I turned eight years old in 1975. As an eight-year-old, I was old enough to be baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dad wanted me to be baptized on my birthday (September 17, 1975). That way I would always be able to remember the date of my baptism. Mom and Dad arranged for me to meet with Bishop Gordon White for a baptismal interview before my birthday.
That year, we had trouble with the tractor we used as a "loader." We called this tractor the "loader" because it had a Farmhand F11 loader kit. Among other uses, we used the loader to move hay bales with a Farmhand 8 Bale Grapple and to push snow in the winter with a large blade. Because of the issues with the loader tractor, we had not been able to get our hay bales out of the fields for several weeks.
Our home teachers had arranged with the bishopric for some of our ward members to bring their loader tractors to our place to help us move hay. On the day of my birthday, Bishop White was at our ranch with his loader tractor loading hay to move to the little hayshed by the sheep barn.
Dad and I got dressed in white baptismal clothes. We drove to the slough by the river (see photo below). On the way to the river, we stopped by the field to invite Bishop White to join us for the baptism. I think Ron Erickson (our home teacher) came. He and Bishop White were the witnesses for the baptism.
At the edge of the slough, we prayed. Then Dad and I walked into the water. I remember the mud squishing between my toes as we walked to the middle of the slough. Dad said the baptismal prayer. Dad and I had practiced how I would hold his hand/arm while I was baptized. I used my hand to plug my nose. As I went down into the water, I did not close my eyes. I remember the water closing in around my face as I went under the water.
I was not confirmed until the next Fast Sunday in church (September 28, 1975). In the old chapel for the Thayne Ward, we had hardwood benches as choir seats. I sat at the end of one of the benches to be confirmed. My feet did not reach the floor. After the men in the circle placed their hands on my head and Dad started saying the confirmation prayer and blessing, I began slipping off the bench. I struggled during the entire prayer to hold my head up under the weight of many hands and hold my butt on the slippery hardwood bench!
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| Jasperson Ranch circa July 2014 (Image Credit: Google Earth) |
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