Here is a picture that they have hung at the MTC. We have asked ourselves, would we be willing to be baptized in these waters? How much faith do we have and how bad would we want baptism? That is a good question to ponder.
Our granddaughter, Suzie Rhodes, gives us a question each week to think about and answer. This week her question was "If you only had one scripture to choose on baptism, what would it be." Here are our responses to that question:
Grandpa's answer: Mosiah 25:18 "Therefore, Alma did go forth into the water and did baptize them; yea, he did baptism them after the manner he did his brethren in the waters of Mormon; yea, and as many as he did baptize did belong to the church of God; and this because of their belief on the words of Alma."
I chose this scripture because it indicates authority is necessary, the manner of baptism is important, and it takes faith to believe on the words of both the missionaries and God. There is only one way to become a member of the church of God.
Nana's answer: Mosiah 3: 15-17: " "And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
When I was baptized, I was terrified of going backwards in water. I was baptized by a stranger and when he put me into the water, my feet came flying up and I wanted nothing more to do with baptism. I do not remember how much pleading it took to get me to go under again, but I remember them standing on my feet so that I could not kick up.
I really never really grew to appreciate baptism until these last couple of years when I am finally starting to see the glorious blessings that come with it. When I think of the many times that the Holy Ghost has come to my aide, brought me peace when I was hurt, gave me knowledge when I had none, and bore testimony that now burns within my soul, I am so full of gratitude it brings tears.
To think that I literally have a member of the Godhead with me to help me through anything. Several years ago, I was at a meeting with Vaughn J. Featherstone who was once an assistant to the Twelve Apostles and a friend of my nephew, Michael Waters. He made a comment that I have never forgotten. He said "If we knew the blessings that were held within the walls of the temples, we would all be crawling on our hands and knees to get there."
I have thought about that a lot and for awhile I have asked myself if I would be one that would be crawling to the temple on my knees. This year I finally know why and baptism is just the beginning. Without it, the rest of some of the greatest blessings ever given to man would be totally out of reach. That would put eternal life with my family and Heavenly Father impossible. Each time I witness a baptism, I think of the power that the ordinance holds and the doors that it opens to build a relationship with our Father In Heaven and our Savior. How lucky and blessed we are!
On Monday, I spent the day getting some more tests run to see if they can find out why I am always feeling the floors move and feeling floaty. I went to an ENT and they ran three tests on me, one watching eye movement in different positions, one having to follow a red light with my eyes, and one where they blew hot and cold air into my ears checking for balance.
On Friday, I went back to the ENT (Ears, nose, and throat doctor) for the results. The MRI and the ENT tests all came back normal so I know a lot of what it isn't but I don't know what it is yet. I guess only time will tell.
On Wednesday Golden went to the doctor to get his results from blood work ran on a physical that he had a couple of weeks before. I held down the Family History Center while he was gone. This day was also our 44th wedding anniversary so we spent the evening at a movie and dinner. It made for a good day.
On Thursday, we served at the Manhattan temple from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. While serving at the Family History Center that afternoon, Rolf Francis, who is our French friend was doing some more research in St. Thomas Virgin Islands looking for his 2nd great grandfather. He was so excited to finally find the christening record that he had overlooked when searching through microfilm previously. Most of the names had been blotted out with a large ink spill. This was the connection that he needed to establish his French ancestry to apply for French citizenship.
Golden got a phone call from the doctor's office letting him know that there was a problem with the blood draw and that he need to come in and do it again. Early on the morning of October 14th, he went to Harlem before coming into the Family History Center at 10:00 a.m. that morning.
Ethnic Statue in Harlem, New York
On Saturday night after our shift at the FHC, we attended Maya Kit's dance company's presentation at "The Tank" on 46th near Time Square. Maya is one of our family history consultants as well as the FHC Director in the Inwood 1st Ward. This was the 5th anniversary of her dance company and we were going to give our support to her. The dances performed were those that she had choreographed and was a form of interpretive dance. It reminded us of a dance that Melanie and her friend Nichole Miles had choreorgaphed when they were in grade school. It was most interesting.
Times Square on 7th Ave in NYC
Diane at Times Square standing in the wind
At church today we could not resist taking a picture of the church foyer. Where else but New York City would you see bicycle helmets, kids' scooters, and strollers showing the means of transportation to attend church? This is looking down from the stairway above.
Church foyer "Parking Lot"
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