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The collection contains the journals, hymn notebook, and missionary notebook of J. David Larson and David H. Larson.
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It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from Papers of John David Larson must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
John David Larson was born on 11 May 1884 to Lars John Larson and Kristina Olson, two immigrants from Sweden who met and found love in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the eldest child of his family, having eleven brothers and sisters. Some years after he was born, his parents purchased a home in the south east corner of Salt Lake City and moved into the Sugar House Ward .
Growing up in Salt Lake, he had many opportunities to mingle in the LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) community. He worked at Deseret News several years before his mission and he also had many female friends. One of the girls that John David met would eventually become his wife. Her name was Thora Lesetta Hafen, the daughter of the famous Springville artist, John Hafen. They met in May 1901 and eventually married on 28 September 1905 in the Salt Lake Temple.
On 20 January 1903, John David received a call to serve in the Scandinavian Mission due to a shortage of missionaries at the time. He left on 27 February that same year and had prepared himself accordingly. Like most missionaries, his mission was a growing experience and he grew to love the people he was serving. He served his mission well and returned on 12 May 1905.
He married that same year to his sweetheart “Zetta” as he called her. They then moved to Sugar City, Idaho so that he could take a managerial position for the Sugar City Times. He and his family eventually settled in Long Beach, California while he served as Executive Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce. Not much is known about his life, only that he died on 15 September 1952.
This collection contains the journals, hymn notebook, and missionary notebook of J. David Larson and David H. Larson.
Contains: A Reminiscences of Childhood and Youth in the Life of John David Larson by George D. Adams, written in 1904, located at the beginning of the diary; Day Book and Journal of J. David Larson, commencing 27 February 1903; and personal work report starting in March 1903 and ending in April 1905.
Contains: Large travel journal recording his round trip from Long Beach, California to Ostend, Belgium, and Stockholm to attend various civic conferences (Rotary International and International Chamber of Commerce). Journal is filled with programs, menus, photographs, postcards, newspaper clippings, stamps, letters, and etc., all of which have been pasted into the journal