Elder Potter's Conversion

1841 - 1897

Elder Lemuel Potter in his autobiography "Labors and Travels of Elder Lemuel Potter" (See here) writes the following in chapter four (emphasis mine):

"Often have I, in the great agony of my poor heart, taken a walk, more to be alone than anything else, and in those lonesome hours I would often find myself trying to ask the Lord for mercy as I walked along. Sometimes I was made to think that the Lord had shown me the wickedness of my poor, sinful self, that I might see His justice in my condemnation. It seemed that my time in the world was now going to close, and I must die and be lost. 0, how wretched! It was not worth while to tell others of the trouble I was in, for they could not sympathize with me, I thought. Still I kept trying to do something good that the Lord would bless me with peace of mind and it seemed that nothing would give that but mercy in the forgiveness of sins. If the Lord would forgive all my wrongs, and the innumerable sins I had committed, I thought I would be under greater obligations to Him than any poor sinner that ever lived in the world. In this way I went on for four or five weeks, and it seemed that I could see no peace at any time or place. Everything wore a gloomy, dismal appearance to me. Finally I came to the conclusion that there was something that I had not done that I must do before the Lord would have mercy."

Potter also wrote:

"O, it is more than I can do to describe the anguish of soul just at this time. Lord, be merciful; if I am lost it is just, and if saved, it is a poor guilty sinner saved by Grace. It seems now that I stood in one place and was trembling like a leaf, trying to ask the Lord for mercy. and had almost given up in despair, when suddenly there was a change came over me that brought peace that I am not able to describe, and I felt like praising the Lord for his grace in the salvation of a lost and justly condemned sinner. My trouble was gone..."

When was Potter quickened into spiritual life? When was he saved, born again, forgiven of sins? The Hardshells tell us that he was such a man even when he was under conviction of sins, when he saw himself as lost and without hope, and yet in saying this they make the Holy Spirit to be a liar, for he was the one who was convicting Potter of being lost, but if he was not lost, then the Holy Spirit was telling Potter what was not true. 

Potter's regeneration, however, followed his conviction of sin, occurring when he stood trembling before the Lord and when in despair he asked the Lord for mercy. Following that is when he was delivered from his sense of condemnation, being commensurate with his believing the Gospel and embracing Christ as his Savior. Peace with God comes when a sinner believes in Christ and is declared justified by God in the conscience. (Rom. 5: 1) 

I have written on how the Hardshell views on conviction makes the Spirit a liar in these posts (here, here) You can also read the three chapters on "Conviction of Sin" in my series titled "The Hardshell Baptist Cult" (See here, here, here).