Bangs McCoy

He volunteered

August 10th, 2008

Rees gave his first talk today in Primary, on the subject of baptism. The way it is set up in our Primary right now, children are never assigned a talk, scripture, etc unless they specifically volunteer. I’m not sure why - I clearly remember being assigned stuff when I was growing up, regardless of my desire to do it. Anyway, he volunteered, and he did a great job. Bryan helped him write the talk, which was loosely based on a talk Bryan gave at his nephew’s baptism. Rees read it almost entirely by himself. I helped with a few words he struggled with, which must have been nerves because he practiced beforehand. The talk had three parts:

(while holding a picture of Jesus being baptized) “One of the great commandments is to be baptized. Even though Jesus was perfect, he was baptized because he wanted to do everything our Heavenly Father commands.”

(while holding a picture of a boy being baptized in a modern-day font) “When we are baptized, we promise to follow Heavenly Father and keep his commandments. We also promise to stand as a witness of God so that when people see us, they will be reminded of God. After you are baptized, you will be a representative of our Heavenly Father. After being baptized, we start a new life. Baptism is a symbol of rebirth - we go down under the water and leave our old life there. When we come up out of the water, we are reborn.”

(while holding a picture of Jesus raising the dead) “After Jesus was baptized, he began to do all the wonderful things that he did. It marked the beginning of his mission. It should be the same for us - we should be an example to all our friends, neighbors, and those we come in contact with, just as Jesus did. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

He didn’t seem very nervous and he got a lot of compliments, which made him happy. And Grandpa B made a special trip to watch, too.

We went to my parents’ house in the evening for dinner with everyone (including Great-Grandma Hansen), since Kathi and kids are in town. We ate ham, my twice-baked potatoes, salad, veggies, etc. The kids had so much fun playing. Michael also took a family portrait in the middle of the vegetable garden. Later, when Rees found out that Thomas would be staying with Grandma and Grandpa H tonight, he immediately asked my mom if he could stay over too. Their plan is to sleep outside in a “tent” Bryan made them out of chairs and a tarp. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

Tags: Bryan, Grandma H, Grandpa B, Grandpa H, Hansens, I go to church, Rees

Entry Filed under: I do stuff