Edward Henry Anderson was a Latter Day Saint missionary, leader, writer and editor.

Anderson is the author of the biography The Life of Brigham Young. The book is an account written sixteen years following Brigham Young

Brigham Young

Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

's death in 1877. In this volume, Young's activities during his early years in Mormonism

Mormonism

Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...

 are discussed; his close relationship with Joseph Smith, Jr.; and the rise of his leadership following Smith's death.

Anderson was born in Bileberga, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. His family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) when he was young and they came to Utah Territory

Utah Territory

The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....

 in 1864 in William B. Preston

William B. Preston (Mormon)

William Bowker Preston was the fourth Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1884 and 1907....

's Mormon pioneer

Mormon Pioneer

The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...

 company.

In 1869, Anderson was baptized a member of the LDS Church. He lived in Millcreek

Millcreek, Utah

Millcreek is a census-designated place and township in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. In the 2000 census, this area was divided among four CDPs, the westernmost of which was designated Millcreek CDP. The population of this CDP was 30,377 at the 2000 census...

, Farmington

Farmington, Utah

Farmington is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,255 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Davis County...

 and Huntsville, Utah

Huntsville, Utah

Huntsville is a town in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 649 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

 in these early years. He graduated from the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 in 1877 and then became a teacher in Weber County, Utah

Weber County, Utah

Weber County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a stretch of the Wasatch Front, part of the eastern shores of Great Salt Lake, and much of the rugged Wasatch Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the population was 196,533, an increase of 24.1% over its population in 1990. By...

. In 1881, he married Jane Ballantyne, a daughter of Richard Ballantyne

Richard Ballantyne

Richard Ballantyne was the founder of the Sunday School of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having begun the program in December 1849. He was also a Mormon pioneer and missionary....

 the founder of the LDS Church's Sunday School movement

Sunday School (LDS Church)

Sunday School is an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . All members of the church and any interested nonmembers, age 12 and older, are encouraged to participate in Sunday School.-Purpose:...

.

In about 1880, Anderson entered the newspaper business in Ogden, Utah

Ogden, Utah

Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...

. He latter served on the staff of The Contributor. From 1890 to 1892 he served as president

Mission president

Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...

 of the Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

n Mission

Mission (LDS Church)

A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...

 of the LDS Church. In 1893, he became a member of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA) General Board and in 1899 succeeded B. H. Roberts as associate editor of the Improvement Era

Improvement Era

The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970....

. In 1900, Anderson became a member of the Weber Stake High Council. Anderson served in the YMMIA until 1907.

Anderson was still listed as co-editor of the Improvement Era in 1922, with Heber J. Grant

Heber J. Grant

Heber Jeddy Grant was the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale...

 the President of the LDS Church listed as the other editor.

Besides his biography of Brigham Young, Anderson also wrote A Brief History of the Church. Andrew Jenson

Andrew Jenson

Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for much of the early-twentieth century...

 also included some of writings by Anderson in his Latter-day Saints Biographical Encyclopedia.

Anderson served as the clerk of the LDS Church's general conference on several occasions in the 1910s and 1920s.

In 1900, Anderson was elected to the Utah House of Representatives

Utah House of Representatives

The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district contains an average population of 35,000 people...

. He was appointed surveyor-general for Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, a federal appointment, in 1901.

Anderson and his wife Jane had seven children.

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