Rite of passage

This past Saturday Samuel was baptized and confirmed a member of the church. I am so proud of him and so amazed at how smart he is and how much he knows about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth.
When he had his bishop's interview the bishop told us how Samuel had told him all about how Joseph Smith was searching for the true church and how he went to the grove and prayed about which church he should join. He told him how Satan tried to keep Joseph from asking God and how Heavenly Father and Jesus appeared to him and told him not to join any of them. Mark and I had talked to him about it but when my mom was giving the talk on baptism Samuel just surprised me at how much he knew. My mom asked him a lot of questions and I was a little nervous he would answer one of them wrong and make me look bad but he didn't. He is such a little smarty pants.
Many of our friends and most of our family was there. One of my mission companions, Carrie Ulrich, came to support him and see our new baby. I was so glad to see everyone. The spirit was so strong and I know Samuel felt it. He described how he was feeling and he recognized that the spirit was telling him that he was doing the right thing. It was just an amazing experience and brought back the memories of my own baptism.
I was baptized on my birthday at the Tabernacle along with my cousins, Forest and Chip. We took lots of pictures of us dressed in white and my hair was braided so that it wouldn't float up to the top of the water when I was dunked. Back then they did the confirmations in fast and testimony meeting the following day. I remember feeling the spirit then and being so happy and just knowing. Knowing that the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I still know that these things are true. I am so thankful to have been born to good parents who raised me in the gospel and taught me how to be not only a good person, but a good member of the church. I hope that one day all of my children will be as thankful.
It was truly a wonderful day, one that I will never forget. My baby is growing up and gaining a testimony. I can't wait to see what kind of man he will grow up to be. This kid is something special.