The Isle of Bornholm

I have been dabbling in the Petersen side of the family, and I find their story, while likely common among early Saints, remarkable.  My great-great grandfather, Niels Rasmus Petersen, was baptized into the church on March 26, 1874, in Denmark when he was 23.  Just over a year after he was baptized, he was called to serve a mission on the Island of Bornholm (this island fascinates me and I want to go there someday).

While he was there, he taught and baptized Jensine Caroline Hanson, who, after both of them moved to Manti at different times, he would marry.  They had a son, Niels C. Petersen, who had a son, Ralph Petersen, who had a daughter, Julie Petersen, who is my mother.

I find it incredible that well over one-hundred years ago, my ancestors met on a tiny island with less than 50,000 people on it (less than the city I grew up in) and 1/5 the size of Rhode Island and, that because of these two people, I now have an incredible wealth of blessings that I could not have imagined.  It is much too personal to me to feel random or happenstance.  I am so grateful for open-minded Danes who felt the Spirit and followed the Spirit into the Church.

Here is the obituary where I gleaned a lot of this information:

And here are a couple of pictures of Bornholm.  Want to go with me?