“His Conversion”
William Branham made several contradictory claims about where his “conversion” to Christianity took place.
On July 20, 1951, he claimed that he was “converted in the Baptist church”, as follows,
“Many times people get in such a big hurry about their healing. If God pronounces something, you believe it. Whatever He says you hold right to it. Listen at them coming from different meetings testifying. Just hold on to what's said to you. And remember, as I say tonight, feel very little to stand here and speak concerning the Scripture; I'm just a baby in the Word. I was converted in the Baptist church, and just come out from the Baptist church. I belong to no church now, that I might pull together the family of God. Not representing any one church, but only the one Church and that's the only true Church, the Body of Jesus Christ.” “The Angel of God” (51-0720).
On April 19, 1959, he also claimed that he was converted in the “Missionary Baptist church”, as follows,
“And, after a while, God came down and blessed our little home, we had a little boy. His name was Billy Paul, is in the service right now here. And a little later from then, about eleven months, He blessed us again with a little girl called Sharon Rose, taken from the word of “The Rose of Sharon.”
And I remember one day I had saved up my money and I was going to take a little vacation, going up to a place, the Paw Paw Lake, to fish. And on my road back…
And during this time…I’m leaving out my conversion. I was converted. And was ordained by Doctor Roy Davis, in the Missionary Baptist church, and had become a minister and have the tabernacle that I now preach in in Jeffersonville. And I was pastoring the little church.” “My Life Story” (59-0419A).
Less than four months later, on August 2, 1959, he contradicted himself by claiming that he was converted in a “little old saloon”, as follows,
“And a bunch of little, so-called holy-rollers one night, I found what I wanted, that money could not buy. In a bunch of illiterate, uneducated, poorly dressed people, Negroes, to begin with, out yonder in a little old converted saloon, on the floor, I found a price, a jewel; when that old darkie looked in my face, and said, “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?” Oh, It was something that I wanted. I didn’t expect to find It amongst those people, but they had what I needed.” “Without Money Or Without Price” (59-0802).
Just thirteen days later, on August 15, 1959, he contradicted himself further by claiming that he was converted in an “old coal shed”, as follows,
“That’s the why God does for His people. You remember when you were first coming to the living God. I remember the night when I received Christ as my personal Saviour. It was so soft; I thought I was walking on air. I was converted in an old coal shed. And when I come in, I didn’t know nothing about shouting or praising the Lord. So, I felt so good I—I didn’t even touch a board coming up from the shed to the house. I grabbed a song book and begin to look at it, and then—and my Bible, and begin to read. And Mother said, “What you so nervous about?” I said, “Nothing.”
I went out behind the house, there’s a railroad track run down a levy. And I got out on the railroad track, and I thought it’s time for me to go to Heaven. I jumped just as high I could jump, and screamed just as loud as I could scream. It felt so good. I tell you, when you’re borned into the house of the living God, there’s something comfortable about it. God makes it so. He makes it nice for His little eaglets when they’re born. I’m so glad to be one of them.” “As The Eagle Stirreth Up Her Nest” (59-0815).
On March 2, 1960, he contradicted himself again by reverting back to his earlier claim that he was converted in a “little old saloon”, as follows,
“How well I can call the time. In a little old saloon that had been used as a church where some colored people was preaching the Gospel, I was a southerner and didn’t like colored people, and a vision came and told me where to go find it. And all the white girls that I’d went with, oh, not all of them, four or five standing there said, “Billy, you’re not going in there—there?”
I said, “Yes, I’ve got to go.”
Said, “Don’t never ask me for another date.”
It didn’t make any difference. I met God, and from that time I’ve been changed. Can point back to that time, I was changed.” “From That Time” (60-0302).
Then on July 31, 1963, he similarly claimed that he was converted in a “barroom”, as follows,
“I tell you, even to our Pentecostal moves; when, we used to go down in old barrooms like this, and places.
I was converted in a converted barroom. And I feel very much at home now. I look back there and see that counter, and so forth. It was a little, colored church, where I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, was led there by the Lord. “There Is Only One Way Provided By God For Anything” (63-0731).