John E. Forsgren
 | This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2018) ) |
John E. Forsgren | |
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| Born | November 7, 1816 Gävle, Sweden |
| Died | January 22, 1890 (aged 73) |
| Known for | Member of Mormon Battalion, missionary to Sweden |
John Erik Forsgren (7 November 1816 – 22 January 1890) was a
Early life
Forsgren was born in
Mormon Battalion
In 1846, Forsgren volunteered for the
In 1849, Erastus Snow, and Peter O. Hansen were called by the LDS Church to preach in Scandinavia. Forsgren petitioned to be permitted to join them, and his request was granted. After arriving in Copenhagen in 1850, Forsgren went alone to Sweden and began preaching in his hometown of Gävle. The first person he baptized was Peter Adolph Forsgren, his brother. (Peter Forsgren was the first person living in Scandinavia to be baptized into the LDS Church.)
As a result of his preaching against Lutheranism, Forsgren was charged with disruption of the peace and ordered to be deported to the United States. However, the captain of the ship Forsgren was placed on allowed Forsgren to leave the ship when it docked temporarily in Denmark, and Forsgren traveled to Copenhagen and was reunited with Snow and Hansen. In February 1852, Snow appointed Forsgren as his successor as president of the church's Scandinavian Mission, and Forsgren held this position until December, when he was replaced by Willard Snow.
Leader of pioneer company
Upon completion of his mission, Forsgren became the leader of an emigrating company of approximately 300 Latter Day Saints from Scandinavia and northern Europe. The company departed from Liverpool on 1 January 1854 and arrived in Salt Lake City on 30 September.
Later life and excommunication
In Utah, Forsgren initially settled in Brigham City, and later lived in Moroni, Santaquin, and Dover. He also lived in Carson City, Nevada for several years.
In 1879, Forsgren was
In 2010 a monument in the form of a bronze bust on a granite pedestal was erected in a public park near his childhood home at Övre Bergsgatan in Gävle.
References
- Box Elder Lore (Brigham City, Utah: Sons of Utah Pioneers, 1951) pp. 56–61.
- Andrew Jenson. History of the Scandinavian Mission (New York: Arno Press, 1979).
- William Mulder, Homeward to Zion: The Mormon Migration from Scandinavia (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1957).
External links
- John E. Forsgren Pioneer Company, churchofjesuschrist.org