Gudmund Gudmundson, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetGudmund Gudmundson
Icelandic Mormon missionary
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Rangárvallasýsla, Iceland
About Gudmund Gudmundson
- Gudmund Gudmundson (Icelandic: Guðmundur Guðmundsson) (March 10, 1825 – September 21, 1883) was one of the first Icelanders to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was among the first Mormon missionaries to preach in Iceland. Gudmundson was born in Artun, Rangárvallasýsla, Iceland.
- He was christened a Lutheran on March 23, 1825. In 1845, Gudmundson moved to Denmark to study goldsmithing.
- In 1851, while living in Copenhagen, Gudmundson heard LDS Church missionaries Peter O.
- Hansen and Erastus Snow preaching Mormonism.
- He was baptized into the LDS Church on February 15, 1851, by Hansen, and on April 18, 1851, he was given the Aaronic priesthood and ordained a teacher by Snow. On May 21, 1851, Gudmundson travelled to Vestmannaeyjar to preach.
- Shortly thereafter, he went back to his hometown of Artun to preach, but found no one willing to listen to his message.
- Gudmundson continued preaching in Iceland until July 1854.
- Eventually, he was given the Melchizedek priesthood by one of his missionary companions, after which he baptized nine individuals into the LDS Church.
- On June 19, 1853, the first branch of the LDS Church in Iceland was established on Vestmannaeyjar, with Gudmundson as branch president. In July 1854, Gudmundson returned to Denmark to preach.
- He spent most of his time on Zealand and was imprisoned for preaching Mormonism in Kalundborg.
- He was released after seven weeks, but was immediately conscripted into the Danish army.
- After just over one year, Gudmundson was released from military service due to ill health. On April 18, 1857, Gudmundson left Copenhagen on a ship bound for America.
- He arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah Territory on September 13, 1857.
- While emigrating to Utah, Niels Garff, one of Gudmundson's Danish converts, grew ill and died.
- Just prior to his death, Garff asked Gudmundson if he would marry his wife after he had died.
- Gudmundson agreed, and on October 4, 1857, Gudmundson and Marie Garff were married in Salt Lake City.
- They had three sons together.
- After arriving in Utah, Gudmundson began using the Anglicised form of his name. In the early 1860s, Gudmundson and his wife became involved with the Church of the Firstborn, a schismatic sect of Latter Day Saints led by Joseph Morris.
- They were excommunicated from the LDS Church, and Gudmundson became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Morrisites.
- Gudmundson was involved in the Morrisite War and was afterwards arrested and fined $100 for resisting arrest.
- He was later pardoned by territorial governor Stephen S.
- Harding. Following the Morrisite War, the Gudmundsons ended their affiliation with the Morrisites and lived in Utah County, Utah, and Sacramento, California.
- In 1869, they moved to Draper, Utah Territory and were rebaptized into the LDS Church.
- In 1871, they moved to Lehi, Utah Territory. Gudmundson died in Logan, Utah Territory, while living there temporarily with one of his stepsons.
- He was buried in Draper.
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