Minnie Maloy's Name And Blessing

In late July last year, when I was deathly ill and newly pregnant with Minnie, 

I had the most beautiful spiritual experience happen to me while 

I was sitting in the 2nd-row pew in church.  I was gazing at Christian, 

who was sitting on the stand near the podium as the Branch President

 of our congregation.

 I felt a distinct whisper: Minnie Maloy.
Then, almost instantly, I connected the name to our baby;
it was like fireworks, with a sense of peace and calm I can't describe.

I knew our baby needed to be called Minnie Maloy.

Maloy was my Nana Aurora's maiden name, but the origins of Minnie

were not known to me.

But I liked it!

On the car ride home, I told the Nies (Jane, Ollie, Gigs, and Lottie) that

I had inspiration and knew what our baby would be named.

Then I told them, and to my shock, everyone loved it.

No complaints, which really is shocking because we had

major family discussions about Nielson #6's name.

No one could agree until now.

When Christian came home from church meetings hours later,

I told him I had a "special visitor" at church today, then told him

about my experience, and the name Minnie Maloy.

He was very touched, and then it was settled.

Later that evening, I was helping Lottie find ancestors who needed essential

ordinances done in the temple because her youth group

was going to be serving there later in the week.

 What name do you think we stumbled upon?

MINNIE MALOY!

This Minnie Maloy, born in 1885, needed to be sealed to her parents.

It was a second confirmation THAT DAY that Minnie Maloy 

is a powerhouse name and the name for this amazing baby girl.

This morning, Christian gave Minnie Maloy a 

beautiful father's blessing in church.

He blessed her with a healthy body and mind, 

and a desire to be a missionary.  

He reminded her of her remarkable ancestors, 

especially her great-grandmother, Aurora Maloy, 

after whom she was named and whose 113th birthday it was.

(I purposely chose this day for Minnie's blessing).

He also expressed gratitude for the amazing women in her ancestry 

and acknowledged that she stands on the shoulders of these remarkable women

who have given so much for her to enjoy so many blessings and knowledge

of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Minnie wore the blessing dress that Nana Aurora Maloy Jones 

had handmade nearly 50 years ago. The dress features beautiful, 

intricate crochet on the collar, sleeves, and bottom. 

All my sisters and their daughters, including Claire, Jane, and Charlotte, 

have been blessed in this dress—probably over twenty baby girls in total!

The men who participated in Minnie's blessing ordinance were 

my second cousin and stake president,

Chris Bingham, dear friends, John Farnsworth, Caulin Snarr, Christian's 

Branch President counselors, Spencer Lee and Brent Anderson.

But most of all, I was so pleased my Mom was there.