"Paul testified on many occasions concerning his conversion, that he had seen Jesus our Lord and that the vision was a reality," said Elder Howard W. Hunter, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, in his October 1964 general conference address.

"In the book of the Acts of the Apostles there are three accounts of the conversion. The first is the record of Luke in which the conversation between the Lord and Paul is set forth. In the second account Paul personally relates the facts of the conversion in his speech to the angry crowd on the steps of the temple in Jerusalem, and the third is his defense before King Agrippa, the nephew of Herod, who had tried the Savior just a few years before. Standing in the elegant surroundings of the court of the king, Paul spoke in his own defense, recalling his youth, his beliefs as a Pharisee, his part in the persecutions, and the marvelous vision on Damascus Road. After bearing witness of Jesus he said: `Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.' (Acts 26:19.)"Paul's life had been bisected by Damascus Road. Before, he was an aggressive persecutor of Christianity, but after Damascus Road he was one of its most fervent propagators."

Elder Hunter said there are many in the world who could be like Paul, many who could be changed in the twinkling of an eye if willing to change the object of their lives as did Paul.

"There are some who see but do not believe. One needs to be only a bystander to see, but to believe, one must accept wholeheartedly and commit himself to his belief. This requires faith and repentance of old ways. Paul had been raised in the belief his family had held for generations. He had been trained in that faith, and it is fair to say that he understood it, but it was not until that day on Damascus Road when Jesus spoke to him that the object of his life was changed. There are persons in every church who see, but some do not believe. Because they have been raised in the beliefs of their fathers, their minds are closed, and they are satisfied to continue. We wonder why it took Paul so long to see the light and why he so vigorously opposed the teachings of the Savior. The answer is apparent. He was born into a certain belief and followed it until it became a habit. He had a preconceived idea of the law which closed his mind to the truth until that event on Damascus Road."