Jakes Baptism

Jack and I flew to Utah to attend Jake's baptism.  You can read about it here.  Jack and Jake are BEST friends, and I was so excited to find cheap flights and Angela planned this on a prefect weekend.  My sister Karen was there with her darling baby Lily, and my brother Dave just moved back to Utah with his family.  That meant that all 5 of us kids were there at the same time.  Jack loved the airplane ride and talked to me all about his theories of flight.  He was also thrilled to fly through storms and see lightening.  He even got to buy something at the gift shop in Phoenix (cheap flights = strange routes).

Jack spoke at the baptism and it was really cute.  He told me that he really felt the spirit and that he learned something new when he gave the talk.  I left on Sunday night, but Jack got to stay in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa until the following Thursday.  Then Jake, Jack and my parents drove up here to visit us for 5 days.  We had a great time, and that will be the next thing I blog about.

Here is Jack's talk:
Jack Wirick


Talk on Baptism for Jacob Ballard

8/27/2011
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are baptized when we reach the age of eight. Our prophets teach us that the age eight is important because this is when we become accountable and responsible for our actions.

Baptism is important because our Heavenly Father commanded us to do this. When we are baptized we receive many blessings from our Heavenly Father. Through repentance and baptism, our sins are washed away. The person being baptized must go all the way into the water. This is called being baptized by immersion. The person who baptizes must be someone who has the priesthood authority.

Being baptized is a special time of our lives. We covenant with the Lord to serve him and keep his commandments. We covenant to remember Jesus and to try to be like him. When we do that, he promises to send the Holy Ghost to help us.

A covenant is a promise we make with our Heavenly Father. When we make covenants, we show our love for God and promise to obey him.

Each time you take the sacrament, you will be reminded of the covenant or promise you made when you were baptized. As you follow Jesus’ teachings, you will be keeping your promise.

You will also be an example to those around you. When people know you are a member of the church, they expect you to behave well. When I was at scout camp, a leader there saw my CTR ring. She told me a story about when her son was a boy about 50 years ago. He collected toy cars. He went to a shop to buy parts for his cars and when he went to pay, he realized that he did not have enough money. The man at the counter told him that he could take the parts and come back later. He went home and told his mom, and then returned with the money. The man at the counter was not a member of the church, he told him that he saw his CTR ring and knew that he would make the right choice. Also at scout camp this year, someone from our council came up to our group of boys and asked if we were Mormons. When we said yes, he asked if someone would be able to say the prayer for the next opening ceremony. All of the boys in our group were willing and able to do this. Most of the boys at our scout camp would not have been comfortable praying in public. You never know when someone is watching you and when you can set an example or share your testimony.

Being baptized and having the Holy Ghost has helped me in my life and made me happy. I am proud of you for making the choice to be baptized.