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.