Anthon H. Lund

LDSApostleshipinfo
English name = Anthon H. Lund


birth_name=Anthon Henrik Lund
birth_date=birth date|1844|05|15
birthplace=Aalborg, Denmark
death_date=death date and age|1921|03|02|1844|05|15
deathplace=Salt Lake City, Utah
president_who_called=Wilford Woodruff
apostledate=death date and age|1889|10|07|1844|05|15
ordination_reason=Excommunication of Albert Carrington; death of John Taylor and reorganization of the First Presidency; death of Erastus Snow [Lund, Marriner W. Merrill, and Abraham H. Cannon were called as apostles at the same time to fill three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.]
end_date=death date and age|1921|03|02|1844|05|15
end_reason=Death
reorganization=Anthony W. Ivins added to First Presidency; John A. Widtsoe ordained

Anthon Henrik Lund (15 May 1844 – 2 March 1921) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a prominent Utah leader.

Lund was born in Aalborg, Denmark to unmarried parents and raised by his maternal grandmother until his emigration to the United States in 1862. Lund's mother died when he was less than four years old. [Sargen. Arthur T. "Utah: The Inland Empire" (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1902) p. 18] At that time his father was serving in the war over Schleswig-Holstein.Sargeant. "Inland Empire". p. 18] Lund was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of 12, he soon assisted the missionaries fulfilling his duties as both a teacher and then a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood in declaring the word of God. [ [http://www.lib.utah.edu/fa/UtahArtists/artists/lund/index.html Utah Artists Project - Julia Farnsworth Lund Wassner ] ] In 1862 Lund went with his grandmother to the United States. [Sargenat. "Inland Empire". p. 18] He arrived in Utah in September and settled in Sanpete County, following the tradition of many Scandinavian immigrants.

In 1864 Lund was a teamster in a Down and Back company. The next winter he served as a school teacher. In 1865 he responded to Brigham Young's request that men come to Salt Lake City and learn to be telegraph operators. In 1866 he became the telegraph operator for the Mount Pleasant, Utah station.

From 1884 to 1885 Lund served as president of the Scandinavian Mission of the church. [ [http://www.xmission.com/~nelsonb/shist.htm Brief History of the Scandinavian Mission ] ]

Lund served in the Utah Territorial Legislature. He is credited for starting Utah State University because he introduced the legislation to start it. [ [http://fac.usu.edu/departments/planning/Historical%20significance%20document.pdf Microsoft Word - Historical significance document.doc ] ] Lund served on the Utah Capitol Grounds Committee when it was formed in 1888. [ [http://historyresearch.utah.gov/agencyhistories/188.html Agency history for Utah's Capitol Grounds Commission, 1888-1896 ] ]

He was ordained October 7, 1889 to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ["Deseret Morning News Church Almanac" 2006, p. 57] after the passing of Church President John Taylor, who died two years earlier. He was ordained along with two other apostles: Marriner W. Merrill and Abraham H. Cannon.

At the time of his call Lund was the only monogamist in the quorum of the twelve. His only wife was Sarah Ann Peterson who he had married in 1870. [Sargeant. "Inland EMpire". p. 18] In 1891 Lund was made the president of the Manti Temple.

From 1893 until 1896 Lund was the president of the European Mission. [cite book
title=The Religious Aspects of Swedish Immigration
author=George Malcolm Stephenson
year=1969
publisher=Ayer Publishing
isbn=0405005393
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Vd4Ghoj0dF0C&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=anthon+h+lund&source=web&ots=popt6fkT9i&sig=zpaCj7fcQKK6At7vdVb7lUlnJp0] He then made a journey to the Ottoman Empire in 1897 where he organized the Turkish Mission and looked into a local gathering place for the primarily Armenian church members in that mission. [seargent. "Inland Empire". p. 18-19] In 1899 Lund laid and dedicated the southeast cornerstone of the Sanpete Stake Academy (now Snow College). [ [http://www.snow.edu/publicr/time.shtml News Room ] ] That same year Lund gave a General Conference talk in which he emphasized it was no longer Church policy to encourage members to emigrate to the western United States. [http://ldsep.org/swiss/em/index.html]

In 1900 Lund was made the superintendent of Church religion classes. [Jenson, Andrew. "Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia" (Salt Lake City: Arrow Press, 1920) p. 753]

President Joseph F. Smith, selected Lund as second counselor in the Mormon First Presidency on October 17, 1901. There he served until April 7, 1910, when Smith called him as first counselor to replace John R. Winder, who died in March, 1910. Lund assumed a myriad of duties, including heading various church agencies and again serving as a temple president. Lund also served as a member of several writing committees to revise scripture and publications. Lund also participated in numerous businesses in Utah such as the Hotel Utah, the Amalgamated Sugar Company (1914-1920), [cite book
title=Mormonism in Transition
author=Thomas G. Alexander
year=1996
publisher=University of Illinois Press
isbn=0252065786
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u9jkQnDJExYC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=anthon+h+lund&source=web&ots=mvFx-fZtwW&sig=f6sd3kLeNRqxbE2w04JVylvshZ4] and ZCMI.

While Anthon H. Lund was in the First Presidency they sent out a letter encouraging the practice of Family Night. [ [http://www.lds.org/hf/statements/0,16955,4232-1,00.html Home & Family- First Presidency Statements ] ]

During this time Lund also fulfilled civic roles. He replaced John Henry Smith on Smith's death as a member of the Utah Capitol Commission. [ [http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/from_war_to_war/utahscapitols.html Utah's Capitols ] ]

After the passing of Joseph F. Smith, President Heber J. Grant called Lund again as first counselor on November 23, 1918. Lund also assumed the position of President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as he was second-most in seniority.

Lund served as Church Historian from 1900-1921. [cite book
title=Adventures of a Church Historian
author=Leonard J. Arrington
year=1998
publisher=University of Illinois Press
isbn=0252023811
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=KZr9lMg5zGwC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=anthon+h+lund&source=web&ots=c18jt-850O&sig=koYynU5mLle40nZ2S1EDfK8pRqc] [Sargent. "Inland Empire". p. 18] [Jenson, Andrew. "Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1941) p. 140] While in this office he supervised the movement of the office and its materials to the new Church Administration Building in 1917. [ [http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/people/church_historians.html Church Historians ] ]

Lund served as president of the Genealogical Society of Utah and as the first editor of the "Utah Historical and Genealogical Magazine". [ [http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=utahgenhistv1 Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Volume 1 ] ] From 1911-1921 Lund served as president of the Salt Lake Temple. [ [http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/saltlake/presidents/ Salt Lake LDS (Mormon) Temple Presidents ] ]

Anthon H. Lund died March 2, 1921 from a duodenal ulcer, an ailment which plagued him for many years. John A. Widtsoe was called to the Quorum of the Twelve after his death.

Remembrance

Utah State University's mathematics hall is named for Lund. [http://aaa.usu.edu/Assessment/Standard_Eight/Building%20Inventory.pdf]

Lund, Nevada is named for Lund. [Jenson, Andrew. "Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1941) p. 452]

Notes

ee also

*Good Neighbor policy (LDS Church)