| Description |
This thesis is the bi6graphy of Christian "Lingo" Christensen, who was a Mormon missionary to the Navajo, Hopi, and Ute Indians in the years from 1876 through 1900. The purpose of the biography is to chronicle his life from birth to age forty-six, emphasizing the calls from the Mormon Church he filled during that time, especially that of Indian missionary. The biography is organized by specific calls that Christian received during his life. He was born in Derunark, where his parents joined the Mormon Church. Raised in Ephraim, Utah, he received a solid background in Mormonism. In his early life he received calls to work on the St. George temple, settle on the Little Colorado :River in .Arizona, and take a second wife, before receiving the significant call to be an Indian missionary. As an Indian missionary, he demonstrated a special gift for languages, which resulted in his being called "Lingo" by some. He had as examples and instructors in the missionary work Jacob Hamblin, Ira Hatch, Thales Haskell and other of the early Indian missionaries. Relying heavily on Christian's daily journal during the years 1883-1887, the biography focuses longest on these years in which he was a missionary to the Hopis and Nayajos in Northern .Arizona and Moencopi. The climax in his work as an Indian missionary was when he helped avoid a confrontation between the Utes and the whites in San Juan County, Utah, in 1894. Christian was representative of faithful Mormons of his generation. He was a son of converts, an instrument in the expansion of the Mormon Empire, a polygamist, and a devoted follower of the Authorities. He also was an Indian missionary, a member of the select group who were the peacemakers on the Mormon frontier. |
