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The Poor of Lyons And The Bertoch Family
In A.D. 1176 a wealthy merchant living in Lyons, France began to question the ways of the Catholic Church. This man was Peter Waldo. Waldo eventually sold all of his belongings so that he could dedicate his life to teaching the gospel. He quickly gained many followers, who called themselves the Poor of Lyons.
After being labeled heretics by the Catholic Church, and after many were put to death, these Christians eventually left the Church, to form their own separate Christian sect, which they would call the Waldensian Church.
Forced to move from Lyons, France to the Piedmont Valleys in Italy, in order to escape persecution, these early reformers would thrive for many centuries in their new home.
Fast forward several hundred years to the mid 1800s when a new religious movement in America would reach the Piedmont Valleys.
Jean Bertoch, a prominent member of the Waldensian community met missionaries from the Mormon Church, and became convinced that their teachings were correct.
This enthusiastic convert to Mormonism would send his children to Utah, America to join the main body of the Mormon movement.
Only three of his children would survive the journey. One of which was a young man by the name of James Bertoch. After living in a number of places in Utah, James would eventually settle in Hunter, Utah, where many of his descendants thrive to this day.
Nestled within a 1/8th square mile region in present day Hunter, Utah are 13 households which all claim their ancestry from James Bertoch, inhabiting land that has never been owned by any family other than the Bertoches since the beginning of recorded history.
This small group of Waldensian Mormons celebrate their rich Waldensian heritage, their connection to the earliest Christian reformers, and their faith in a restored gospel, in the form of the Mormon Church.
The teachings of both the Waldensian and Mormon Churches, to work hard, to have faith, and to live with integrity, have greatly influenced the lives of these people, and have intertwined to create a legacy of industry, family, and self-reliance.
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