Who can read another man's soul? To the best of my knowledge, my kids knew what they were doing and meant what they said, so I believe they were saved. Like I said in another post, the baptism comes after and it is only an outward sign of what's happened inside, i.e. death to the sin nature, dead buried and risen with Christ to a new life.
Then I'm not understanding what baptism with the Holy Spirit means to you. Does the Holy Spirit have nothing to do with it? Or does is His presence only an outward sign with no effect otherwise?
To the best of my knowledge, my kids knew what they were doing and meant what they said
And if they didn't, being baptised with the Holy Spirit wasn't effective?
I honestly don't see how being baptised with the Holy Spirit can be said to be possibly effective, maybe not at all, unless you think baptism is something that God has no part in, only the baptizee.