In this pamphlet Erastus Snow, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, graciously provides us with a few autobiographical insights into his one-year mission in Denmark and Sweden (1849-1850). Recently released as a free e-book on Project Gutenberg, Snow’s private journal entries, letters to and from companions and First Presidency members, and a few lines of original poetry compose this enriching, apostolic account.

Erastus Snow was born in Vermont in 1818. He would eventually join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a boy during the early 1830s. He and Orson Pratt were the first members of the Church to enter the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. At the age of thirty, he was called to serve as an apostle, embarking on his mission to Denmark and Sweden only a few months later.

Though his literature might not be as familiar as some of his contemporaries’, Snow’s twenty-page publication provides us with a valuable outlook on the daily labors of an apostle in this formative chapter in the history of the Church. Curious members and church history enthusiasts will benefit equally from this detailed, heartening narrative from one of our Lord’s valiant servants.

Tyler Garrett, one of our BYU summer interns for 2015, proofread and produced One Year in Scandinavia and contributed to this post.