Saturday, February 16, 2013

Thoughts On Baptism


At the moment I am thinking about when Braxton was baptized on November 3rd, 2012. It was such a special day for all of us. Braxton turned 8 years old only the day before, his siblings were excited to see him be baptized, and Paul was able to be the one to baptize him. Only 3 years before, that wouldn't have been possible, but instead we made the changes in our lives to make that happen. I am so proud of my family for striving to live each day a little better than the day before.

But what I am really thinking about with his baptism happens to be more along the promises we make. As a child, I don't think too many understand what it is they are promising to their Heavenly Father. I used to think that was a problem. Why would you baptize a child who is old enough to consent to being baptized, without them having the full knowledge of what that means? The way I see it now is that Heavenly Father trusts us to make choices in our life without the full comprehension of what it means. In other aspects of our lives we continue to think as children, without a real understanding of what it is we are supposed to be doing, but we are given the opportunity to do it and then learn.

Children are baptized and then given the gift of the Holy Ghost. They are allowed to make the promise to take on the name of Christ and receive guidance and comfort through the Holy Ghost, then as they grow and learn, they find out what exactly that means. They are able to learn, through their mistakes and through good choices, what it means to feel the Holy Ghost and have that confirmation that they are doing the right thing.

As adults, I know we experience that as we get married, become parents, and as we raise our children. We don't know exactly what it means to become a husband or wife. We don't realize the effort it takes to put another person before ourselves, that it doesn't happen the day you say "I do" or give birth. It is a process of making mistakes and learning, of admitting when wrong and growing, and choosing every day to be better than the day before.

I am so thankful for the gospel in my life. I'm thankful to know that it is ok to be wrong sometimes. I'm thankful for the guidance to make a better decision. I'm thankful for the constant love of my Heavenly Father and of my Savior.


1 comment:

  1. I am thankful for those things too. :) I am excited that Morgan will be turning 8 this year.

    ReplyDelete