Baptism Prep: The Checklist

I am not sure that the checklist I put together with Miriam is the most complete or perfect baptism preparedness list in the world, but I'll share it anyway. Most of the ideas I took straight out of Elaine Cannon's book Baptized and Confirmed: Your Lifeline to Heaven pages 17-20. Then I added a few things that I thought were important. Miriam and I talked about each item and where and how she would learn them/do them.

Here's the list:

1) Turn 8 years old.
2) Be able to explain the Plan of Salvation.
3) Explain what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ.
4) Bear your testimony.
5) Explain what humility means.
6) Explain how you can be and want to be an example of Christ and His teachings.
7) Do you want to do what is right?
8) Have you repented and asked Heavenly Father to forgive you?
9) Do you want to join the Church of Jesus Christ?
10) Memorize the first article of faith.
11) Memorize the second article of faith.
SAME FOR ALL THIRTEEN ARTICLES OF FAITH
12) Do you attend church regularly?
13) Memorize four promises Heavenly Father makes to you when you get baptized and confirmed.
14) Memorize four promises you are making to Heavenly Father when you get baptized and confirmed.
15) Give service every day for two weeks.

A small note on #4--we have a family testimony meeting every fast Sunday. Miriam is not comfortable bearing her testimony in church, but her dad asked her to bear her testimony every month until her baptism in our family testimony meeting to check that one off.

A small note on #2. Number two--explain the Plan of Salvation--was on Miriam's checklist well before Christmas when my sister gave me this book by David Bowman:

However, although it was on Miriam's list prior to this book, her understanding of the Plan of Salvation has radically improved since the advent of this book into our home. Same for all my children. While I love Bowman's hero books--this one is by far his most wonderful contribution to our family gospel study. Miriam wants to check this requirement off her list on this coming Sunday so she has been reading this book almost every day to cement the info in her head. Then she practices telling me so she'll be ready to tell her dad.

I highly recommend this book.

Miriam's list isn't numbered. It just has boxes in front of each one that her dad checks when she's completed them. I'm sure you could put it together any number of ways. Miriam keeps it in the front of her baptism prep binder and we go through it every day at the beginning of baptism prep to remind her of what she has left to do/learn. Sometimes she doesn't want to work on anything but her articles of faith, and other times she picks an additional requirement to work on. I leave it pretty much up to her and continue on with our normal baptism prep activities when she doesn't want to work on a specific requirement. So far she has 9 things checked off, 17 things left to go, and 6 months until her baptism. I think we're pretty on track.

Hope this helped!