Little Lou was baptized a couple of weeks ago, having turned eight and reached an age of accountability. It was literally a celebration for our family. In the weeks prior to her baptism we focused our family home evening lessons on the principles of faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We all rejoiced in the fact that the youngest member of our family has a testimony of the restored gospel and has faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior.
During fast and testimony meeting at church in June, just a couple of weeks before her 8th birthday, I heard Lou lean over and whisper to Dave "How do you bear your testimony?" I thought this was a strange question since I knew that Lou already knew what a testimony was and had shared it in our home on numerous occasions. Dave answered her "You share your feelings about the gospel." Lou went on to say "No, is there a list or something you have to sign up on?" Dave told her that there wasn't any list. Anyone who wants to share can go up and share. Lou courageously stood up then and walked up from the back where we were sitting on her own and shared her testimony in our ward for the first time. She simply stated that she knew that the church was true and that baptism was important. I echo her simple testimony. I am grateful that Dave holds the priesthood and is able to serve on behalf of his children and baptize them and give them such great blessings.
For our simple program at the baptism we were able to have Little D and Raycito give the talks. At first they didn't want to, feigning being shy, but they did a great job and showed their love for Lou in this way.
Little D's Talk on Baptism
The first principle of the Gospel
is Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ is Heavenly Father’s Son and He has powers that no one else has. He can make it rain or become sunny. He can make wind or stop wind. He can build or destroy things. He can heal our sicknesses. I learned to have faith in Jesus at Family
Home Evening, by listening to my primary teachers, and reading scriptures at
night. I learned to believe that He is
our Savior. He saves us from sin and
death. The first thing we have to have
before we can be baptized is Faith in Him.
The second principle of the Gospel
is Repentance. We ask Heavenly Father
to forgive us for the things we have done wrong. When I do something wrong, I feel sad. When Heavenly Father forgives me I feel
happy. Once Raycito and I were rough
housing and I got really mad at him so then I hit him over and over again with my
rapid fire punches. Raycito fell
backwards and stepped on something and hurt his foot so I felt really bad. I hugged Raycito and said sorry and I ran into
my room and said a prayer for forgiveness and I felt better. We show our faith in Jesus by repenting
whenever we do something wrong.
After Faith and Repentance comes Baptism
by immersion for the remission of sins.
When you get baptized you make promises to Heavenly Father. You promise that you will stay in the church,
mourn with those that mourn, comfort those who need comfort and stand as a
witness of God. You try to keep the
commandments and repent if you break them.
Even after baptism we still make mistakes but we can repent. How we remember our baptism is by taking the
sacrament each Sunday.
What I remember about my baptism
was that everyone in my family was there.
I got baptized in a full body suit that was white and I was happy and
nervous. The water was warm and when I
got out I felt peaceful and excited. I
felt warm and fuzzy. When I got out of
the water I was reborn (in a way).
In Matthew 3:16-17 it says “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway out of the water: and, lo,
the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a
voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
I think that Heavenly Father is also
pleased with us when we follow Jesus’ example and get baptized. I want to tell Lou that she is smart to get
baptized because if she keeps her promises she will get to go back to
Heaven. I also want to tell her that she
is nice, I like playing with her, I am proud of her and I love her.
Raycito's Talk on The Gift of The Holy Ghost
I am very proud of Lou for
choosing to get baptized. After my own
baptism I felt very clean and happy. I
hope Lou feels happy too. In 2 Nephi
31:13 it says “If ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting
no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of
your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the
name of Christ, by baptism – yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down
into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy
Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost and then can
ye speak with the tongue of angels…”
I want to tell Lou what comes
next. Dad who has the priesthood will
put his hands on your head and confirm you a member of the church (which means
you will be a genuine member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
and he will tell you to receive the Holy Ghost. When I was little, it was very
hard to pay attention in church because my clothes were hot, the church was hot
and everything was uncomfortable. Ever since I got the Holy Ghost it has been
easier to pay attention in church. I don’t get in trouble as much as I did when
I was a little kid. And now, I can
listen when the Spirit teaches me and testifies about the truth. That is one of the Holy Ghost’s jobs.
A couple weeks ago I went to 5th
grade camp for a week. I was away from
my family and I missed them. A lot. I felt sad that I was away from my family. When I went into my tent when it was time to
go to sleep I read the scriptures. I
felt better and I think it was the Holy Ghost comforting me. That is another job of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost can also warn us of danger,
help us remember things, reveal things to us, and give us spiritual gifts. When He is with us we feel peace, calm,
happiness, comfort, we love others and we follow the example of Jesus.
The Holy Ghost wants to be with us
always to protect us and help us but He can become offended by us if we are not
being very righteous. Then He may leave us until the behavior is corrected and
we repent.
Here are some things we can to
“receive” the Holy Ghost like my dad will say to Lou in just a few moments.
1.
Have Family Home
Evening
2.
Have scripture study
3.
Personal prayer
4.
Go to church and take
the sacrament worthily
5.
Repent
6.
Not say things or do
things that will offend the spirit
7.
Keep the commandments
8.
Treat other people with
kindness and respect
If we do these things, The Holy
Ghost can be our best friend who is always there no matter what. I want to tell Lou to treasure your baptism. You will remember it for the
rest of your life.
Dave and I both were also able to share our feelings about Lou's baptism and the covenants we make with Heavenly Father. Lou has such a wonderful relationship with her dad. They are so close. She absolutely adores him. It is the sort of relationship I didn't have with my own dad and wished and prayed that my children would have. I told Lou that all of our experiences in the world- both the good and the bad- have one purpose and that is to help us turn toward Heavenly Father- to trust in and rely on Him. I don't think Lou will have as difficult a time learning to trust as I have simply because of how much she trusts and loves her earthly father. I think it will feel natural to her to have that trust for her Heavenly Father.
Dave told Lou about an old tape recording that we have of my baptism- back in 1983. On the tape you can hear me, with my hoarse voice, sharing my testimony. Now Lou is that same age and has her own little hoarse voice and he hoped she would grow up to be like me because she had a wonderful mother.
Yes, that made me feel good.
How grateful I am to have a daughter. She has helped Dave be the man he needs to be. She helps me to be better- I can't get away with anything with Lou. I am so proud of her- her courage, her testimony, her faith. She is lovely and good.
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