Louis A. Bertrand: A French Convert Who Translated the Book of Mormon into His Tongue (1850s-1860s)

Louis Auguste Bertrand (born John Francis Elias Flandin) was an early leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France. Soon after his baptism he played a pivotal role in the translation of the Book of Mormon into French, and he also translated the Doctrine and Covenants, placing the scriptures of the Restoration into the tongue of his nation. He later served as president of the French Mission and oversaw its closure in 1859-64 amid the hardships of the Second Empire. His wife, however, did not share his faith, and he carried that sorrow even as he carried the gospel to his countrymen. His labors are a faith-promoting witness that the Lord gives to His faithful converts the labor of translation, that the Book of Mormon might go forth in every tongue, and that this sacred work is often borne at the cost of the translator's own hearth.