Louis Auguste Bertrand (January 8, 1808 – March 21, 1875), born John Francis Elias Flandin, was an early leader of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) in France. Bertrand was born near Marseilles, France. He early went into trade and traveled abroad. In 1848, he was in Paris and a member of the Revolutionary Committee of 1848. He was then sent into prison for three months. At this time he changed his name to protect his wife and child. After the revolution Bertrand edited ''Le Populaire''. In 1850, he met

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

and shortly thereafter was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

a member of the LDS Church. He then worked on the translation of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

into French. Bertrand was involved in the publication of the church periodical '' L'Etoile du Deseret''. In 1853, he was serving as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

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. While there he taught

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, but in Bertrand's assessment Hugo was "too full of revolution to think much about the gospel of Jesus Christ".McClellan, Richard D., "Louis A. Bertrand" in Garr et al. ''Encyclopedia of Latter Day Saint History'', p. 100 Despite earnest efforts, the work began to decline after 1855 under the pressure of continual political turmoil. Laws under Louis Napoleon hampered publication and limited the size of public gatherings; police were instructed to be especially vigilant in routing Mormon meetings. Louis Bertrand wrote an appeal for tolerance to the emperor, but, as Bertrand reported later, "His majesty read my address, laughed at it and tore it to pieces." Not many French were receptive to the gospel message, and the few converts there were mostly resident aliens. In 1855 Bertrand emigrated to Utah Territory. In 1859, he returned to France as the LDS Church mission president. In 1863, Bertrand wrote

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

that the French were "every one spiritually dead," and although he stayed for another year to "prepare the ground" for a time when better conditions would favor missionary work, he left in 1864 for Utah. With his departure the mission was officially closed for forty-eight years.Laurie J. Wilson, "The Saints in France," Ensign, Jan 1976, 77 His wife did not join the LDS Church and remained in France. Bertrand died in the Salt Lake City Insane Asylum on March 21, 1875. Deseret News, March 24, 1875, "Local and Other Matters."

Notes

References

*McClellan, Richard D., "Louis A. Bertrand : one of the most singular and romantic figures of the age", (Provo, Utah: Honors Thesis, 2000). Complete biography located in Special Collections at

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gran ...

and Church Archives *McClellan, Richard D., "Bertrand, Louis A." in Garr, Arnold K.,

Donald Q. Cannon Donald Quayle Cannon (born 1936) is a retired professor at Brigham Young University who specializes in Latter-day Saint history, particularly early Latter-day Saint history and international Latter-day Saint history. As a young man, Cannon was a ...

and

Richard O. Cowan Richard Olsen Cowan (born 1934) is a historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a former professor in the Church History Department of Brigham Young University (BYU). He was one of the longest-serving BYU faculty a ...

ed., ''Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History'', (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...

, 2000) pp. 99–100 *McClellan, Richard D., "Not your average French communist Mormon: a short history of Louis A. Bertrand" in '' Mormon Historical Studies'', Fall 2000, (Utah: Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, 2000) pp. 3–24 *McClellan, Richard D., "President Louis Bertrand and the Closure of the French Mission, 1859-1864" in

and

Brent L. Top Brent LaMar Top (born 1953) is a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU). Top served as dean of religious education at BYU and the director of BYU's Religious Studies Center from 2013 to 2018. Biographical back ...

''Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History, Europe'', (Provo, Utah:

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

, 2003) pp. 23–46 * Wilson, Laurie J. "The Saints in France." '' Ensign'', Jan. 1976, 77. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, Louis A. 1808 births 1875 deaths Converts to Mormonism French emigrants to the United States French Mormon missionaries Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in France Mormon pioneers Clergy from Marseille 19th-century Mormon missionaries Mormon missionaries in Jersey French leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Translators of the Book of Mormon 19th-century French translators Missionary linguists