George Story was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1738. He was something of a prodigy, having read the catechism and explained his understanding of it to the minister-- at the age of 4! By the age of 6, he had read the entire Bible several times. He repeats a story common to a couple of other of Wesley's Veterans, that when he was a boy he threw a rock at a neighbor's fowl, not immediately killing it, and being very disturbed by the animal's death agonies.
His parents taught him to fear the Lord, and the local minister of the Church of England was a pious and engaging man, so the young Story had a solid foundation. But as his boyhood wore on into adolescence, Story started drifting away from his training and ultimately his faith. Story was apprenticed to printers and booksellers, and was around not only lots of information that he greedily absorbed, but also around the latest intellectual fashions.
He tried to fit into the world, thinking he would be in the "party crowd," playing cards-- but this bored him. He decided perhaps he would start betting on horses, but he thought that surely humans were made for more than watching horses go round and round. Because he was of a serious bent, and inclined to think about what was the purpose of life, and having left his faith behind, he fell into Deism.
Story says something that really strikes at the root of my conversion to Christianity. He remarks that he had tried to live his life according to Reason, but that he stood condemned "even by that partial judge;" which is to say, you'll always have a long list of real good reasons for everything you've done. But at the end of the day, for all the learning and thinking and justifications, you find yourself as venal and self-serving as anyone. So what do you do?
At this juncture in his life, Story heard that his mother had found grace among the Methodists. She encouraged him to go hear them. He went for her sake, but was prepared to scorn their ignorant ways. He said, indeed, that since all their arguments were from Scripture and he did not care what Scripture said, he wrote them off.
But a young woman among the Methodists asked him if he was happy. He said No, and she asked if he wanted to be. He said he had sought that by as many means as he could find, but alas, did not have it. She said that if he sought the Lord he would find the peace and happiness he was looking for. Somehow, this struck deep within him, and he did seek the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and says that he then discovered how important the Scriptures are: "there is no other revelation of the divine will to mankind... I found my reason had been deceived and corrupted by the suggestions of an enemy..."
He joined the Methodist societies, and only reluctantly began exhorting and sharing what he learned. He felt a call to preach, but as he had a speech impediment, he was not sure how he would fare. The Methodists opened a small chapel nearby and he began to preach regularly. At the Conference of 1762, he went only with the intention of listening to the discussions, and spending some time with the preachers. As it turned out, his friends suggested him to the Conference as a preacher, and off he went!
Story died in 1818, and a friend said of him, "He was on old disciple, a faithful laborer in the Lord's vineyard. He continued to travel in various parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland."
He finished his career by being the head of the Methodist printing house-- back to his old work.
Just before he died, he said, "I feel Christ to be more precious to my soul than ever."
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