and I slept in the same bunk that night, and when we woke up, we looked at each other and asked if we were thinking about it. We both said no, so we shrugged it off and got ready for church. I’ll be honest with you — we were not paying attention to the sermon at church. I remember playing with tissues and teasing some boy sitting in front of us, quieting talking and laughing.

But then, God intervened. Brother Jim Sgro was preaching — he was not one of the ministers we were talking with the night before — and he said (loudly) “If you were thinking about baptism last night, then today is your day. God is calling you into His fold.” The Spirit of God hit us both at that moment. Without talking or even looking at each other, we simultaneously stood up and surrendered our souls to the Lord, and we were baptized an hour or so later.

As a confirmation, a brother in the congregation said he had been following along in his Bible, reading ahead. When he read the scripture saying you need to be baptized (honestly, I don’t know what the scripture was since I hadn’t been paying attention) he heard a voice say, “Stefanie, Stephanie.” We stood up a minute later.

In these past 20 years, life has not been pain- and sorrow-free, but having the Lord in my life has allowed me to find joy during the rough spots. I am sure all of you who have entered the waters of baptism would have to agree with me that it’s the best decision anyone can ever make.

Now, you! I would love to hear all of your conversion stories! Please comment on this post and share with the rest of us.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.