In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints a child may be baptized when they are 8 years old. This is a decision that they make alone. We believe that before this age children are not fully accountable and are therefore sinless. Children are covered under the Atonement of Jesus Christ until they gain sufficient knowledge to be accountable for their own actions. It is important to John and i that the decision to become baptized and become a member of the Church is one they make by themselves with full knowledge of what they are doing...of what they are covenanting to do.
In Alma Chapter 7 verses 15 & 16 it says:
15. Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism. UAdd a Note
16. And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.
The covenants made are found in Mosiah Chapter 18 verses 8-10:
8. And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; UAdd a Note 9. Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witness of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life— UAdd a Note 10. Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
On December 5th, 2010 Eden was baptized. She had previously made this decision and was extremely excited about it. Honoring and keeping those covenants is a weekly process. And as she goes to church and partakes of the sacrament she renews those covenants with Heavenly Father. We all fall short from time to time, but she has the promise of her Heavenly Father now, that if she does her best she will have his Spirit to be with her, and nothing is more valuable and lasting in life than that.
I am so pleased at Eden's decision. I know it will serve her well in life to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. I know that it will teach her truth and help lead and guide her in her life to accomplish the most important things that her Heavenly Father has for her to do. I know it will bring her true joy as it has done and continues to do for me.
I was surprised on the afternoon as her baptism was about to begin at how many people came to show their love and support. I would guess that there was somewhere between 40-50 friends there and i don't know if Eden noticed, but i did and felt overwhelmed with love. The only down side to that many people was that Eden had asked me to play the violin and that meant performing in front of a lot of people...to say i was nervous was an understatement as this was my first public performance ever, but i think i did alright and mostly Eden loved it which was the whole point anyway. John was the one who baptized her as he has the Priesthood and also along with some good friends confirmed her too. I cannot speak for him in his experience of being able to do that for his daughter so i will let him comment on that if he so chooses.
Eden was gorgeous in her white dress and looked just like a princess. She wrote in her journal about her experience and noted that she felt the Spirit, was freezing because the water was somewhat chilly, was scared that when she went into the water her dress would float and people would see her underwear (which didn't happen), that she wished Nana could be there to see her and that she was happy afterwards.
Thanks to all who came and made this very special moment in Eden's life filled with lots of love.
Before church that morning.....she decided to wear her white dress all day before the baptism as the baptism was after church.
Waiting for it all to begin......
My little princess!
