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The Introduction of Mormonism to Finnish Society, 1840–1900 476Sidor Kim Östman: The Introduction of Mormonism to Finnish Society, 1840–1900 476sidor This book explores how The Church of Jesus Christ of Kim Östman Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon church) was introduced to the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland in the The Introduction of Mormonism to nineteenth century. The internal workings of the movement and the reactions of society are both part of the analysis. Finnish Society, 1840–1900 The Mormons are discussed in numerous books of the time and are mentioned over 3,000 times in contemporary newspapers. Most of the publicity was derived from foreign sources and featured themes such as fraud, deception, and the- ocracy in explaining the movement. The resulting image, along with the lack of religious freedom, contributed to a high level of resistance by civil authorities and Lutheran clergy. Nevertheless, twenty-five Mormon missionaries worked in Finland between 1875 and 1900 and converted at least 78 persons, mostly among the Swedish-speaking minority popu- lation. The work was led from Sweden, with no stable church organization emerging among the geographically scattered pockets of converts. Mormonism’s presence was thus charac- terized by private or small-group religiosity. Åbo Akademi University Press ISBN 978-951-765-552-1 2010 Kim Östman Born 1978 in Pietarsaari M.Sc. (Tech.), 2005 Photo: Matti Kajaste Photographs on the front cover (from left to right): Anders Johansson and Lovisa Eriksdotter Strömberg (courtesy of Vera Nyman), Maria and Anders Henriksson and Carl Åhl (courtesy of Patsy Hendrickson). Cover: Tove Ahlbäck Åbo Akademi University Press Biskopsgatan 13, FI-20500 ÅBO, Finland Tel. int. +358-20-786-1468 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.abo.fi/stiftelsen/forlag/ Distribution: Oy Tibo-Trading Ab P.O.Box 33, FI-21601 PARGAS, Finland Tel. int. +358-2-454 9200 Fax int. +358-2-454 9220 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.tibo.net THE INTRODUCTION OF MORMONISM TO FINNISH SOCIETY, 1840–1900 The Introduction of Mormonism to Finnish Society, 1840–1900 Kim Östman ÅBO 2010 ÅBO AKADEMIS FÖRLAG –ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY PRESS CIP Cataloguing in Publication Östman, Kim. The introduction of Mormonism to Finnish society, 1840–1900 / Kim Östman. –Åbo : Åbo Akademi University Press, 2010. Diss.: Åbo Akademi University. ISBN 978-951-765-552-1 ISBN 978-951-765-552-1 ISBN 978-951-765-553-8 (digital) Painosalama Oy Åbo 2010 i “Two Swedish Elders have been sent to Findland to open the Gos- pel door for that nation. I have had very encouraging news from them, they have had a chance to hold meetings, and the power of God has been greatly manifested in their behalf. The Finns are an honest, hospitable and pleasing people, so I hope our Elders will be able to do much good amongst them.” – Nils C. Flygare, Mormon mission president (The Latter-day Saints’Millennial Star, 13 Decem- ber 1875). “Who would have thought that this injurious sect, of whom some- body has said that it is a distorted and horrid caricature of all that is holy, would find its way even to our sequestered country? We have heard it spoken of Baptists, Methodists, Hihhulites, and other such, but at least from the Mormons, or the ‘Latter-day Saints’as they call themselves, one has still hoped to be spared.” – Johannes Bäck, Lu- theran parish minister (Wasabladet, 6 December 1876). ii Abstract This study examines the place of The Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon church) in the Rus- sian Grand Duchy of Finland between the years 1840 and 1900. Atten- tion is put on both the internal workings of the movement and the reactions of society. Theoretical insight is gained through the concepts of social construction and religious economies. Mormon image formation in Finland began by 1840 through news- paper reports on activities abroad and through essays on the faith’s history and doctrine. Mormons are mentioned almost 3,500 times in Finnish newspapers between 1840 and 1900, and at least twelve unique book titles sold in the country were explicitly devoted to dis- cussing Mormonism. Most of the publicity was derived from foreign sources. Discourse analysis of this textual corpus shows a hegemonic discourse that combined themes such as fraud, deception, and theoc- racy in explaining the Mormon movement. Accompanied by plural marriage, these themes contributed to the construction of a strongly negative image of Mormonism already before the first missionaries arrived in 1875. In a society with a stringently regulated religious economy, this image contributed to a high level of resistance by civil authorities and Lutheran clergy. Twenty-five Mormon missionaries worked in Finland between 1875 and 1900, with a concentrated effort taking place between 1875 and 1889. At least 78 persons converted, mostly in the coastal areas among the Swedish-speaking minority population. Nine percent emi- grated to Utah, 36% were excommunicated, others fell into oblivion, while still others clung to their new faith. The work was led from Sweden, with no stable church organization emerging among the iso- lated pockets of converts. Mormonism’s presence was thus character- ized by private or small-group religiosity rather than a vibrant movement. The lack of religious community, conversation, and sec- ondary socialization eventually caused the nineteenth-century mani- festation of Finnish Mormonism to die out. Only one group of con- verts was perpetuated past World War II, after which large-scale proselytizing began. iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS V INTRODUCTION 1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 12 MATERIAL AND METHOD 24 1. THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MORMONISM 32 1.1. HISTORY AND DOCTRINE 33 1.2. EARLY VIEWS ON CHRISTIANITY 50 1.3. MISSIONARY WORK 57 1.4. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 62 2. RELIGION IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY FINLAND 65 2.1. THE STATE CHURCHES AND THE INTERNAL REVIVALISTS 66 2.2. OLD AND NEW FOREIGN RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS 70 2.3. RELIGION-RELATED LEGISLATION 76 2.4. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 82 3. CONSTRUCTING THE MORMON IMAGE IN PRINT 85 3.1. EXTENT AND TYPES OF PUBLICITY 89 3.2. CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW 114 3.3. PREVALENT DISCURSIVE ELEMENTS 129 3.4. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 157 4. PROSELYTIZING AND ITS RESULTS 161 4.1. PREPARATORY DEVELOPMENTS 163 4.2. PROSELYTIZING AFTER 1875 166 4.3. THE PRACTICALITIES OF PROSELYTIZING 207 4.4. CONVERTS, BRANCHES, AND THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 215 4.5. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 232 5. A TURBULENT INTERFACE TO SOCIETY 235 5.1. CIVIL AUTHORITIES 237 5.2. LUTHERAN CLERGY 252 5.3. NEWSPAPERS 271 5.4. LAYPERSONS 283 5.5. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 293 6. POHJA AS A FINNISH MORMON MICROCOSM 297 6.1. THE MICROCOSM IN CONTEXT 298 6.2. BIRTH OF A MORMON MICROCOSM 300 iv Table of Contents 6.3. THE FINAL STRAW 309 6.4. THE JOHAN BLOM COURT CASE 315 6.5. TRIAL AFTERMATH 321 6.6. A MICROCOSM WITHOUT A CENTER 326 6.7. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 335 7. FROM FINLAND TO ZION: EMIGRATION TO UTAH 340 7.1. REASONS AND CONSEQUENCES 344 7.2. THE CASE OF FINLAND 349 7.3. THE EMIGRANTS 355 7.4. SOCIETAL REACTIONS 367 7.5. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY 377 8. CONCLUSION 380 SVENSKSPRÅKIG SAMMANFATTNING 386 APPENDIX A: DATA ON THE MISSIONARIES 390 APPENDIX B: DATA ON THE CONVERTS 400 APPENDIX C: DATA ON FINNISH CONVERTS ABROAD 420 APPENDIX D: NOMENCLATURE AND MAPS 429 APPENDIX E: ORIGINAL QUOTATIONS 433 REFERENCES 462 INDEX OF PERSONS 481 v Acknowledgments The Mormon faith tradition has, in various ways, been part of my life since earliest childhood. Growing up going to church and later functioning two years as a missionary in Great Britain have shaped my identity and personality significantly. And although I presently find myself distanced from organized religion, I have retained many dear friends in the church, along with an abiding interest in its study through the methods of scholarship. It is that interest which has spurred me to research and write this dissertation during evenings and vacations while employed full-time in scientific work of another type completely. It is a course of action that I cannot recommend to anyone but the most ardent diehards, a fact that I was forcefully reminded of as I had finished the first full draft. Nevertheless, I am most happy to finally present the results herein as a contribution to the study of religion in Finland in general and of the Mormon tradition in particular. Work towards this dissertation began (unknowingly) in 2004 through collecting historical materials, whereas the actual idea of a dissertation on the topic came later, by the summer of 2007. The most focused effort took place in the winter and spring of 2009. The work has included research in the United States, and I would like to thank Åbo Akademi University, the Research Institute of Åbo Akademi Foundation, and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute of Religious Scholar- ship at Brigham Young University for their financial support of such trips. I would also like to thank the helpful staff at the Church History Library and Archives and the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections of the Harold B. Lee Li- brary at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I would also like to thank Zachary R. Jones of Juneau, Alaska, for sharing with me some of the materials from his thesis project on early Mormonism in Finland. Similarly, I thank Ardis E. Parshall and Prof. Fred E. Woods for sharing with me relevant transcriptions, and Jan Anderson, Patsy Hendrickson, Mike Hutson, Marjorie Peterson Morin, Henrik Nyberg, Bo Qvarnström, Ann-Christin Qvarnström-Obrey, and Stephen Whitesides for information on their ancestors.
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