Hans Mattsson

{{Short description|Swedish Mormon leader}} {{about|a Mormon leader|the Swedish-American politician|Hans Mattson}} {{Infobox Latter Day Saint biography | position_or_quorum1 = 3rd Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | start_date1 = {{start date|2000|04|15}} | end_date1 = {{end date|2005|05|1}} }} '''Hans H. Mattsson''' is a former member of the Seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2000/04/the-sustaining-of-church-officers?lang=eng |title=The Sustaining of Church Officers: April, 2000 |website=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=June 17, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Church News Archives |title=New Area Authority Seventies |url=https://www.thechurchnews.com/2000/4/15/23246687/new-area-authority-seventies-11/ |website=The Church News |date=11 January 2024 |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}}</ref>

Mattsson is one of the few members of the LDS Church to publicly discuss his experience receiving the Second Anointing ritual.<ref>{{cite web |title=Truth Seeking with Hans and Birgitta Mattsson Pt. 2 - Mormon Stories #985 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_4lWznJ5TE|website=YouTube | date=27 September 2018 |publisher=Mormon Stories |access-date=June 17, 2024}}</ref><ref name="mormonstories.org">{{cite web |title=984-985: TRUTH SEEKING WITH HANS AND BIRGITTA MATTSSON |url=https://www.mormonstories.org/portfolio-items/truth-seeking/ |website=Mormon Stories |date=27 September 2018 }}</ref>

LDS historian Greg Prince described Mattsson as "the highest-ranking church official who has gone public with deep concerns" about the LDS Church.<ref name=Goodstein-1>{{cite news |last= Goodstein |first= Laurie |title= Some Mormons Search the Web and Find Doubt |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/us/some-mormons-search-the-web-and-find-doubt.html |accessdate= July 21, 2013 |newspaper= The New York Times |date= July 20, 2013}}</ref>

==Biography== Mattsson was raised in the LDS Church. As a young man he served as a missionary, as is common in the LDS Church, and was assigned to the Central British Mission headquartered in Birmingham, England. There he learned English, despite some difficulty, and felt his religious convictions grow.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Hans Mattsson | title=Book of Mormon Principles: How Could I Testify? | journal=Ensign | date=December 2004 | url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2004/12/book-of-mormon-principles-how-could-i-testify?lang=eng | accessdate=2014-07-29}}</ref> After returning to Sweden he married Birgitta, a convert to the church, and they have five children.

Mattsson and his twin brother Leif were both called in senior positions as leaders in the LDS Church. First Hans, then Leif, served as stake presidents in Gothenburg, Sweden.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Erik Nilsson | title=Göteborg, Sweden: A Second Harvest | journal=Ensign | date=July 2000 | url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2000/07/news-of-the-church/gteborg-sweden-a-second-harvest?lang=eng | accessdate=2014-07-29}}</ref> In April 2000, Hans became the first Swede to serve as an area seventy. He held a secular job in technology marketing, but traveled widely in Europe at weekends, overseeing the church. He was released from the position of area seventy in April 2005 when he had heart surgery.<ref name=Goodstein-1/><ref>{{cite conference | author=Thomas S. Monson | author-link=Thomas S. Monson | title=The Sustaining of Church Officers | conference=General Conference | date=April 2000 | publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2000/04/the-sustaining-of-church-officers?lang=eng | accessdate=2014-07-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference | author=Thomas S. Monson | author-link=Thomas S. Monson | title=The Sustaining of Church Officers | conference=General Conference | date=April 2005 | publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2005/04/the-sustaining-of-church-officers?lang=eng | accessdate=2014-07-29}}</ref>

Members began asking Mattsson about criticisms that they had read on the Internet, including the many wives of church 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 publicized his own doubts on John Dehlin's ''Mormon Stories Podcast''<ref>{{citation |url= http://mormonstories.org/hans-mattsson/ |title= Hans Mattsson — Former LDS Area Authority Seventy (Sweden) |work= Mormon Stories Podcast |first= John |last= Dehlin |author-link= John Dehlin |date= July 22, 2013 }}</ref> and in the ''New York Times'',<ref>{{citation |url= https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000002347278/a-mormon-doubts.html|title= A Mormon Doubts |newspaper= The New York Times |first= Channon |last= Hodge |date= July 20, 2013}}</ref> stating that "I don’t want to hurt the church … I just want the truth."<ref name=Goodstein-1/>

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

Mattsson again appeared on the ''Mormon Stories Podcast'' in 2018, where he and is wife Brigitta discussed their experience receiving the Second Anointing ritual.<ref name="Mormon Stories">{{cite web |title=Truth Seeking with Hans and Birgitta Mattsson Pt. 2 - Mormon Stories #985 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_4lWznJ5TE |website=YouTube | date=27 September 2018 |publisher=Mormon Stories |access-date=June 17, 2024}}</ref><ref name="mormonstories.org"/>

==Public Discussion of the Second Anointing== Mattsson is one of the few Latter-day Saints to publicly discuss the Second Anointing ritual, the highest ordinance practiced in the Church.

Mattsson and his wife Birgitta appeared on the ''Mormon Stories Podcast'' in 2018 where they divulged details of this highly secretive ritual. During the ritual, which took place in the Frankfurt Temple, Mattsson had his feet washed by Elder M. Russell Ballard, before being anointed as a King and a Priest to the Most High God, and guaranteed salvation and godhood in the Celestial Kingdom. Then Elder Ballard anointed Mattsson's wife, Birgitta, to be a Queen and Priest, guaranteed the same salvation as her husband.

Then Mattsson and his wife went into a private room where his wife washed his feet again, and placed her hands on his head to give him a Priesthood blessing.<ref name="Mormon Stories"/><ref name="mormonstories.org"/>

==Bibliography== *{{cite book |last1=Mattsson |first1=Hans |last2=Hanke |first2=Christina |title=Sökte sanning, fann tvivel |date=2018 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=9781722885755|language=sv}} *{{cite book |last1=Mattsson |first1=Hans |last2=Hanke |first2=Christina |title=Truth Seeking |date=2018 |publisher=Andersson & Isacson AB |isbn=9789198412574|language=en}} English edition of ''Sökte sanning, fann tvivel''. * {{cite web |title=Truth Seeking with Hans and Birgitta Mattsson Pt. 2 - Mormon Stories #985 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_4lWznJ5TE |website=YouTube | date=27 September 2018 |access-date=June 17, 2024}} * {{cite web |title=984-985: TRUTH SEEKING WITH HANS AND BIRGITTA MATTSSON |url=https://www.mormonstories.org/portfolio-items/truth-seeking/ |website=Mormon Stories |date=27 September 2018 }}

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattsson, Hans}} Category:20th-century Mormon missionaries Category:Area seventies (LDS Church) Category:Critics of Mormonism Category:Living people Category:Mormon missionaries in England Category:Swedish emigrants to Spain Category:Swedish leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Category:Swedish Mormon missionaries Category:Year of birth missing (living people)