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| Joseph at 21 |
The Latter-Day Saint biographical encyclopedia; a
compilation of biographical sketches of prominent men and women in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (here p 607) which contains another short
bio of Joseph summed up his mission in this way:
While on his mission to Sweden he traveled mostly without purse or scrip and on his missionary travels he learned to know the Lord and His ways to a higher degree of perfection than at any other time. Under his administration a number of people embraced the gospel. He labored in the Carlskrona, Christianstad and Helsingborg branches. While he traveled as a missionary in Sweden without money, he was only asked to pay for one meal, and this he settled for satisfactorily by letting the party have some Church literature. Whenever he asked the people who entertained him what he owed them, the answer would almost invariably be "Nothing, you are welcome." One of his extraordinary experiences as a missionary was the privilege granted him on a certain occasion to preach in one of the Swedish Lutheran churches in Småland, Sweden. The pastor happened to be out of town, and Brother Christenson, who introduced himself as a missionary from America, was cordially invited to speak in the church. His preaching on that occasion, and his conversations afterwards, seemed to leave a splendid impression upon the people.
The Utah Genealogical Magazine bio (referenced in a previous blog post) indicated that his mission began on 21 July 1886. This slightly contradicts his own journal entry from 31 August 1888 in which he wrote, "Just two years today since leaving home." According to History of the Scandinavian Mission (here p. 299) Joseph's arrival in Copenhagen happened on 20 March 1886; however, the author's actual notes show the date of his arrival to be 28 September 1886. This date exactly matches his own recollection. On 28 September 1888 he wrote, "Just two years today since my arrival in Scandinavia."
Also referenced in History of the Scandinavian Mission (here p. 300), Joseph was assigned to serve in the Skåne Conference which was located in the southernmost part of Sweden. As stated earlier, he served in the Karlskrona, Kristianstad, and Helsingborg branches of the church.
Sweden was completely overtaken by the Protestant Reformation and Lutheranism had been adopted as the national religion. Any new religion which tried to refute or redefine the Lutheran beliefs was hotly debated. Mormons weren't the only ones proselyting in Scandinavia. The Baptists were active as well. I'm sure there were others.
Polygamy was one of the most potent tools used by teachers and leaders of the other faith traditions in Scandinavia to sour potential converts on the prospects of Mormonism. One contemporary researcher (here) wrote:
Even today in Scandinavian the word “Mormon” has come to be almost synonymous with polygamy. Indeed, in the popular mind, Mormonism means only polygamy, and there is a common belief that its missionaries were simply agents sent out to lure gullible young girls away to Utah harems. This association with polygamy has been the main factor in making the religion an outcast sect in Scandinavia. (Click the link - the whole piece makes for a very interesting read.)
The author of Homeward to Zion: The Mormon Migration from Scandinavia (here p 91) writes about what I'll call the "pamphlet wars", each opposing sect printing and distributing propaganda tracts to try to sway belief and opinion. (Click the link - another really interesting read.)
How did the Mormons initially respond to the early rumors surrounding the practice of polygamy? They did what they've always done - exactly what Abraham did in days of old when asked about the woman traveling with him. They lied. But when Parley P. Pratt unambiguously declared that plural marriage was, in fact, a higher law of God in his general conference address in 1852 the Scandinavian defenders of Mormon monogamy had to eat their words.
The pro-polygamy address given by Parley P. Pratt to the Utah Legislature in 1855 (here) which, we learn from the above link, was translated into local language and distributed in Scandinavia in 1856 left no question as to just how far the Mormons would go in defending the practice. Bro. Pratt relied on every conceivable argument possible to portray Mormon plural marriage as the most moral, God-like form of marriage on the face of the earth.
How did the Mormons initially respond to the early rumors surrounding the practice of polygamy? They did what they've always done - exactly what Abraham did in days of old when asked about the woman traveling with him. They lied. But when Parley P. Pratt unambiguously declared that plural marriage was, in fact, a higher law of God in his general conference address in 1852 the Scandinavian defenders of Mormon monogamy had to eat their words.
The pro-polygamy address given by Parley P. Pratt to the Utah Legislature in 1855 (here) which, we learn from the above link, was translated into local language and distributed in Scandinavia in 1856 left no question as to just how far the Mormons would go in defending the practice. Bro. Pratt relied on every conceivable argument possible to portray Mormon plural marriage as the most moral, God-like form of marriage on the face of the earth.
Andrew Jensen, author of the previously mentioned book History of the Scandinavian Mission (here) compiled extensive notes, some (or maybe all) of which are available in the Church History Library online archives (here). He provided documentation concerning the religion wars happening at the time as he cited a pamphlet written by Nels. C. Flygare, Scandinavian Mission President. From Jensen's notes (dated 1888):
It's hard to say exactly how successful missionary work was in Joseph's time and in his particular area as I don't know the population nor the exact boundaries. I also don't know how many missionaries were assigned to the Skåne Conference between 1886 and 1888. But I do know from Andrew Jensen's notes of the semi-annual conferences of the Skåne Conference that between November 1886 and November 1888 one hundred and eight people were baptized.
Joseph's journal entries begin on 4 July 1888, less than 3 months from the time he would return home. In July 1888 Joseph was assigned to and lived in Helsingborg, one of Sweden's oldest cities. It is also the closest Swedish city to Denmark.
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| Helsingborg in 1888 |
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| Helsingborg Today |
Joseph's companion at the time was Bro. Mortenson. That's all I know about him. According to the journal entries, Joseph would spend most of his time visiting with people - both church members and "investigators" (my word, not his) - and having "gosple" (he wasn't a great speller) discussions. He and his companion would proselyte in all of the small towns and villages in the area, spending a good portion of their day walking to and fro. At times they would venture out into a town center to attempt to sell religious tracts, but Joseph often wrote that he didn't have much success. He would also spend time reading and studying, scriptures mostly, but also Swedish history, newspapers, and various church publications available to missionaries at the time.
Joseph spoke in the "Sunday Meeting" most every Sunday. From what I gathered in reading his journal in its entirety, for a message to truly be inspired it had to be extemporaneous. Relying on notes, as far as Joseph was concerned, was not acceptable. When he felt "inspired" and felt good about the way his talk went he would write that he spoke "freely". And he always believed he made a positive impression on the congregation and held their attention.
Joseph spoke in the "Sunday Meeting" most every Sunday. From what I gathered in reading his journal in its entirety, for a message to truly be inspired it had to be extemporaneous. Relying on notes, as far as Joseph was concerned, was not acceptable. When he felt "inspired" and felt good about the way his talk went he would write that he spoke "freely". And he always believed he made a positive impression on the congregation and held their attention.
On Tuesday, 17 July 1888 Joseph left his missionary companion behind (apparently common practice back then) and spent the next three weeks in the towns where his father's relatives lived. He boarded a boat in Helsingborg which took him about 120 km (75 miles) up the coast to Falkenberg. Falkenberg is about halfway between Helsingborg and Gothenburg. Seasickness got the better of him, but once he "vomited" the trip was tolerable.
From Falkenberg, which he described as "forsaken" and "desolate", he took off on foot. He wrote:
The road seemed so long, I thought it would never end. In one place took the rong road and walked quite a piece, which set me back some. Had my smaller valise along. Thought it not very large, but found it much to large for packing around the country. It made me very tierd. Was very glad to rest when I got the chance in a village called Rya. Had the privelage of riding a short piece today.
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| The road from Falkenberg to Rya as it looks today. |
Rya is (and was at that time as well I'm assuming) about 30 km from Falkenberg, which is a little more than 18 miles. On Thursday, 19 July he began the last leg of his trip walking a little more than 16 km (about 10 miles) to his father's home village of Drängsered.
Joseph wrote:
Started out with my load, fealing somewhat sore from yesterday's march. Arrived at Kroxered before knowing it. The people did not know of any one by such a name as I asked for. Than started for Drängsered, but did not go far before something told me to look in my book again. Than found the place had a name of its own besides the town name; it was Grefund. Walked back and found a man who showed me the road. Soon got there and found Mårtin Johnson's. A daughter was home besides the old man. They received me very kindly.
"Grefund" I'm pretty sure should have been "Greppered" - the name of the farm in which the family worked and lived for generations. Mårtin Jonsson was, in fact, his father's cousin. Joseph's father, John, was the son of Christian Gudmundsson and Johanna Martinsdotter. Christian was the son of Gudmund Svensson and Brita Bengtsdotter. Gudmund Svensson had previously married Kiersten Nilsdotter and they had a son, Jon Gudmundsson. That would make Christian and Jon half-brothers. Jon married Anna Greta Mårtensdotter and their son was Mårtin.
And, by the way, scouring the genealogy on familysearch to try to figure that all out made me realize just how many wives a lot of these men had. Without doing a lot of detailed digging, it looks like it was not uncommon that the women died in or as a result of childbirth and the men would quickly remarry. Even though they were not polygamous relationships, the fact that the men had children with 2, 3 or even 4 different wives may have made the whole concept of plural marriage easier for John to swallow.
Joseph's story continued:
In the afternoon visited the place when Grandma Gudmundsson lived. The house is away, but the grounds look nice, being covered with grass and clover; also quite a number of trees. Plucked some leaves from the trees, which Grandma had planted. Also had all the strawberries could eat. Many and strange were the thoughts that surged through my mind at viewing the place when my forefathers dwelt. Also during the afternoon looked around at the place when the old homestead used to be; before Grandpa drank so muck liquor.
The very next day, Friday 20 July, was the commencement of the summer hay harvest. Following breakfast, Joseph went out to observe the work. He wrote:
Of all hay land I ever saw, this is the worst. A fellow would almost have to put on "specks" to see the hay after it was cut. They have to mow between stumps and rocks and go to so much bother, that a fellow would not think it worth the time spent; but by making a harvest feast, and inviting their neighbors, a great deal is cut the first day, after which they go it alone. In this way they help one another. While they were cutting, I preached the gosple.
So he didn't actually help or assist with the hay harvest. He just kind of watched, inwardly criticized, and "preached the gosple" while they did all the back breaking work. Interesting.
I found some online archived photos (here) taken by a local photographer during the early 1900s. They may represent some of what Joseph saw and experienced while visiting Drängsered in 1888.
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| Farm, Elmo, in the Drängsered parish. Multi-year building and economy building. Closest to the camera a clogged fenced by a stengärdsgård and a wooden roof. |
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| Drängsered Cemetery |
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| "Drängsered, Sjöbol" |
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| A Drängsered farm. |
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| Long-haired Drongsered sock. 1900 Pasture with cows and a horse in front of a farmhouse with a manor house and economy buildings. To the right of the animals is a boy, Karl Jönsson. |
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| "Residence" (And it sure looks like a hay harvest to me.) |
After breakfast on Saturday, 21 July 1888 Joseph said his goodbyes and moved on to the next item on his agenda - to see the parish priest in Krogsered about getting a peek at the family genealogy records. It did not go well.
He soon found out who I was when his tune changed entirely. From being friendly he became a bitter enemy. Looking as though he could swallow me alive. He began talking bad about us, and when I attempted to defend our people, he offerd to drive me out. Sobered him several times by asking what a Christians place was. He asked why I could not stay at home in my own land. Because, said I, the Lord has called me to preach the gosple to the inhabitants of this land. Begged me not to preach in his district, which would not promise; though told him shouldn’t think he needed to be afraid of much damage being done to his flock in 2 or 3 days.
We mainly hitched on polygamy, and baptism for babes. In discussing the former he abused me, in the later he begged me to say that the Savior had not forbidden sprinkling, etc; but to no purpose. He not being able to prove it from the scriptures. Could have been harder on him, but wanted some genealogy, so tried to be as easy as possible.
I'll save the actual text as well as my personal commentary concerning the last thing Joseph wrote about the priest for later. For now, let me just say it highly influenced everything I thought and believed about Joseph from there on out.
With no success in having access to his family genealogy - or converting the priest to his Mormon way of thinking - Joseph moved on to a neighboring farm where two of Mårtin's brothers lived and worked.
Joseph wrote:
From there went to Åsebolt, where Father has two cousins living, viz. Carl & Gabrial Johanson. Stopped with the forenamed. Has a family of grown children. They were just commencing the hay harvest, which is done by help from all the neighbors, and by a big feast. They soon came to dinner, so ate with them. On going out, I went with them, and preached as they worked. They listened with interest for a time, but soon became indifferent.They eat plentifully during that day. It was 4pm when I arrived, and they ate 3 times after that.
Again, Joseph seemed happy to eat their food and accept their hospitality, but he failed to offer them any help and assistance. He just continued to preach to them while they worked. By Sunday morning it seems he probably realized their "listening with interest for a time" was based on his own wishful thinking (and maybe them just trying to be polite):
After some little talk and fialing [feeling] within that the sooner the “mormon” went the better they would like it I took my departure. Toward evening got in company with two men who were going my way. When they were to stop, I called for a drink of water and got the privelage of stoping all night. These people were very friendly though they did not seem inclined to seak for the gosple.
On Monday, 23 July at about 11am Joseph was off again making his way to Rolstorp, about 90 km away, to see more relatives. He must have taken a train this time as he arrived by mid-afternoon the same day. He stayed with a Tuke Olson who had moved there from "Skone". I can't find anything about him and I have no idea if he's related to Joseph's mother or father. On Tuesday Tuke took Joseph to Stenstorp to meet Cark Magnus and wife. I don't know anything about them either. Joseph preached to all these people to no avail.
Wednesday morning Tuke took Joseph to Varberg and dropped him off. Varberg is a coastal "bathing" resort on the way to Göteborg which was Joseph's next stop. Joseph spent the day sightseeing and "hired a room for 75 öre (öre translates to "penny") where he spent the night.
On Thursday, 26 July Joseph boarded a 7am boat for Göteborg and arrived there at about 11:30am. He wrote:
Soon found Uncle Herling’s place, on Oterhällan. They made me welcome. Could not make much headway in religion here either. They seemed to do well considering the times. Slept there one night; the remainder at the office with Bros. Quist & Backman. Was down at the office several times, but no one was at home today.
"Uncle Herling" was Anders Härling, his mother's younger half-brother. (Again with the multiple wife thing.) Bros. Quist and Backman were missionaries assigned to the Göteborg Conference.
Joseph spent the next week and a half in Göteborg. It seems his time was split between standard missionary activity and lots of sightseeing. He wrote about visiting the museum with his uncle and being bothered by "an inclination to nudeness among the works of art." He also took a steamboat ride with Bro.Backman on the Göta Älv and Göta Kanal (here) and was overcome by the breathtaking scenery and the mechanics of the locks.
His last Sunday in Göteborg he attended church and was, of course, asked to speak. He described the congregation as "attentive". Afterwards he, along with one or more of the other local missionaries, checked out the service at the local Baptist church. They listened to the minister preach and then witnessed a baptism of "2 young people". Joseph commented, "It was all very imposing, but lacked the power."
On Monday, 6 August 1888 Uncle Härling accompanied Joseph to the dock where he boarded a boat to return to Helsingborg.
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