Christen and Kirsten Marie Johansen Jensen PB

Christen and Kirsten Marie Johansen Jensen are my 3rd Great Grandparents from Denmark. The first missionaries arrived in Copenhagen in 1850, but my ancestors are from the northern area of Denmark called Hjorring (don't ask me how to pronounce because I will get it wrong), so they weren't baptized until 1853. I'm not exactly sure when they emigrated to the Utah Territory because it was after the railroad arrived in 1868 and their 8th child, a daughter Anna was born in 1870 in Denmark. I do know that their 6th son Frederick, my 2nd Great Grandfather, stayed behind to do missionary work before joined his family in Utah. 

Prior to 1850 Danish last names were done by patronymics, which is the first name of the father was the last name of the children and in Denmark the last names were done by -sen (-son in Norway and Sweden). Daughters had the last name of -datter, so Kirsten was really Johandatter. But after 1850 all the last names were the same from parent to child, thus my Mom's side of the family are known as the Jensen's because Christen's father was Jens Pedersen. Christen and Kirsten were married in 1843 and had eight children, so the older children have a last name of Christensen, but Frederick was born in 1857, has the last name of Jensen. 

Christen and Kirsten's PB both say they are from the tribe of Ephraim, which is the first PB I've come across that says that. The others either didn't say it or used flowery language. In Christen's I do like the part on page 1 that says, "you have received a companion of your youth she shall prove a source of comfort and blessing unto you all her days." In Kirsten's it says, "The Lord loveth thee because of they integrity." They both say that they will some day receive their temple blessings, which was done in 1878 in the Endowment House. 

Christen's PB page 1 taken in Ephraim, Utah

 Christen's PB page 2

 Kirsten's PB, both took place on 8 January 1877

Quoted

I've had this chill Sunday, so I go on facebook to see if my Mom is on to say Hi. Instead I see that the University of Wolverhampton press office got a quick quote from my professor about my research because one of the celebrities on Strictly Come Dancing has a neck injury. They don't even bother to reference that it is my research and when I emailed my professor about it he said the press office added the false info about the Jive into it! And now I see the Daily Mail has quoted it! Granted the Daily Mail is just a gossip magazine, but still GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!!! No wonder I got a notice from Academia.edu that someone had looked up my research a couple of days ago! I don't even know if Denise Van Otten really has my hyperextension neck injury (I call it HNI for short)! Ugh, I'm so annoyed that they don't even say it was MY research!

Dave's Visa

See that pile of papers above my blue folder and yellow pen? That is everything we have collected for Dave's visa application. Letters from family and friends, marriage and sealing certificate, birth certificates, government forms, blog posts, twitter messages, text messages, etc. All we have to do is take new passport pictures and copies of our passports to add to this small dead tree. Too bad the government won't accept electronic applications yet. If we are killing a small tree for Dave's application think of how many people apply for visas and how many trees altogether we are killing just for visas!

Plus we have been married for 18 months today!

Can't wait until we are all back together again!!!

Shabby Apple

I wanna win one year's worth of Shabby Apple dresses!!! I am going to graduate with my PhD soon and I need pretty new professor dresses! Thanks!

President Monson's Big Announcement!

President Thomas S. Monson, the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced this morning that the minimum age requirement for Sister Missionaries has been lowered to 19 starting today!!! I had to wait until I was 21 years old to serve a mission. I felt like I wasted three years of my life waiting to turn 21 before I could go on a mission. Yea, I was going to school, at BYU and Snow, but I also had two more years after mission, so I really could have done all my university education after mission if I would have been allowed to go at 19. I really feel like my life started after mission, the really interesting/cool stuff that is. If I could have gone at 19 my life would have started two years sooner. President Monson made a plea 2 years ago for more missionaries. There was a 12% increase in Sister Missionaries! What do you think the increase will be now?

During the press conference, after the announcement during General Conference, Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, "God is hastening his work. And he needs more and more willing worthy missionaries to spread the light and the truth and the hope and the salvation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to an often dark and fearful world. In the vernacular of the day, this announcement I say to these young people is not about you. It is about the sweet and the pure message you are being asked to bear and the ever greater numbers God needs to bear it." So if you are wondering why change now? This is why. If that statement didn't make the hairs on your neck stand up, it should have. One more step closer to the Second Coming.

One of the reporters asked about earlier Relief Society experience for these future Sister Missionaries. I've thought about that for a while now. The Young Men are expected to help with Home Teaching, so the Young Women should be expected to help with Visiting Teaching too! I also have thought that Regional YW leaders are needed too, especially in areas where there are not as many experienced YW leaders. When inexperienced ward and stake YW leaders have questions, who do they turn to? Their Bishop or Stake President who also have no experience in YW's? There needs to be a intermediate between the General YW Presidency and Stake YW Presidencies. Maybe have the Mission President's wife be the intermediary?

Pictures of me in the South Africa Cape Town Mission:

The seven Sister Missionaries in East London with President and Sister Markus and Elder Christofel Golden (he was announced as the first South African member of the Quorum of the Seventy a couple of weeks after this picture was taken)

Sisters Proctor, Moliga, and I at the East London chapel

Karen and Duane's wedding at the Port Elizabeth chapel

 First time at the Addo Elephant Park outside Port Elizabeth

 Linda's birthday dinner with Sisters Nicolaou and Van Dyke

 Waterfall near King William's Town with Sister Moliga

 Typical African tree, in East London

 Ostrich farm near Paarl

 Making funny faces at Sister Truter

 Teaching English at a township school near Port Elizabeth

 Monster motorcycle in Port Elizabeth with Sister Minster

 Seaview Game Park near Port Elizabeth (btw, giraffes are awesome!)

 Playing cricket at the township school near Port Elizabeth

 Holding baby lions at Seaview Game Park near Port Elizabeth

 Port Elizabeth chapel with Sister Robbins

 At the beach with Sister den Dulk near Port Elizabeth

 President and Sister Armstrong, my first Mission President

Storms River Bridge near the Tsitsikamma National Park