Mirielle's Baptism Day

This morning was my sweet, beautiful Mirielle Ilana's baptism day. She and Havea were baptized this morning.
This is Havea with his parents. I have come to really love and respect his mom and dad. They are great people and add so much to our ward and neighborhood.

Ella was baptized by her grandpa Mike and confirmed by her grandpa Bryan.



The program was wonderful. Suzy played the piano and my mom was the chorister. We sang "Love is Spoken Here" as the opening song and then Jeremy said the opening prayer. Bishop welcomed us there and conducted the program.
Bishop said he could tell that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were smiling down on Ella and Havea, because the sun was shining and lighting the world. It's been such a beautiful day. Havea's brother, Malachi, gave the talk on baptism. After the baptisms, Michelle played "I am a Child of God" on the violin and she did a great job. It sounded so beautiful and she didn't even look nervous (she said she was, but she is gaining more and more composure). Carin created a beautiful program. I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. Here is what I said:

Havea and Ella,

Today is a very special day for each of you. You will probably receive some wonderful gifts today. They may be wrapped in boxes with big bows or come in gift bags with tissue paper. But as wonderful as these gifts are, you are about to receive a much better and much more important gift. You are about to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. . This gift does not come wrapped with bows or tissue paper. Instead it is given by the power of the Priesthood. It is a precious gift given to you by Heavenly Father. And it truly is one of the two greatest gifts given to us in our lives…the other most important gift being the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is special because you are promised that
you can have the Holy Ghost with you at all times if you keep the commandments. That means that you can have a member of the Godhead with you to help you! That is so amazing and wonderful!

I want to talk to both of you for just a few minutes about the ways the Holy Ghost helps us. The Holy Ghost is a comforter. When we feel sad or worried, the Holy Ghost can comfort us. It can help our hearts to not hurt as much and can help us to feel peace. Just like a warm blanket or a hug can help us feel better, the Holy Ghost can help us feel better too. A friend of mine, someone I work with, died a week ago. I felt pretty sad, but I prayed about it and I felt a peaceful feeling come over me. I know my friend is okay. I still feel sad for her family, but my heart isn’t hurting as much now. The Holy Ghost can also comfort you when you feel sad or lonely or hurt.

The Holy Ghost is a teacher. When you go to Primary, Sister Parker does a great job of teaching you about Jesus Christ and about the prophets and the scriptures. Sister Wiberg, Sister Calder, and Sister Horlacher also teach you. At home your parents teach you. As they are teaching, you may feel a warm feeling in your heart or you may find yourself thinking, “I know this is true. I know what they are saying is right.” That is the Holy Ghost testifying and teaching you what is true. IN Moroni 10: 5, we read, “And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things.“ The Holy Ghost helps us understand the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets. The Holy Ghost can even help us learn things at school better and remember what we are learning better! In John 14: 26 it says, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.“ The Holy Ghost is the best teacher there is…even better than Sister Parker or your teacher at school!

The Holy Ghost can warn us of danger. I remember one time when I was younger, I needed to run an errand. I had a bad feeling that I should wait for awhile before going. But I didn’t listen. As I was driving, someone turned left right in front of me. I tried to stop, but there wasn’t time. I was in a car accident. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt, but my car was ruined. I should have listened to that feeling and I would have been kept safe. The Holy Ghost can let us know when we are doing something that is wrong or that might put us in danger. It can help protect us.

The Holy Ghost can also help us to help other people. President Spencer W. Kimball, who was the prophet when I was your age, said, “The Lord answers our prayers but it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.” So when someone around us needs help or needs a friend or maybe just needs a hug or a kind word, the Holy Ghost can give us the idea to do something nice for that person. Sometimes, I will get the thought that I should go visit someone or call them. Often, if I listen to that thought, the person tells me how much they needed that call or ends up telling me about a problem they are having and I am able to help them. So if you have a thought to do something nice for someone, listen, because it may be the Holy Ghost leading you to help answer a prayer! Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the spirt is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.”
The Holy Ghost can also help us make decisions. Ella, when your dad and I were dating, I wanted to know if I should marry him. I went to the temple, and I prayed about marrying him. I felt the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, tell me that marrying him was the right thing to do. It helped me make that important decision. When you have important decisions to make, you can think about your choices, decide what you think you should do and then pray about it. The Holy Ghost will tell you whether your decision is right. If it is a good decision, you will feel peaceful and happy. If it is a bad decision or the wrong decision, you will feel worried or confused or sometimes even forget what it was you wanted to do.

The gift of the Holy Ghost truly is the greatest gift!! Now you need to live worthy to keep this gift in your life at all times.

Then Ella and Havea were confirmed. Both confirmations were beautiful and filled with the spirit. In Ella's she was told to develop a deep and close relationship with her Heavenly Father, closer even than her relationship with her sisters and parents. She was told that she is loved and that her Savior atoned for her. She was told that great things lie in store for her.

Sister Calder, the Primary President, welcomed Ella and Havea into the primary and into the church. She said that she loves them both and she is so glad that they made the decision to be baptized. She knows that they have learned a lot from their families and at Primary and now they need to keep the commandments so they can have the spirit with them.

Bishop welcomed them as the newest members of the church and of the Colony West Ward. He said that it was his privilege to interview them this past week and that they both have strong testimonies. He said that today was a special day and that today they were given the keys to open the gate to the Celestial Kingdom. Now they just need to continue to make choices that will keep them on that path. He told them that he loved them, and that our Father in Heaven and Savior truly were smiling down on them today.

The closing song was "If the Savior Stood Beside Me". I love that song! Then Havea's grandma said the closing prayer. It was such a beautiful program.


This is Ella's wonderful Primary teacher.
While we were waiting for the men to finish getting dressed, Havea's aunt Sara gave Ella a candy lei. Gabby wanted Ella to give Gabby candy right that minute. I told her no, and Gabby was feeling sad. But Bishop put his arm around Gabby and whispered to her and she calmed down. She started to move right as we took a picture, but I love that she loves our Bishop so much. I love and respect him, too.

A. Perfect. Day.