That Was A Great Dunking!

If you are 8 years old, have a baptism recommend signed by your bishop and a font full of warm water, then by all means you should get baptized!!

And that's what Inigo did! Last Saturday, October 9, he decided that his recommend had been sitting around long enough and he was determined to use it!!

It was a wonderful day. Inigo had both sets of grandparents - travelling from Wyoming and Montana - there to support him. He had friends and cousins from Arizona drive to Florin to offer their support. He had local friends take time out of their busy lives to come and help him celebrate this special day.

We felt so loved!!!

The funniest part of the day was when Inigo was baptized. I reminded Max that the baptism prayer was printed on a laminated sheet and visible from the font, so he didn't look up the prayer in his scriptures. But when they got into the water, he couldn't find it. He said the prayer from memory (it sounded good to all of us) and submerged Inigo deep into the water. Both witnesses gave their approval -- no elbows or knees or toes came out -- and we thought that it was a done deal.

But NO!!! The high councilman and another stake leader came bounding out of the shadows and clarified that the word "OF" was omitted from the prayer: "In the name of the Father and OF the Son and OF the Holy Ghost."

Ooops.

Inigo was almost to the dressing room by then, and they had to holler and bring him back. Thank heavens the water was toasty warm and not an ice bath (like it was when I was baptized).

Max performed the ordinance again and this time it was flawless. Such a beautiful moment for my little boy (and my big boy)! Inigo was so happy that he was now baptized! It seems that he waited forever for this moment!

He had a beautiful blessing and confirmation and now my boy has the Gift of the Holy Ghost AND is officially a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is so thrilled!!

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It's been wonderful seeing the transfomation in my son. After the luncheon and after we said goodbye to everyone, we went to Guilder to a shoe store so Max could buy a new pair of running shoes. Inigo LOVES Sketchers and thinks it's fun to read the comics that are included in each box. He went to the kid's section, grabbed a comic from a box of shoes and started walking around the store reading it.

He was standing next to me and suddenly he said, "Mom, I just heard a voice."

"Oh really?" I said.

"Yes. It said to me that I shouldn't keep this comic and that I need to put it back in the box."

We discussed what the voice was and what he should do and I let him make the final decision.

Of course, you know what that decision was. He walked back to the kid's section and put that comic away. When he came back, his face was shining and he was clearly estactic that on the day he was baptized he had actually heard the voice of the Holy Ghost. It gave him such a boost to feel like he had passed his first test on being faithful.

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Fast forward to Sunday evening. Family Home Evening time. (Mondays are bad for us so we have it on Sunday.) We stole an idea from our neighbors: before the FHE lesson starts we have a Hymn sing-a-long. Every person in the room gets to pick a Hymn or Primary song and we all sing it... EVERY verse. Buttercup had some friends over and one of the girls picked Joseph Smith's First Prayer. (We love that song!!) We sang it with enthusiasm and gusto and when it was over, Inigo was kind of quiet. Then he said, "I don't know what it is, but I feel kind of like crying. There's water in my eyes and I can't stop it."

Awwwww......

It's so wonderful that he is ready to feel the Spirit.

I'm really not surprised. This is the kid that has enough faith to move mountains! Remember... he prayed to be able to see the prophet when our temple was dedicated and not only did he get to see the prophet, but he had one-on-one interaction and stood with the prophet in the Cornerstone Ceremony!!

Pres. Monson speaks to my boy and tells a story about red-headed missionaries

We are proud of you Inigo! We hope you will remember this day and these experiences and that you will draw on them to strengthen you when times are hard!