Dersten Ericksen Benson: A Convert Who Crossed the Sea to Zion (Saints by Sea, mid-1800s)

Dersten Ericksen Benson was a Latter-day Saint convert who emigrated to the body of the Saints by sea, recorded among the Saints by Sea bibliography of Brigham Young University. Like many Scandinavian and northern European converts whose names now stand largely in the records of the gathering, he forsook his homeland upon accepting the restored gospel and crossed the ocean to join the Saints in their westward march. His emigration is a faith-promoting witness of the thousands whose names are known to the Lord but little known to history, who yet counted the truth dearer than home and crossed the sea to gather with the people of the covenant.