Whitney's Baptism

Two years ago, right before Katelyn's baptism was supposed to start, I was sitting in the mother's room feeding month-old Maris, and trying to console a sobbing Whitney.  She was so upset that Katelyn was getting baptized and she couldn't yet.  The poor girl!  As I searched and prayed for the right words to help her understand and be alright with waiting, two years did seem very far away! 

But I felt like I should tell her that she didn't need to be baptized and be accountable yet.  She still got to have 2 years to practice being like heavenly Father and Jesus, 2 more years to learn the gospel.

And we have made good use of those 2 years!

About a year ago I started to see a change in her-- she was really getting it.  She has a very strong spirit and she was just beginning to learn to harness it.  She realized her desire to be good could overcome the desire to be right or win an argument or get what she wanted.  She started to recognize and listen to the Holy Ghost.  

And I knew she was ready. :)

The day finally came and we were all so excited for Whitney to make her first covenant with God.  She is on the path now!

And she had fun choosing this dress and headband and shoes and hairstyle. :)

This lucky girl had most of the Murray family and ALL of the Hansen family here to celebrate her big day! (We decided to make a family reunion out of it since Jenae's leaving on her mission soon--more on the reunion coming up!)

Whitney loves to give hugs.

And Eric and I were happy to have our second baptism as a missionary couple. :)

One of the best parts was her confirmation.  Eric said a lot of good things but my favorite part of the blessing was that she would "use her strong personality for good" or something like that.  You can do it Whitney Mae!  We all can!  And it has been really cool to see the transformation in her since she recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost.  My girl needed it, I'm so grateful she finally has it and can feel it and is using it!  She is still the same person but I promise she has been quicker to apologize, quicker to get over things, and generally more helpful this last month than ever before!  She is reading her scriptures almost every day and I'm sure that helps too.  The blessings of the gospel are so wonderful.