Monday, March 31, 2008

But I Can't Wait Until I'm Eight . . .

I know that I've been writing a lot lately about Kimball, but I can't not write about this big event in his life. On Saturday, he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (In our church, infants are not baptized, as they are too young to tell right from wrong, and thus, to be accountable for their actions. Eight years old is considered to be the age of accountability.)

Kimball has been looking forward to this day for as long as I can remember. We have talked about it a lot as a family, about the covenant that you make with God at baptism. Here are some of my favorite scriptures about baptism that we have reviewed recently in preparation for this big step in his life:

"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3:1-5

"And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!" 2 Nephi 31:5

"And it came to pass that he said unto them: . . . 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; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses 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— 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? And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts." Mosiah 18: 8-11

It was a wonderful day. Many family members and friends gathered to witness Kimball being baptized and confirmed a member of the Church by his father. Afterwards, we celebrated with a cake that Alli, our mom, and I had made for the occasion

(I really wish that I had taken a picture of the cake after it had been sliced as well; it had four layers of chocolate-chocolate chip pound cake with alternating ganache and chocolate mousse fillings,) and visited with those who came. Kimball's grandparents gave him some new, leather bound scriptures and he said, "This really makes me feel like a grown-up."

I can tell that he is thinking a lot about his covenant with God and is trying to follow Jesus Christ. He is a good example to me. I just can't believe that my first born has reached this point--somehow I know that the others will quickly follow suit and my babies will soon all be grown up. It is a bitter-sweet feeling, but I am so proud of the person that he is becoming, and I am thankful for his influence in my life. He has already taught me much in his short life.


12 comments:

Andrea said...

What a wonderful occasion! Congratulations Kimball!

I love the cake! You guys are so talented.

Ice Cream said...

Actually, becasue you've been writing so much about Kimball it makes this news all the more meaningful and special.

We are coming upon baptism #2 in our family. It is always a wonderful and powerful experience. I always hope I've taught them enough before they reach this point.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Kimball! What a wonderful day. I love the picture with you and your Dad - I can tell how excited you are to be baptized. And I think you look very grown up in your handsome suit and carrying your new scriptures - Love the pictures.
Aunt Kimberly

Erika said...

We are so sorry that we missed this. The cake turned out beautifully (not surprising at all- -in fact when Rhonda showed us a picture of it yesterday, Tyler said, "thats exactly what I pictured in my head." your mom and I both pushed him for an explanation and it was, "I just pictured what the perfect CTR cake would look like and that was it.") We got a good laugh.
Congratulations to Kimball for setting this great example to all the cousins and his brothers & sister.

Anonymous said...

I love to hear about the family events and relive them with you. I was a wonderful day. And I am so proud of Kimball and his determination to live the commandments.

You might want to explain the meaning of CTR since you have so many and varied readers.

Love,
MyrnaMom

An Ordinary Mom said...

Sounds like it was a wonderful occasion.

Now that cake looks marvelous!

Allison said...

It was a great day. Kimball was acting so grown up and responsible. He told his Grammy and me that we needed to take a picture of him in his suit with his scriptures, so that he could take a matching one (in 11 years or so) when he goes on a mission.

Sonja said...

What a handsome new member of the church! And what a special day. I loved the scriptures you shared.

Oh the cake, the cake! You are amazing. :)

Rebecca Blevins said...

Congratulations! That is so sweet. I'm looking forward to Professor's baptism in July. They grow up too quickly.

Kimball looks like a little missionary in his suit with his scriptures!

Evan said...

Congratulations Kimball!!!!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful day for you, and Kimball, and for your family :)

My oldest turns 8 in December and I can't believe it. I too wonder if I've done enough to prepare him for this step.

mindyluwho said...

I'm so sad we missed it. Congratulations Kimball!