Sister Breksa's great-grandmother's was born on 25 July
1902. She passed away in 1980. To honor Mary Ann Atkin Hansen, Sister Breksa's mother was inspired to invite Mary's posterity to visit any of the 143 temples on the 25th of July this year. Invitations were mailed to 35 of her descendants --representing children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Missionaries
are not able to schedule their visits to the temple and it is not a regular
opportunity. An unexpected blessing was needed and it was given, her mission
attended the Fukuoka Temple that preceding Monday.
On the 25th, her parents and two of her
three siblings visited the Boston Massachusetts Temple.
“There really can be a bond and a sense of belonging that ties together generations. ... This bond gives us a sense of identity and purpose. Our ties with the eternal world suddenly become very real, sharpening our life’s focus and lifting our expectations. ... We can discover within ourselves a reservoir of patience and endurance that we never will find without the deep commitment that grows from a sense of real belonging. Exerting such immovable loyalty to another person teaches us how to love – indeed, how to be more like the Savior. Our sense of belonging to one another...foreshadows our belonging in the eternal family of God. Our willingness to discipline our individual desires enough to honor [our] loved ones prepares us to belong to Him who is our Father.” Bruce C. Hafen, Liahona, June 1998, 16
