Description
Are you John Peter Malmberg?
John Peter Malmberg joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1858 when he was thirty-one years old. Because of his Church membership, he was fired from his job as a steel worker. With his talents and tools, John did the best he could to provide for his family, all the while hoping that he could soon emigrate to Utah and join the Saints.
John had been promised by a friend money for travel to America, but that money did not come. Then on January 1, 1863, a Church meeting was held in Stockholm where plans were being made for those emigrating that year. Though he had no means to make the journey, John felt prompted to attend.
John arrived at the meeting and realized he didn’t know anyone there. Reportedly, a man walked up to him and asked, “Are you John Peter Malmberg?”
John replied, “I am, but I do not know you. I have never seen you before; how did you know my name?”
The gentleman explained, “I am Anders Eliasson, and you were shown to me in a dream last night. I am supposed to let you have money to take your family to Utah.”
Anders Eliasson was a shoemaker and craftsman living on a comfortable estate in Sweden. His wife had become converted, but Anders had not. Then one night in 1861, he experienced a dream where he was told to get up and read a certain passage from the Bible. He did so. A few days later, missionaries stopped by their home. Anders joined the Church shortly thereafter.
Out of the goodness of his heart, Anders helped more than one hundred people, including John Peter Malmberg, emigrate to Zion; the shoemaker helped many walk to Zion. In 1863, Anders and Christine took their family and, after enduring many hardships, came to Utah and settled in Grantsville.
Though many families were given the means to journey to Zion by Anders Eliasson, evidently few paid that money back. One of those who did was John Peter Malmberg.
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