NAME AND BLESSING

I looked on white walls, tall slender windows, a wood floor, folding chairs, people, lights hanging from the ceiling, and my grandpa's arms around me. They are so big. Much bigger than mine. I looked up and I could see his chin and feel his breath on my face. I turned my head and I could see my dads face too. Then there were a few other faces that I saw, yet I could not recognize them. They didn't scare me.

Soon all of those men were standing around in a circle and one hand on each others shoulder. As I watched, they bowed their heads, closed their eyes, and then I began to go up and down. Up and down, up and down. I heard my grandpa starting to talk. I turned my eyes upon his chin and watched him speak while I went up and down. I looked at my dad. His eyes were closed. So were all the other men's eyes closed. My grandpa kept on talking. I kept going up and down.

Then all of a sudden I stopped going up and down. My grandpa lifted me up to an upright position and now I can see the people looking at me while sitting in all of those chairs the were unfolded in neat rows. The sun came through those tall slender windows. The sun was bright just as I saw mom. She was sitting in the front row. The sun was near her back. She was smiling, I think at me.

After a while, I saw the building I was just in. There are those tall slender windows, however they look a little different. I was in my mom's arms now. I can see the big tree above me that is providing a lot of shade from that bright sun. I looked around me and saw some kids running around with long white things in their hands. All the children were laughing and screaming and running. I wanted to be with them.

Years later I talked with my mom about this peculiar memory I have. She pursed her lips, rolled her eyes and made a grunting noise. "You couldn't possibly remember that", she blurted out to me. "Someone told you that story", mom added. I just looked at her with a confused look on my face. "What do you mean?", I questioned. She proceeded to tell me that I was describing my "Name and Blessing" in the Mormon church when I was just two months old. She said that the church is where my grandparents went and the white long things were streamers left over from a wedding the day before.

The "Name and Blessing" was my first memory of the Mormon church, or "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". The church had become a strong influence in my life and in most cases, the only influence in my life. I didn't know much else. I was BOC (born under the covenant) and grown up in a large Mormon family, me being the oldest girl.

A name and blessing is what the church does to infants, and in many cases young children, in order to be recognized in the church records. This can only be done by the laying on of hands by Mormon Elders who hold the priesthood. Following the ritual of announcing your name to the church and its congregation, a blessing follows. This is a prayer to the child by the priesthood holder. For a little girl, the most common statement was that you will grow up to be married in the temple and have children of your own. The dads' holding the priesthood usually did the honor of this special function of announcing your own child and putting the name on the church records.
I guess I became a member at the point when my grandfather said that I will be known on church records as......