A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.
From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.
In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.
Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.
Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.
We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.
As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here. 
7 comments:
becky, i actually thought of this when i was reading his talk. you know our great, great (your 3rd great) grandmother was christina andersen. she joined the church in denmark, and about 2 years later left with a family there and came to zion. she was disowned by her family when she joined the church, so when she left denmark, she left everything, believing that she would never see them again. however, and i love this part of her story. she was compensated. her husband died after 18 years of marriage (she was a plural wife and raised all of HIS children with his first wife who died about 7 years after christina joined the family, and she also raised THEIR 7 living children.) anyway SHE moved from cache valley to goshen, id, with her sons. then, when her youngest living child, wilford was called on a mission to denmark, SHE WENT WITH HIM, FOR THE WHOLE TWO YEARS!!!! she got to return to her homeland and reacquaint with all her friends and family who were still living. this would have been probably around 1898--her age then abt. 55 yrs (my age right now), about 35 years after she left. btw, she was a widow for 44 years. she is buried in hyrum, ut. anyway, the Lord compensated her in a big way. i love this story. mom
You know what, this is the one talk that really stuck with me from conference. I miss getting to hear the confernce talk RS lessons. That quote is incredible
I love the story about ancestory. I can not imagine being a plural wife, that is something I would need compensation for! HAH!
Anyway, sometimes it is a hope against seeming hope that compensation will happen (that is what people keep telling me) that keeps me going. I am not sure I laugh about too much right now (maybe in a year? or ten?), but I am seeking for the eternal and trusting in God...I am not sure. I wonder about that sometimes. My grandfather was a good, good man and he died a year ago having had a pretty dismal life start to finish with a few glimmers, but never were any of his real dreams realized. I suppose his compensation will be later. One thing I just thought of- we got free lunches when I was with my mom as a middle schooler and people at school would make so much fun of me that I would not ever even eat lunch- it was easier than being made fun of. I often had to do the grocery shopping and wanted to die when I had to pay with food stamps, but what was worse was trying to find 32 cents when the food stamps were gone and we needed to eat and green beans were 32 cents. I actually remember finding the last of those 32 cents one morning. That was a feeling of joy. So sad...
I have never had to use any type of assistance for my children and that is really a blessing. I never have wanted to do that. In fact I have vehemently opposed it since I was made to feel ashamed and the Lord has been merciful in that way. I am the first of any of my family to go to college and that decision was motivated by the free-lunch experience. I told my grandmother about it and she said "get your education" and that is what I did...
I have had to work pretty hard to keep it that way. I have had a job since I was 15 and no sign of that changing any time soon, but if it keeps us solvent, it is worth it.
It really is about focusing on the positive.
life is hard, and it is so hard for so many people. we are so blessed to know of the life after this. i actually think a couple of generations back life was hard for just about everyone. we are also blessed to have all the industrial advancements we have today. you are right, crystal, it is about focusing on the positive. that darling little baby boy and your beautiful daughter are yours forever. Wow!
and of course matt:)
three wonderful children--21 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren!!I can't imagine anything more wonderful than to know that you are mine forever and ever and ever and ever.
compensation. what goes around, comes around. karma. i believe in the principle 100%. (although, to be honest, i'm not sure how this works for polygamous wives.) glad Heavenly Father knows all and makes sure we all get what we need.
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