Rylan's Baptism

My first born! *sniff* hard to believe that he is 8!



Doesn't Scott almost look angelic in his whites? :)





One rite of passage for a 8 year old boy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is being baptized. Rylan has been waiting for this day for a long time. When you are baptized you become an official member of the church and you make special covenants with Heavenly Father.
The covenants are:





* Promise to mourn with those that mourn- or help others who are suffering
and bear one another's burdens or help each other in our troubles and comfort those who need it.



* Be a witness of Jesus Christ - basically WWJD or "what would Jesus do" in the way you act and speak.



* Stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places. Be able and willing to stand up for God and Jesus, and what you believe in.



In return the Lord promises to pour out his Spirit upon us.



What a great blessing! We defiantly felt the Spirit at Rylan's baptism. These were my thoughts and feelings during the program.



I am so blessed to have my Scott, Rylan, Madelyn and little Ian. I love my extended family as well. I want them in my life for eternity, not just on this earthly life, but forever and beyond! I am so overjoyed that I was sealed in the temple to these sweet spirits and they are in my life.



Rylan is no exception, he is such a sweetheart and is always trying to do the right thing, he is the first to confess or tell if something is not right or we shouldn't be doing it. He also comes right to me if he has done something wrong (except for teasing his sister, he hasn't quite learned that it is wrong yet :)). Even his teacher commented on how honest he is and when almost everyone in his class had the opportunity to cheat they did but he was the one of the few who didn't.



We didn't have any of our friends there (because quite honestly we have none over here) but we did have my parents and Scott's grandparents Bonnie and Rudi. I am so happy they could come. Also the people in our ward who we barely know were so kind and took care of all the details of the baptism. They made a program, played the piano, conducted the meeting, opened up the building, filled the font, gave Rylan a gift, and welcomed Rylan as if he was their own. My mother gave a special talk about baptism and the Holy Ghost, which brought me to tears. Then Rylan was baptized by his dad. The symbolism of baptism is like washing away your sins and becoming clean or born again. In our church this is done at the age of 8 rather than when we are babies simply because we believe that children are innocent and sent from God, and they aren't held accountable for Adam's transgression in the Garden of Eden. They don't need to be baptized until they are held accountable or are responsible for their actions.



After the baptism, Rylan and Scott changed into dry clothes and then Rylan was given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. His dad, Grandpa Young and Opa Butz layed their hands on his head and gave him this most precious gift. I was reminded that I was given this gift as well, and I don't use it as much as I should. The Holy Ghost is given to us to comfort us, and help us decide from right and wrong. The Holy Ghost can also help us receive answers to our prayers, by a feeling or prompting. Who wouldn't want that uh? We need to live a clean life so that the Spirit of God (the Holy Ghost) can dwell within us. If our bodies are addicted to whatever, or we have negative thoughts constantly, or we are surrounded by filth (aka the media!) then He cannot dwell within us. Someone once gave me the analogy of a dirty sock (and I have a clean feet fetish so it stuck to me), and a clean, fresh out of the bath foot. Would you want to put your clean foot in a sock that is covered with mud, sand, or those thorny stickers? Heck no! The Spirit feels the same way about entering into our bodies.
During the baptism we sang one of Rylan's favorite primary songs called "I Like to Look for Rainbows", by Nita Dale Milner:
The lyrics are:

I like to look for rainbows when ever there is rain
and ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.

CHORUS:
I want my life to be as clean as Earth right after rain
I want to be the best I can,
and live with God again.

I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away,
and I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

Love that song. After the baptism we thought we should better take pictures of our family!







Oma and Opa Butz drove 6 hours to join us!




Grandma and Grandpa Young flew across the country!



The whole crew


We went home afterwards and had BBQ pork sandwiches, pasta salad, sweet potato fries and ice cream cake. Here Oma is helping to motivate Madelyn to eat.



Then Opa, Rylan and Maddy got into a huge Nerf gun and sword fight!

Rylan hiding behind the chair from Opa




Maddy often got a little too close, but Opa didn't mind he was such a good sport, and a GOOD shot!


It was a wonderful event in our family and will go down in the books of Hoogland history!

Comments

baileyfamily said…
I cried as I was reading this,, I'm glad it was a special day for Ry. Tell everyone we say HI. Love you!!
September 30, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Keith and Meghan said…
Congratulations Rylan, what a big step in your faith! You are such a big kid and everyone around you is so blessed by you.
September 30, 2011 at 9:12 PM
Amber Sibbett said…
My little nursery favorite is now baptized!!! I can't believe it! What an exciting day! :)
October 1, 2011 at 6:33 PM
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