Our family's final baptism

The baby of our family was baptized last weekend, and it was wonderful to have family and friends join us for Josh's big day.

 It's pretty amazing, the spirit I feel when someone gets confirmed and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost. For me, the room is suddenly filled with even more warmth and love than was there before.

Several friends came, and it was fun to share our religion and traditions with them. I'm glad we have friends who are willing to share their beliefs with us, and are open to learning more about our beliefs, too! It makes the world a richer place, and we usually find we all have more in common than not.

After the baptism, we headed to Chuy's to celebrate with some Mexican food. Some of the kids worried that the hubcaps would fall off the ceiling and hurt their heads. But it was a pretty cool sight!

Ashley gave one of the talks at the baptism. She pretty much wrote it by herself (one of her many hobbies/talents is writing talks -- she did not get that from me!). I'm including her talk here so she can remember it forever when she reads our blog book:

My talk today is on baptism. Baptism is a huge step into being responsible for our choices. Many people I know of were baptized. Adam is one of them. Adam was baptized after the fall. It says in Moses 6:64-66:

64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.

65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.

66 And he heard a voice out of Heaven saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the son from henceforth and forever.

Adam was the first man on Earth to get baptized. He was baptized by the Spirit since no one else at the time on Earth had the authority to baptize him.

Jesus was also baptized, even though he was perfect and did no sin. In Matthew 3:13-17 it reads:

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

 16 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:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus has made a way for us to repent for our sins by taking the sacrament on Sunday at church each week. We can also pray to God to be forgiven each day. When we are baptized, we make promises to Heavenly Father. Today, Josh will make these covenants:

1.       Believe in Jesus and Heavenly Father. Water the seed of faith in your heart each day so your faith will be strong. You can do things such as pray and read the scriptures to help grow your faith seed. Going to church on Sunday and seeing the temple every once in a while helps, too.

2.       Pray to Heavenly Father. He will answer prayers. He may not answer in the way you want Him to, but He does answer. And He does listen. You can pray anywhere at any time. You don’t have to be on your knees to pray. You can say a silent prayer in your mind or heart. The more we speak to God, the more he will help us through our challenges.

3.       Be forgiving and love others. As Jesus said in Matthew 22:36-40: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor like unto thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”  Jesus loved and forgave everyone. We want to be like Jesus.

4.       Choose the right every day. Listen to the still small voice before you make a choice. The Spirit will tell whether it is a right choice or wrong choice. If you have an icky feeling inside of you, you will know if it is a good choice or not. If you make a mistake during the day, repent and try again. Don’t forget to forgive yourself, too!

5.       Read the scriptures. God wants us to read His words because they help us know His will, and following God’s will is always the best thing to do. The scriptures have things that God revealed to His children through prophets. I love reading the stories in the scriptures. They bring me closer to my savior and will bring you closer to Him, too.

In return, Heavenly Father promises that we will always have his Spirit to be with us. As some of us know, this is said in the end of the sacrament prayer each Sunday.

I still remember the feeling I had at my own baptism very clearly. After my dad said the prayer, the spirit washed over me like a blanket. It felt so good. Baptism is a great choice. I am so very happy that Josh is making this choice.