Even Great-Grandmas Can Be Baptized

“Becky, could you please ask your brothers to come to the family room?” Mom said. “Dad and I have something to tell everyone.”

I went and got Chip and Keith, and we gathered in the family room.

“I received some great news today,” Dad said. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Grandpa Greer sent us a letter saying that Great-Grandma Meikle is going to be baptized.”

“Who is Great-Grandma Meikle?” Chip asked.

“She is Grandma Greer’s mother,” Dad said. “Do you remember when we visited Grandma and Grandpa last year? We also visited Great-Grandma Meikle in the nursing home where she lives.”

“But Great-Grandma must be 100 years old!” Keith said. “She can hardly walk. How can she be baptized? When I was baptized, I was eight years old. Grandmas can’t be baptized.”

“Great-Grandma’s birthday is next week,” Mom said. “She will be 88 years old. She wants to be baptized on her birthday. To be baptized, a person needs to be eight or older. Remember when Brother Garcia was baptized? He wasn’t eight years old.”

Brother Garcia’s daughter Maria was in my class at school. We ate lunch together. She told me the missionaries had been visiting her dad. She loved to have the missionaries in her home. “Did Great-Grandma Meikle have the missionaries visit her?” I asked.

“Yes,” Dad replied. “They visited her every week and answered her questions. Grandpa Greer has also been helping her learn the gospel. And Great-Grandma attends church meetings in the nursing home. She has made many friends in the Church.”

“Who is going to baptize her?” Keith asked. “Dad baptized me. Great-Grandma doesn’t have a dad.”

“The missionaries could do it,” Mom said, “but Great-Grandma has asked Grandpa Greer to do it.”

“Can we go?” Chip pleaded.

“I’m afraid not,” Dad said. “It’s too far away.”

“Can I write a letter?” I asked.

“What a great idea!” Mom said, smiling. “Let’s all write her letters telling her how happy we are for her.”

“I’ll tell her about my baptism so she won’t be nervous,” Keith said on his way to get a pencil and paper.

After everyone finished their letters, we put them in a big envelope and addressed it to Great-Grandma Meikle in the nursing home. Maybe she would write back and tell us all about her special day. It was great news knowing that even great-grandmas can be baptized.