More Members Share Baptism Stories: A Monstrous Decision

I was a career soldier stationed in El Paso, Texas, around 1960. My entire adult life was void of religion and church until I heard the voice of Mr. Herbert Armstrong on XELO radio.

Confused, it led me to seek clarification of what I had heard from a local minister. In the discussion I mentioned Mr. Armstrong's name, and in unison both he and his wife shot straight into the air from their seats shouting, "Heretic!" I was shocked, but it certainly inspired further investigation.

After much study and counsel, I requested to join the Radio Church of God. However, I was jolted by their answer: It was necessary to leave the military service. It was a monstrous decision, but with conviction I requested discharge as a conscientious objector and was released after two months with 16 years of service.

After discharge I intended to go by bus to Church headquarters in Pasadena, California, for baptism. I went to the bus station, and as I walked through the door I was surprisingly called to the phone. My brother-in-law called from California to inform me of a disaster at home, and told me to go there immediately. However, a confirmation call proved it to be a false alarm. My brother-in-law had no knowledge of my discharge, my plans or where I would be that day, but he had dialed the bus station, as he said, "on a hunch."

Then a bad case of hemorrhoids developed suddenly, and the thought of sitting on a long bumpy trip seemed too difficult, but I made the decision to go anyway.

I arrived in Pasadena in pain. During the counseling, with cigarettes poking out of my shirt pocket and the heavy odor, I'm sure it was obvious to the minister that I was a smoker. He informed me that to be a member I could not smoke. It was a lifelong habit, and had I known that, I might not have made this decision. I tossed the cigarettes and was baptized and received the Spirit of God. Then a second miracle occurred—God took the smoking habit away that day, and I never smoked again.

Oh, yes, and the hemorrhoids were immediately cured as well, with many more miracles to follow over the years of faithfulness. Praise God.

—Jack Campbell
Kalamazoo, Michigan, congregation