Hans Mattsson

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This article is about the Mormon leader. For the Swedish American politician (1832–93), see Hans Mattson.

Hans H. Mattsson is a former leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Europe.

LDS historian Greg Prince described Mattsson as "the highest-ranking church official who has gone public with deep concerns" about the LDS Church.[1]

Biography

Mattsson was raised in the LDS Church. As a young man he did missionary service in England. He married Birgitta, a convert to the Mormon faith, and they have five children.

Mattsson and his twin brother Leif both gained senior positions as leaders in the LDS Church. In 2000, Hans became the first Swede to serve as an area authority. He held a secular job in technology marketing, but travelled widely in Europe at weekends, overseeing the church. He stood down from the position of area authority in 2005 when he had heart surgery.[1]

Members began asking Mattsson about criticisms that they had read on the Internet, including the many wives of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, and the exclusion of black people from the priesthood until 1978. Mattsson was dissatisfied with the answers that he in turn received from the church's highest authorities in 2010, and in 2013 he publicised his own doubts on John Dehlin's Mormon Stories Podcast[2] and in the New York Times,[3] stating that "I don’t want to hurt the church … I just want the truth."[1]

In 2013, Mattsson and his wife moved to Spain for health reasons.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Goodstein, Laurie (July 20, 2013). "Some Mormons Search the Web and Find Doubt". The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2013. 
  2. ↑ Dehlin, John (July 22, 2013), "Hans Mattsson — Former LDS Area Authority Seventy (Sweden)", Mormon Stories Podcast 
  3. ↑ Hodge, Channon (July 20, 2013), "A Mormon Doubts", The New York Times 
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