That Primary Thing...

I'm slowly learning the things I need to do as Primary President at Church. This week I did one of those and it just felt right.

In our Church children are baptized when eight years old. One of the things the previous Primary presidency did was to go to the home of the children when they turn seven and give them things to help them prepare to be baptized when they turn eight. I was given a sample of what they made. Last week I purchased the necessary supplies and then made three sets of these materials for the two boys that turned seven in May and the one that will turn seven this month.

The items we give them are a notebook that has a label on the front that says "______'s Baptism Journal" with a picture of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. On the first page I print my testimony of the Gospel. The next item is a folder with twelve Family Home Evening lessons. These will be used by the family throughout the year to prepare the child to make their choice to be baptized and to understand the commitment they will make and be sure they have an understanding of the doctrines of the Gospel. A cover letter to the parents is included with this folder. I also placed a little card with the 13 Articles of Faith in there. These are 13 statements of things we believe. Each child is encouraged to memorize these during their years in Primary. The final item is their own copy of the Book of Mormon. We give them a challenge to read through the Book of Mormon before they turn eight. Then to write their feelings and the things they learn in their journal as they read their Book of Mormon and have these Family Home Evening lessons.

Monday morning and again Monday afternoon I paid visits to the two boys who turned seven in May. It was just so cute watching their reactions. I met with each of the boys in their home with their mothers there. The first boy was all grins. The second boy was looking at me like "What is she doing in my home?" Kids are just totally honest. Both boys were happy to be visited and receive these treasures to help them prepare to be baptized.

At the end of these two visits, I felt good about this effort to help these children. It felt like time well spent. It felt like the kids knew they were cared for and thought of at this time in their lives. I can now see me asking each of these young men how they are doing with their reading or their journal writing or their Family Home Evenings or memorizing their Articles of Faith.  For me, amidst the struggle to learn and organize and accomplish all I need to with this calling, it was a positive step of doing something that was right. A very good feeling.