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An investigator who I’ve got very friendly with has asked me to baptize him. Going to get a walk through tonight. It will be the first time I’ve done this! The good news is that I get on really well with him, and associate with him outside the church (not from some cynical attempt to convert him), but the bad news is he thinks a baptism will stop him being swamped under!
Did I mention he’s a big guy too? I hope I get it right.
You’ll do fine! I hope you enjoy the experience and that your friend does, too. SamBee wrote:Did I mention he’s a big guy too? I hope I get it right.
Buoyancy is your friend. Good luck.doug wrote:SamBee wrote:Did I mention he’s a big guy too? I hope I get it right.
Buoyancy is your friend. Good luck.Thanks for the tip!
I was thinking about handing the job over to someone else, but I’m very flattered to have been asked as well.
1) Congratulations! (More from a “that’s cool that he would ask” standpoint than from any other perspective.) 2) If you have to try more than once, so be it; if you get it done the first time, so be it. Just realize going in that either experience can be a good one.
3) If he’s really large and there are questions about whether or not the traditional manner will work with him (and for you), “form” counts for ZILCH in a baptism. As long as your arm is raised to the square when you say the prayer, “how” he gets under the water is totally up to those involved. If he needs to sit down first and have you or someone else hold his legs down while he lies down in the font until he’s covered by the water, then sits up and only gets out once the doors are closed to view from the outside, FINE. Anything that doesn’t mock the ordinance and is necessary . . . is proper.
I had to baptize a 6′ 7″ Texan and I’m WAY SHORTER than that. The guy knelt down in the water and then I baptized him by helping him lean back. Even when he was kneeling, we were about the same height in the water. It was hilarious. Before the baptism, someone mentioned that baptism would make him clean and pure like a brand-new baby. He replied in his texan accent “Biggest Baby YOU ever laid azz (eyes) awn!”.
One of my memorable ones. I did it in one pass so it was a technical success. You might consider it if he’s really tall compared to you.
My friend was asked to kneel for his baptism. This helped tremendously and he was not only tall but well-rounded especially in the mid-section. :wtf: It was a success the first time around.Quote:As long as your arm is raised to the square when you say the prayer, “how” he gets under the water is totally up to those involved. If he needs to sit down first and have you or someone else hold his legs down while he lies down in the font until he’s covered by the water, then sits up and only gets out once the doors are closed to view from the outside, FINE. Anything that doesn’t mock the ordinance and is necessary . . . is proper.
Yeah, I forgot to raise my arm the first time, but the immersion was alright. By the way, is this a bit of Freemasonry creeping in with the square thing? L.V. if you know what I mean. Just wondering…
The guy asked for me, because he’s got to know me, and there’s been a revolving door of missionaries pressurising him into it, so he didn’t want to do it initially.
It’s much more of the arm(s) raised to heaven conceptually than strictly a Masonic thing. The idea of raising one’s arms to heaven is as old as humanity. Well, there’s a postscript to this! He overslept this morning, so missed his confirmation. He is a bit shy, but I think he still wants to do it and apologized.
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