memory lane: my baptism dress

When I was in Junior Primary I probably looked at pictures of children being baptized many times. The girls were always in pretty white dresses. So when I imagined myself being baptized at age eight, that was how I expected it to be.

When I was about to turn eight, I was talking to my mom one day about how excited I was to get baptized. I told her, "I can just see myself stepping into the water in a beautiful white dress . . . " At this point my mom interrupted me to clarify that nowadays everyone gets baptized in white jumpsuits. I didn't know what that meant, but from her description I concluded that it was plain and not especially feminine (they're basically white one-piece shirt/pants things with a zipper on the front). The idea was pretty repulsive to me. I was troubled because I really wanted to get baptized, but I also wanted to look beautiful like the girls in the pictures. Years later, my mom told me she wasn't sure if I would consent to be baptized if I had to be baptized wearing one of these jumpsuits. (I'm pretty sure I would have wanted to get baptized anyway, but at the time the idea of the jumpsuits was a little disappointing to my romantic mind.)

My mom ended up making me a lovely white dress to be baptized in. I felt beautiful in it. It was a sacred and happy experience. I remember that after my dad baptized me I was filled with a sensation of joy and light. It was a feeling that I experienced again after I received the Endowment at the Ogden temple.

Oh, and since then I have worn white jumpsuits many times when I went to do baptisms for the dead at the temple. It's true that they're not very feminine, but they're sturdy, versatile, and functional.