Hyrum's Baptism

It's been a whole week since the event but I felt like it deserved documenting.

Some days are good and some days are not as good, and some days are just really nice. Last Sunday was one of the really good days. On the same day, I blessed my youngest son and I was able to baptize my oldest son. Both events were very sweet and full of tender emotions and and tears born of deep gratitude and love for my children.

Having extended family present made the day so much nicer. Brian and Beth commented on the blessing. I remember most of the blessing and I'm still considering whether this is a proper forum for sharing the content of that blessing. I'll err on the side of caution and not post it, with the caveat that if anyone would like to know I'll type out what I can remember and email it off.

The blessing was done at 1pm at the beginning of sacrament meeting and the baptism was done after church and a little dinner that my mom coordinated. As a side note, it is really nice to have a mom that will take charge in certain situations to organize special events where I would fall short.

Baptisms are always special but the significance of it didn't hit me until after Hyrum and I were dressed in our white clothing and standing in the hall to get a picture taken. At that point it hit me that I remembered a picture very similar to the one we were posing for but it was of me and my dad. I was baptized in the same font, and my dad and I took a picture next to the same wall.



The service was very impromptu, Ben led the music, I am a child of God, Kate gave a great opening prayer, Aunt Joie gave a talk on baptism and shared her testimony all of which invited the spirit in wonderfully. Then we baptized him.

Without going to into too much detail, I walked into the water which was a little cold, then turned and invited Hyrum to join me. I gave him a little reminder about how it would work then closed my eyes. When I said the baptismal prayer, I choked on the words, being overwhelmed with emotion, laid him under the water and brought him back up again and gave him a great big hug.

We got dressed back into our Sunday best and came out to our seats again where, Sarita gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Both talked were addressed Hyrum. He came up to the front where I invited all of my brothers, the Bishop and a family freind that was there to stand in for the confirmation. For this I can't recount what I said, except the words "you can be a light that reflects the light of Jesus Christ", but the rest is a blur.

The whole time I was just so proud of my little boy and hoped that he would remember this as a day to remember. On a personal note, I was struck by the thought that while I may not consider myself worthy to perform tasks in the name of my Savior, he still sanctified the act so that my son wouldn't be denied the blessing of recieving this ordinance, and I know that the Holy Spirit was there to testify that it was accepted by the Lord.