Last Sunday, Mary Lou and Porter gave their missionary farewell addresses in the Arimo ward, prior to entering their mission field in the Washington D.C. temple. You can follow their mission experiences on the blog link below. Their remarks were very good of course. At one point, Porter addressed his own kids as he applied a scripture that I had overlooked before, but as I am now more focused on the temple, it takes on new meaning. The depth of that meaning will be my lasting wish for all of us. In Alma 7, Alma is speaking to the people of Gideon after having been away from them for an extended period. In verse 23, he says:
"And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out."
When you next attend the temple, especially if you do initiatory or sealing ordinances, consider the importance of keeping your garments undefiled, and watch for references to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and/or the House of Israel, as you contemplate their correlation to the concept of Eternal Life. They are not just words.
Stay faithful,
Dad
HISTORY
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.
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2 comments:
another thought to remember is that alma had been preaching to all these wayward souls, but the people of gideon had been faithful throughout. i don't know if there is a correlation there between temple worship and time of devotion, but there is definitely a correlation between temple worship and depth of commitment.
I saw someone at the temple in Washington DC last Saturday and I was sure it was Abbey, but I couldn't get to her in time. Is it possible that it was, or was it someone who looked like someone who had been in Africa for 3 months? Porter.
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