Baptism Talk

Had to write a talk on baptism for one of my best friends' children's baptism.   Why reinvent the wheel so I found a great start to writing a talk on a blog. The original baptism talk I found was here at Strong Armor blog. I cut and pasted the talk into Word and began editing it to fit the kids I was speaking to. I felt a little guilty copying someone else's talk, but in the end I was amazed at how personal it had become and it was perfect for my friends two kids. It was such an amazing night.

Here is my talk on Baptism:

I am so excited to be here today. I have watched A. and J. learn about the church and have seen their faith grow. I am very proud of both of you and how you have prepared yourself for this day. You have both listened learned about Christ and on your own decided that you want to follow Christ by being baptized.

J. and A., Do you know that you are about to participate in your very first ordinance and make your very first official promise to Heavenly Father?

Today when you are baptized you will promise Heavenly Father that you will remember Jesus, follow Him and keep His commandments. And our Heavenly Father loves us so much that whenever we make a promise to Him, He makes a promise right back to us.

Today Heavenly Father will also make a promise to you. He promises you that He will forgive you if you make mistakes and do something wrong - if you are sorry for what you did and get on your knees and repent he will forgive you. He also promises that you can have the gift of the Holy Ghost with you and that you can return to live with Heavenly Father again someday.

When we make a promise to Heavenly Father and He makes one right back to us, those promises are called covenants. Heavenly Father never breaks His promises to us, and we need to try our hardest not to break our promises to Him.

Let’s go over once again what you will promise today:
1. To take upon you the name of Christ (D&C 18:21-25)
2. To bear one another’s burdens that they might be light (Mosiah 18:8)
3. To stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places. (Mosiah 18:9)
4. To obey the commandments of God and to serve him (Mosiah 18:10)

God promises:
1. To accept you as a member of his Church
2. To forgive your sins if you repent
3. To give you the gift of the Holy Ghost
4. To bring you into the kingdom of God in heaven if you keep doing what is right and keeping the commandments.

When you are baptized and go under the water you are washed clean of any mistakes or sins. And you have a fresh start as the newest member of Christ’s church. Try to remember the feelings you feel after you are baptized and confirmed and write them down in a journal to help you remember those feelings. Heavenly Father is so please with the choice you have made and you will feel of His love.

Even though you are only eight and ten years old, you know how hard it is not to make mistakes, don’t you. It is hard for everyone to choose the right every single minute of every single day. Heavenly Father knows that. None of us is perfect, Jesus was the only one that was perfect and so when we make mistakes, cause we all do, Heavenly Father wants us to repent and try harder to do what is right.

Every Sunday you have a chance to remember the covenant or promise you made today. That is what people do when they bow their heads during the Sacrament. They remember the promises that they made to Heavenly Father and the promises He made to them. They think about what kind of person they were during the week between Sundays and if they have been obedient. They also make a decision on how to do better the next week. But most importantly they remember that Jesus died and was resurrected so that they might live again someday. And that he suffered in Gethesmane to atone for their sins so that they could live with Him some day if they choose the right, read the scriptures, always say their prayers, and obey the commandments.

Heavenly Father gives you another great gift to help you make good choices – it is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Someone else will talk about this wonderful gift after you are baptized. The Holy Ghost will help you choose the right.

Your Heavenly Father loves you so very much (even more than your mom, which is pretty hard to beat) and he is so proud of you J. and A. for choosing to follow Christ.

Remember that this is the first day of the rest of your life. After you are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will be absolutely clean in the eyes of your Heavenly Father. I pray that you will always remember your promise and the feelings you feel today and do all you can to keep yourself spiritually clean-- like today.