Today is the most important day of Josie’s life so far. She was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and she received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. She has prepared well for this important day and we all came to cheer her on and witness the baptism.
We don’t take photos during the ordinance, but these are a few photos from before we started.
Aaron and Abbey came from SLC, but they got stuck in traffic. We had to stall a bit at the font until they came in. We sang all 3 verses of “I Am a Child of God.” Aaron and Hayden Sagers (cousin) were the witnesses. All of Heidi’s local siblings and families were there, along with her other grandparents, Kipp and Tammy, and Great-grandma Judy.
Bishop Anderson conducted. John played the piano. Heidi led the music. Clark gave a talk about Baptism. Cousins said the prayers. It was awesome when all the men surrounded Josie to lay their hands on her head to confer upon her the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I was quite emotional through the whole meeting. Josie was radiant and calm.
I got to talk to Josie about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This gift allows Heavenly Father to speak right to us. Nephi tells us the Holy Ghost speaks to us in our own language, according to our own understanding. That means He speaks to us in a way we will understand Him. I told her about how I interviewed about 150 missionaries once, and asked them how they heard the voice of the Spirit. I gave a few examples. Shivers, a warm feeling in your chest, a quiet whisper in your mind, heart pounding, legs weak, a blush on the face, hands sweaty. One missionary told me his ears get hot and turn red.
I told Josie the HG usually gives me ideas, so I’ve learned to pray for ideas. Everyone is different. You have to learn to hear and feel how the HG speaks to You.
I talked a bit about how God’s voice is different from Satan’s:
God’s Voice Satan’s Voice
stills you rushes you
leads you pushes you
reassures you frightens you
enlightens you confuses you
encourages you discourages you
comforts you worries you
calms you obsesses you
forgives you condemns you
Then I told them the story of the Black Widow in the garage when I was young and how the Holy Ghost warned me and kept me safe. Because of that experience, and many others, I KNOW that Heavenly Father knows exactly where I am and He will keep me safe if I listen to the promptings He sends to me through the Holy Ghost. I told Josie He will do the same for her because He loves her and is thrilled she has received His Gift.
After the baptismal service, all the family came to Adam & Heidi’s for a pancake dinner.
Here is Aaron’s new dream car. He took us out for a spin around the block to top off our evening.
