Jeffrey found these jailer keys (he called them pirate keys) at the antique shop this summer and wanted to buy them. He didn't have $5 to buy them, but Mark and I snuck back later to purchase and save them for his birthday. Before they were unwrapped, we read 2 Nephi 31:17-21. It was easy to relate this to his baptism and confirmation today. Then we talked about what the keys represented; the power and authority of the priesthood that makes access to the gate possible. It was a good lesson and one that I hope will help him remember how and why his baptism is valid as he prepares himself for that day when he will receive the priesthood and share this opportunity with others.
Showing posts with label baptism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baptism. Show all posts
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The key that unlocks the gate
Just behind the house is the mission office. It's separated from the house by a beautiful backyard. We walk that path every day and used its familiarity in our final gift for Jeffrey this evening. If Jeffrey was at the office and wanted to come home, he would first need to open the gate. Then he would walk along the path to get to the house. Easy! But what if the gate was locked? He would need a key. 
Jeffrey found these jailer keys (he called them pirate keys) at the antique shop this summer and wanted to buy them. He didn't have $5 to buy them, but Mark and I snuck back later to purchase and save them for his birthday. Before they were unwrapped, we read 2 Nephi 31:17-21. It was easy to relate this to his baptism and confirmation today. Then we talked about what the keys represented; the power and authority of the priesthood that makes access to the gate possible. It was a good lesson and one that I hope will help him remember how and why his baptism is valid as he prepares himself for that day when he will receive the priesthood and share this opportunity with others.
Jeffrey found these jailer keys (he called them pirate keys) at the antique shop this summer and wanted to buy them. He didn't have $5 to buy them, but Mark and I snuck back later to purchase and save them for his birthday. Before they were unwrapped, we read 2 Nephi 31:17-21. It was easy to relate this to his baptism and confirmation today. Then we talked about what the keys represented; the power and authority of the priesthood that makes access to the gate possible. It was a good lesson and one that I hope will help him remember how and why his baptism is valid as he prepares himself for that day when he will receive the priesthood and share this opportunity with others.
Jeffrey's big night
Jeffrey has done a great job already of telling about his baptism. I'll just add a few more details from my perspective.
When he woke up this morning, I asked him what he wanted for breakfast. Just before I started to get it together, he changed his mind and decided to fast. Emy and Ben sent a package of things to help Jeffrey prepare for his baptism. One of the things we did was start praying for a confirming feeling during his baptism. I think his idea of fasting was an extension of that. I was proud of him for thinking of that on his own. He's come to the age, when it is definitely not cool to cry. When he and Mark came back from changing after the baptism, Jeffrey's emotions were under control, but his eyes were red. I could tell he was feeling something. He described it well on his post. The feeling is something I hope he'll be able to remember even if he doesn't remember anything else.
Bishop Carter conducted the baptism and had Jeffrey come up front to see all the people that had come to support him. The bishop asked Jeff who the people were that had come. I think he expected Jeffrey to say 'my family and friends'. Instead, Jeffrey started scanning the room and naming off each individual. It was impressive; there were a lot of people!
Jeffrey had decided to invite the senior couples to participate in the program. During the talks, these men that have had a chance to get to know Jeffrey (LOTS of after-school conversations) invited him to the front and had him participate by asking several questions. It was amazing how quickly he responded and the depth of some of his answers. When the bishop interviewed Jeffrey for baptism, he invited me to sit in. That was a similar experience to this one. It was instructive for me to listen to my son relay what he understood about the gospel, the restoration and specifics about the plan of salvation and how baptism fit into that plan.
Last week, we had a discussion in the office about raising children. I was asked how I thought we had raised such great kids (and they aren't even raised yet!). Half joking, I quoted a friend, Rosalyn, "I don't want all the blame, so I can't take all the credit." There's a lot more to these kids than Mark and I. They may be young, but children are so much more complete than we give them credit for. We are not always as far ahead of them as we think. They have a broad range of emotions, personality traits, capacity, and talent. Occasionally, I need to remind myself of this; that we're on a more equal footing than current circumstances suggest. I may be the parent, but who knows what the relationship was like and will be like 100 years before and after today. Tonight was one of those moments when Jeffrey once again earned my respect. He's a great person. I'm so grateful to be a part of this family.
It's great to be 8!
This was a fantastic, incredible day. Jeff put on his new suit, combed his hair, grabbed his scriptures and headed over to the church with me to take a picture for his baptism program. He is such a character. This was his favorite picture. (I liked it to, but only enough for it to warrant a place on the back of the program.) He didn't want to look at the camera, he wanted to "be looking out into the world". We took some others in front of the marble sign with the church logo on it. I wanted him facing me, but he wanted his back to the camera with him facing the church. Where does he get this!?
As a toddler, he used this same expression as the one above. It was the one he adopted when he listened to the instrumental music from Remember the Titans. He loved that song. He listened to it on car rides whenever we let him. He sat in his car seat and rocked back and forth to the beat of the music with this look on his face. Sometimes, I would look in the rear view mirror and catch him touching his brow to make sure it was furrowed. Over the years, I've realized we incorrectly labeled it his 'angry face' used when he listened to the 'angry song'. Instead, I think the emotion he was going for was determination. It's a very distinct characteristic and one that will be interesting to watch as he gets older.
Here's the picture that actually made it on the program. We had to scrap all the ones in front of the church. Apparently, Jeffrey doesn't have those thick, long, beautiful eyelashes for nothing. He can hardly keep his eyes open outside on a bright day and in front of the church was just too bright for him to smile AND open his eyes at the same time. That's OK, these ones in the shadier back yard worked out great.
He especially wanted his pictures with his new suit and 'gold' plates-the two BIG items he wanted most for his birthday. He's been waiting for a set of scriptures for so long. It was hard to stop him from highlighting whole chapters as soon as the presents were unwrapped. I think we've worked it out so that we can do it together, otherwise most of Alma would already be yellow.
The rest of these are just for fun. It just goes to show how much better a photo shot can go when you have a big teenage brother throwing pine cones at you to make you smile.
And telling really bad jokes.
As a toddler, he used this same expression as the one above. It was the one he adopted when he listened to the instrumental music from Remember the Titans. He loved that song. He listened to it on car rides whenever we let him. He sat in his car seat and rocked back and forth to the beat of the music with this look on his face. Sometimes, I would look in the rear view mirror and catch him touching his brow to make sure it was furrowed. Over the years, I've realized we incorrectly labeled it his 'angry face' used when he listened to the 'angry song'. Instead, I think the emotion he was going for was determination. It's a very distinct characteristic and one that will be interesting to watch as he gets older.
Here's the picture that actually made it on the program. We had to scrap all the ones in front of the church. Apparently, Jeffrey doesn't have those thick, long, beautiful eyelashes for nothing. He can hardly keep his eyes open outside on a bright day and in front of the church was just too bright for him to smile AND open his eyes at the same time. That's OK, these ones in the shadier back yard worked out great.
He especially wanted his pictures with his new suit and 'gold' plates-the two BIG items he wanted most for his birthday. He's been waiting for a set of scriptures for so long. It was hard to stop him from highlighting whole chapters as soon as the presents were unwrapped. I think we've worked it out so that we can do it together, otherwise most of Alma would already be yellow.
The rest of these are just for fun. It just goes to show how much better a photo shot can go when you have a big teenage brother throwing pine cones at you to make you smile.
And telling really bad jokes.
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