During my early teenage years, I would spend several weeks
every summer in Pocatello, Idaho visiting my aunts, uncles, grandparents and
cousins. One summer when I was 15 I was
staying with my aunt and uncle and cousin who lived south of Pocatello in Arbon
Valley. During one of those weeks, a
church reunion was being held at a camp on Scout Mountain which was in the
Utah-Southeast Idaho District at that time.
The guest ministers were: Arthur
Oakman, Aleah Koury and Gene Chaney.
There was quite a number of kids my age in attendance. We went to all of the services and one that
was very meaningful and important to the youth was the morning prayer and
testimony service. I listened very
attentively to the testimonies shared by my new friends. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I
did not have the kind of testimony being shared by my friends which were very
spiritual, powerful, insightful, meaningful and pertinent to the issues, needs
and problems of everyday teenage life.
All of the boys were staying in one large cabin a distance
from the center of the campground. It
was a heavily wooded area which was very dark when the cabin lights were turned
out.
I remember climbing into my bed, turning off my flashlight
and laying in the silent darkness.
Everyone else was asleep. I began
to reflect on the prayer and testimony service of that morning. Knowing that I was not in tune with the
spiritual level and understanding of many of my friends, I asked God if He
would help me to better understand His ways and purposes as they relate to my
life that I might also be a servant for His cause and have a testimony of my
own to share.
The event that took place next would change my life
forever: In the air above the foot of my
bed appeared a bright light that radiated from the center in all
directions. In that moment, every cell
in my body was aware that I was in the presence of the Holy Spirit. That experience lasted about 15 seconds but will
always be a part of my life – a FOUNDATIONAL spiritual experience! I felt a sense of total acceptance and
unconditional love.
As I reflected back on that event I was able to draw a
conclusion as to what it meant: The
greatest thing that can happen to a human being is to have a personal,
powerful, undeniable encounter with the Holy Spirit. The life of anyone who has this kind of
experience will never be the same again.
To some degree you begin to think like Jesus thinks and when you begin
to think like Jesus thinks you begin to see the world and everything in it
through His eyes.
I have a testimony!
For it is the God who said, “let light shine out of
darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ( 2 Corinthians 4:6)
