CHURCH EXPERIENCES

I want to share some baptism experiences I’ve had. I was six months old when I was first baptized. My parents were Episcopalians. It is a common practice to baptize infants and babies. I’m not sure I felt much except wet with the sprinkle baptism. I may have felt some depth of appreciation that my parents were at least trying and reaching for Christianity. Notice I said I was baptized-I did not say I received baptism.

Although I was not baptized in the Bible Church, I did attend Vacation Bible School at least two summers that I remember, and I went to Church on Sunday’s, though I don’t remember who gave me rides there. Maybe my parents went a few times.

Some of my childhood summer highlights were when the Jehovah’s Witnesses would come and teach my mother and I their Gospel truths. I read the Watch Tower; Awake!; From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained; and The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. These were things hard to grasp at my very young age (8-11 years), but they were worth spending time on because they helped me to continue my reaching for gospel truths and to come to know my Father and my Savior a little more fully.

It was about this time in my life when one day a peculiar mood overtook me. I was in my bedroom-a safe place for me to be and rolling a marble on a tabletop. The table was situated under my window. It was an overcast day and I was musing. As I rolled the marble across the tabletop several thoughts popped into my mind and like puzzle pieces these questions began to fall into place. I felt the same kind of exhilaration when I could play a game of chess three moves ahead.

Just as the marble was ‘placed’ on the table top-I was ‘placed’ in life. So, where did I come from before I existed on this table top? –question 1. I was playing with the marble on the tabletop-that was the purpose of it being there. So, why was I here on this earth, living this life?-question 2. As the marble would roll to the edge of the table and go over the edge another question popped in my head. What would come next? I would live and die on the tabletop-this life, but what comes next?-question 3. I didn’t ask others my questions-but I did pray heavenward and asked these questions.

My next church experience was when I was 14 years old. Somehow my family had the opportunity to be introduced to some missionaries from the Church of Christ. I listened carefully to their lessons. Every time they expressed the method of baptism was to be by full emersion, I felt the Holy Ghost confirm this truth. I knew baptism by emersion was a true principle.

We attended the Church of Christ several Sundays and things were going well enough that we went to a big meeting at the County Fairgrounds where some of us, including myself, accepted the invitation of baptism. I walked down into the water, an ordinance was pronounced, I was immersed and when I came up I felt… wet.

Either just before or just after baptism my parents stopped attending. I suspect much of it was because the preacher/minister was preaching the concept of tithing and making donations and offerings.

Through the missionary courtesy of the Cunningham’s I was able to continue attending church. They were kind enough to stop and pick me up on Sundays. I think Bob and Barbara went several times too, but I don’t remember how frequently. I do recall attending frequently enough to earn my own little copy of the New Testament. My mom made one comment that the gift of that cute little book would be a waste if I didn’t read it, so I did-from cover to cover. I was old enough (around 14) so that I could feel the Holy Ghost helping me to understand both the truths being taught, but more especially my Savior and how He treated others and His admonition of how we should follow Him and treat others.

My next church experience was courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After my little brother’s funeral, Elaine Hansen came up to my parents and asked, ‘Would you like to hear my Church’s explanation of life and death?” That was it. My parents said yes. For three months we listened to and participated in the missionary discussions and then the day came when I was to be baptized.

I waited my turn. I walked down into the water, the ordinance was pronounced, I was immersed in the water and when I came up out of the water I felt…a heavenly warmth, clean, accepted and at peace.

A final side note. I found it intriguing when Mom told me, a few years after my baptism in the LDS church that back when we were studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses, back when I had my marble epiphany, that the LDS missionaries had been tracting in our neighborhood, knocked on the door and asked if we'd like to hear about the LDS Church. Mom had said no because it would be too confusing to be studying two faiths. Then she said, "Maybe Chipper wouldn't have had to die if we had listened to the missionaries back then." Maybe she was right, maybe not. Maybe his death would have been easier to handle knowing that he would be part of our family forever and that death is just a temporary separation. That is still a pending situation. My parents need to be sealed in the Temple and we kids need to be sealed to them. Then this will all be a moot point.