"...Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also."
In order to be baptized, you need enough water to be immersed entirely. The baptismal font serves that purpose and in most places around the world is located inside on the chapel buildings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. However, before the baptism, you need to clean and fill the font with water. Without question, this was the hardest part of baptizing someone. You don't see the hard work that goes on beforehand, hours before people start arriving at the baptismal service, of getting the place looking good.
**NOTE: If you wish to get in contact with missionaries of the Church to learn more, you can do so at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/missionary-visit
Click to Navigate (Table of Contents):
BAPTISMAL FONTS
Before the mission, whenever there was a baptismal service, the baptismal font always seemed to be magically clean and ready to go. We take turns cleaning the church building (As I’ve done my whole life) but that didn’t include the baptismal font as far as I could remember although it was always clean and kept.
For those who don't know, a baptismal font is a "water basin" where baptisms are performed. The word font comes from the Latin word fons which means, "Spring" or "Fountain". Baptisms are typically performed in baptismal fonts but in places where there may be no baptismal fonts, such as poor remote areas, other bodies of water may be used as appropriate. Baptismal fonts are almost always below ground level for symbolic reasons (D&C 128:13). Baptisms must be performed with the proper priesthood authority, and by immersion. To review what Baptisms, covenants, and ordinances are, read Here. The baptismal font itself is a sacred place because it is where the sacred ordinance of baptism occurs. When a baptismal font is constructed, prior to its first use, it is dedicated to the Lord. Learn more about Dedications here. It is because baptismal fonts are sacred places that we do not take photos during baptismal services, nor do we take pictures in the chapel where the sacred ordinance of the sacrament occurs.
As missionaries, we were in charge of the baptisms for those individuals we taught. This included filling out the baptismal records (which were among the materials we missionaries were supplied), organizing the baptismal service (including assigning speakers and helping to get the word out), providing or preparing white clothing, and draining, cleaning, and filling the baptismal font. I didn’t know how dirty the baptismal fonts back home ever got, but in my mission, they were disgusting. Because of the dusty environment and humid climate, the fonts in northern Mexico got dirty really easily. Disgusting bugs like cockroaches or spiders often fell in, and the humidity didn’t help the musty smell of the small space. Before the services, we’d have to scrub it down ourselves before we could fill it. Ward Mission leaders can help a great deal when it comes to things like this, but rarely did we have anyone help us prepare the baptismal font on my mission.
The water from the baptismal font drained into an underground tank system. When that tank got too full, we’d have to turn on the sprinklers to let water out. If we didn’t do that, a gravitational equilibrium would be met between the font depth and the tank height preventing any remaining water in the font from draining. The dirty water and the greenhouse effect made the whole baptismal partition feel like a sauna or actual greenhouse in the heat of the canícula.
BUCKETS OF SWEAT
It was always wise to prepare for baptismal services early to account for unforeseen delays. Elder Scott and I went in early one morning to prep for a baptism later that night. To our dismay, we discovered that the font still had about four inches of old water in it! To make it worse, we couldn’t get the pump or sprinklers to work to get the dirty water out. Whoever had last used the font must have "pulled the plug" and left before making sure it was empty so by the time it reached equilibrium, everybody had already left. Let this be a lesson to future missionaries: Be responsible and make sure everything is as it should be before taking off!
So Elder Scott and I did what was necessary. We had no choice but to get buckets from the janitorial closet and start emptying the font manually. Elder Scott worked from the inside, bending down and working out his back with each scoop of his red bucket. He would then have to walk up three or four slippery tile steps, hand off the heavy water-weighted bucket to me through the window and I would dump it out onto the warm summer grass. I had it easy compared to him! For only having to remove a few inches of water, the tedious task of emptying not only the depth but also the length and width with a bucket took forever. When the dirty water was no longer deep enough to scoop up with buckets, we mopped up the rest like a sponge. All the while, we are sweating in our white cotton shirts, ties, and slacks. If the heat wasn't already torturous, the physical labor made us extra sweaty and tired.
We got the font looking sparkling clean again with some chemicals and equipment from the janitorial closet which took some more time. It wouldn’t have been a hard thing in and of itself to clean and fill an empty font but we were cursed recipients of leftover dirty water.
We turned the lever to fill the now clean font. We had to be cautious to test the water before letting it run unattended because sometimes the faucet spewed out dirty water which would necessitate cleaning all over again (which happened on a few occasions for some unknown reason). To our great relief, the water came out clean and loud like the roar of a white waterfall and the font was filled in about half an hour, also to our relief since some slow-filling fonts could take a few hours to fill. There were benefits to getting the font filled quickly and early to make sure services started on time. But sometimes the trick came down to making sure the water wasn’t too cold (which happened in the winter if you filled it too early in the day), but in this case of summer, the water usually stayed comfortably warm.
Later that evening, we had a beautiful baptism of a nine-year-old boy who was baptized by his grandfather. It was such a special moment for both of them and their family and friends. They had no idea what work and sweat went into preparing that baptismal service but it was absolutely worth it. We were not among the ones to enter the now clean font and waters, we never planned to be, but it was just as worthwhile to be instruments to “prepare the way.” (Matt. 3:3)
I love and appreciate those who serve behind the scenes of our lives. I wonder just how many go unnoticed in their service because they don't seek recognition. I know that there are great blessings in heaven for those who serve in silence, not for reward but because it's the right thing to do. “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret; and they Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matt. 6:3-4)
BE YE CLEAN
To me, that experience cleaning that font says something of repentance: We must empty ourselves of our "dirty water" and become clean before we can be filled with "clean water". We cannot be filled with clean water while retaining dirty water lest it all become contaminated (James 3:11). Those few inches of dirty water made all the difference. No matter how many more gallons of clean water we could have added to what was already there, it would have all been dirty just the same. That’s why the blessings of repentance must precede the blessings of baptism (See "Repentance"). For so it is said that, "The inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleaned also." (Alma 60:23)
Like baptismal fonts, we will become dirty over time from living in a less-than-perfect world. But that is why we must work to keep ourselves as clean as possible, not let our dirty water accumulate, so that come Sunday, we can renew our Baptismal Covenants through the ordinance of the sacrament and stay clean from the sins of this world. (See "Sabbath Day Observance")
コメント