My Baptism

When I was 8 years old as it is tradition in the LDS Church I was baptized. I don't remember a lot of details about the baptism itself. My dad was the one who had baptized me. I remember us going to a swimming pool beforehand and practicing, since the LDS Church practices baptism by immersion. I was really worried about water getting in my nose, but everything seemed to go without any problems.

Garrit Slater one of the missionaries that taught my family came to my baptism after he had returned from his mission. He was the one that confirmed me a member of the church. I don't remember the actual baptism, but I remember the confirmation. A group of men, with Slater voicing, placed their hands on my head. I remember how heavy all their hands felt, it was a weird feeling. I had not grown up in the Church, I had never received a blessing when I was sick or a blessing on my first day of school since my family joined the Church when I was 7 years old.

I felt so honored that Slater would come all the way back to attend my baptism. Yes, he had brought his mom and they probably visited a number of other people while they were in California. The point was that I felt that I was special, that I was worth having someone come out of state, to be at this important life event.

Even though things went well for my baptism, there are times that I regret that I got baptized when I did. I was baptized because 8 years old was the age that you were "supposed" to get baptized at. I had just gone along with the flow of things. As I mentioned above, I don't even remember the baptism itself. My youngest sister, Marisa, did not get baptized right when she was 8 years old. She wanted to make a conscious decision. She was given a really hard time about delaying her baptism from members of our congregation. Ultimately she did end up getting baptized before her 9th birthday, so it wasn't a long delay, but she did on her own terms. It's one of the things I really respect her for. I remember hearing about another boy that lived in our congregation that did get baptized after he was 9 years old and was also judged heavily for his decision.

In the many of the Latter-day Saint traditions, 8 is the minimum age for baptism. It is not a requirement to be baptized at 8 years old. It is my hope that parents and church leaders to not put unnecessary pressure of children into getting baptized until they feel comfortable with this decision. It is one of the most important parts of a Latter-day disciple's life, and I don't even remember mine. Many kids are perfectly fine getting baptized around their 8th birthday but for those who aren't please show some patience for their sakes. As for a point of clarification I don't think my parents were really pressuring, I just had heard in Church that 8 year olds get baptized and just went along with it. I don't exactly regret getting baptized, I just wish that I remembered it so I could better savor this critical religious milestone.

Have you been baptized or participated in some kind of ritualistic ceremony that acknowledged you as part of a congregation or larger faith community?  What was it like?Would you change anything?