Well, I did it. I survived :). The weekend I've been fearing for about 3 years now has come and gone, and I'm still here :) No, I'm not talking about the superbowl, I'm talking about Zerin's baptism. Most of us can relate with the fact that when a significant spiritual event or experience is about to occur, Satan comes out of the woodwork to overshadow those experiences with a bunch of literal crap. This weekend proved to be no exception to that. I will spare you my drama, but the least stressful thing that happened was we lost every single last picture we took of him yesterday. I am heartbroken, which is stupid because they are just pictures, but that's okay. I am happy to say, we rode out the storm, and we made it.
Some of the moments that made it special and memorable for me were....
-I realized Zerin and I were baptized almost exactly 25 years apart from each other. I was baptized February 2, 1985 in the Logan Tabernacle. Zerin was baptized in the Bountiful Tabernacle. Kind of a cute little "awwww" moment for me.
-About an hour before we headed to the baptism, we took the kids up to the temple to have a little speech and to give them each a small gift (I got the idea here...thanks Emily!) of a Book of Mormon and a scripture bag. Zerin's was a little different in that his was a hardbacked copy, and had a special note from Mom and Dad in it. That was one of my favorite memories from my baptism, and I still have the one my parents gave me.
-On our way up to the temple, we were listening to church music, and Liah said, "If I close my eyes, it feels like Jesus is in our van." Awwww... Zerin also made the comment he could feel the Spirit really strong. It may sound dumb, but it really was a powerful experience, probably one of the most powerful I can remember since having my children.
-Bryan gave an awesome talk at the baptism...he talked about symbols and how baptism is a symbol of our covenant or promise with our Father in Heaven. It was so simple. He was obviously talking to the 3 cute kids getting baptized, but in a strange way, I just felt like it was for me.
-When Bryan and Zerin were getting changed after the baptism, Bryan asked Zerin if he felt any different. Zerin said, "Yeah, now I feel cold!" What a goof :)
-After Zerin, there was one last little girl to be baptized. When her dad dunked her into the water, my 3 year old nephew just giggled and laughed. Maybe that isn't the normal reverant reaction for a baptism, but I couldn't help but think that we should all be that happy...what a miracle baptism and the atonement are!
-During his confirmation, he was reminded of many gifts and promises he has been blessed with from our Father in Heaven. One that he was blessed with was the gift of being a missionary. He proved this to be true earlier in the week when he invited our sweet neighbors, Wade and Mike, to his baptism. They had other plans, but were visibly touched by Zerin's invitation. I am in awe of his bravery and his fearlessness when it comes to the gospel. I want to be more like him, that is for sure.
It's safe to say I'm glad we have nearly 2 years before the next one ;)
7 comments:
I have a lovely picture of Zerin & Brian that I took for Primary. I will make sure I get you a copy this week!
CONGRATULATIONS ZERIN! Hope you remember your special day for the rest of your life. Be sure to write about it in your journal. Seth misses you.
Aww - thanks for sharing Tiff! I know how you feel about the world coming down when something big and spiritual is upon you. I am getting that feeling now with Mykenzi and your sweet story has reminded me that there are greater powers out there trying to doom my mind! Congrats to Zerin for his decision to be baptized and for his fearlessness in the gospel. He's an awesome kid! We love ya!
That is such a great idea about the temple drive. I have a few years but perhaps I'll copy. I need to start making a list called "what I am copying from Tiffany" :)
Also, after Zerin was confirmed he came up to me and told me that if Will and Lily don't get baptized before they die he will do baptisms for the dead for them. ahaha! Just to go along with the missionary thing. He is a great kid!
Congratulations Zerin!!! I love the idea to take your kids up to the temple before the baptism.
SO exciting... and SO much work! I understand your feelings. I stressed over Hallie's baptism for months before it happened but in the end it turned out wonderful and the most memorable part had nothing to do with the program and everything to do with the spirit we felt.
Congratulations Zerin!!
If it makes you feel any better, I don't really have many pictures of J.C.'s baptism either, and I don't really have an excuse, because I had my camera, but they didn't get dressed in the baptism clothes until right before and I didn't want to interrupt things to take a picture. Learning experience for the next one... Poor experimental firstborns.
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