Born of the water

PROVO CANYON — As five people were baptized in the Provo River on Sunday, the heavens roared with thunder and poured raindrops on the faithful.

Maybe it was God cheering and weeping for joy.

But Jo-Ellyn Booker, one of the baptized, didn't hear or feel a thing, other than the pastor's words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ... "

Then she was immersed in the river.

"It was a quiet moment for me, a very humbling experience," she said.

Members of Rock Canyon Church, a Provo congregation that meets each Sunday at the Provo Towne Centre movie theaters and is affiliated with the Assemblies of God, witnessed the baptisms of three adults and two children in the Provo River at Vivian Park.

The Rev. Dean Jackson, the church's lead pastor, retold the story of John's baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and the "Great Commission," described in the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus reappeared after death and instructed followers to "make disciples of all the nations" by baptizing people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Theologically, the Rev. Jackson said, baptism isn't necessary to get to heaven, because the two thieves dying on crosses next to Jesus were promised eternal life with God but had not been baptized.

Baptism is, however, an "act of obedience we do to follow the example of Christ," he said. It is an outward symbol before a Christian community of an inward commitment to follow Jesus, he said.

As the soon-to-be baptized children and adults descended into the river, they sank into 6 inches of mud. (Even the Rev. Jackson lost his flip-flops in the mud.)

After they surfaced, the baptized squealed in shock of the cold water, cried and hugged family and friends. Church members joyfully clapped and cheered.

For some, it was the first time they had been baptized. For others, it was a rebaptism.

The Rev. Jackson said that many people want to be rebaptized because they feel more spiritually prepared than during first baptisms, which may be done out of peer pressure.

The tradition of the Rock Canyon Church is immersion baptisms, as opposed to the sprinkling of water on the head as done in some churches. They cite the numerous examples in the Bible of full immersions.

"This is a fun place to do it," the Rev. Jackson said.

Booker, a 52-year-old Springville mother and grandmother, was first baptized at age 12. Throughout the years, she has been rebaptized several times and baptized two of her children in the Atlantic Ocean.

"First time, I was baptized out of obedience to the Lord," she said. "Other times, it was after I joined a church."