Inspiration personified — 1992
Our bishopric had a beautiful experience during 1992, relating to the conversion and baptism of a wonderful elderly woman that lived in our ward. This sister lived with her son-in-law, a fine member of our ward. This sister was in her late 80’s and somewhat physically debilitated, but mentally perspicacious. She had investigated the Church several times in the past, but was unwilling to accept the doctrine or make necessary lifestyle changes. After a concerted effort by Bishop Anderson and the son-in-law, they persuaded this good sister to hear the discussions again and to attend our weekly Sacrament meetings. Many prayers were offered in her behalf, and we witnessed a mellowing of her attitude and spirit. Some of the good sisters in our ward befriended her and took a special interest in her. Several baptismal challenges were issued to her, but still she hesitated to commit. Bishop Anderson arranged for us as a bishopric to visit with her one evening at her home. After fervent prayers and heartfelt testimonies, Bishop Anderson knelt in front of this wonderful soul, held her hands in his, and asked her to be baptized. She hesitated and tried to explain her reasons for hesitating, but her reasons seemed quite vague. Of a sudden, the Spirit enlightened our minds and led us to understand this sister’s hesitancy — she thought that she needed to be baptized in front of our entire ward congregation, and, because of her age and infirmities, the prospects of this frightened her. With this new understanding, Bishop Anderson was able to ask her some specific and appropriate questions, and we were soon able to allay the fears she harbored concerning the actual baptismal service. Once she was assured that the service could be small and private, she readily consented to baptism. I offered a silent prayer of gratitude for the whisperings of the Spirit.
Her baptismal service was simple, sweet, and spiritual, but not without its challenges. She had asked her son-in-law to baptize her, and he tried three times unsuccessfully to immerse her by laying her back into the water. She became somewhat anxious, nervous, and agitated. I had been asked to be one of the witnesses and I was standing next to the font. Again, of a sudden, the thought entered our minds that the son-in-law should immerse her by laying her forward into the font. I had never seen a baptism performed this way, but we whispered to the brother that perhaps he could accomplish the baptism by laying her face-first into the font. The first such attempt was successful and we all breathed a sigh of relief and offered another prayer of thanks.
This sweet soul passed away not long after her baptism, but the sweetness of this conversion has lingered long in my heart.
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