Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Jaine Toth, Fred Mortensen: From Delinquent to Disciple, bahai-library.com.
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From Delinquent to Disciple
 Born February 7, 1887 in Dodge, Iowa
 Third of 13 children
 Impoverished immigrant family from Denmark
 In 1893 the family moves to Minneapolis, MN
 Father unable to find work; takes to drink; abandons family
 After the 3rd grade, Fred, along with his brothers, quits school to
try and support the family; they steal food, dig through trash cans
for leftovers
 Fred hired for menial labor at Minneapolis Star; resents work; quits
at age 10
 Fred & his brothers join a gang – for acceptance

 Yet Fred’s innate sense of superiority makes him feel he could easily
best those around him.

 Life on the streets turns him hard & ruthless

 He enjoys the rough & tumble, says, “fighting is a real pleasure, as
welcome as a meal.”

 He drinks too much, enjoys
breaking the law, stealing,
brawling, bullying others.
 He recalls,

▪ “breaking a grocer’s window to

steal his fruit or what-not was,

as I thought, a great joke.”

 The gang terrorizes immigrants, especially Russians & Jews. He relates

▪ “I can’t begin to tell you how we enjoyed persecuting them, stealing

their wine, breaking their windows, in fact doing everything but setting
fire to their homes.”
There are two versions of how, while  In 1904, at age 17, the gang robs a local train.
being chased by police, they were able
▪ His younger brother grabs a mail bag.
to catch him after he fell and broke his
leg. According to Mortenson’s grandson, ▪ Fred notices police coming, takes the bag
and tells brother to run; police chase
Justin Penoyer:
Fred instead.

▪ Trying to avoid a barrage of bullets, he
jumps a wall, falls and breaks a leg; is
arrested.

▪ Prison doctor sets leg improperly – left
with one leg shorter than the other,
resulting in a permanent limp
 However, Mortensen himself writes:

▪ “…a young fellow was being arrested and I, of

course, tried to take him away from the

policeman. While this was going on a couple of

detectives happened along and in my haste to

get away from them I leaped over a thirty-five

foot wall, breaking my leg, to escape the

bullets whizzing around about — and wound

up in the ‘garden at the feet of the Beloved’ as

Bahá'u'lláh has so beautifully written it in the

Seven Valleys.”
 In his wonder at God’s grace Fred writes about how he

arrived at the gate to the garden of the Beloved through
his own criminal activity:

▪ “I violated any law I saw fit, man's or God's. Strange as

it seems to me at times, it was through coming into
contact with these laws that I received the opportunity
to be guided into this most wonderful Revelation.”
 The gate keeper of the garden

is the attorney appointed to
defend him: Albert Hall, the
son of a minister, who became
a Bahá'í between 1900 and
1903
 Fred recalls:
▪ “At this time I was defended by our departed, but illustrious Bahá'í brother, Albert

Hall, to whom I owe many thanks and my everlasting good will for helping to free
me from the prison of men and of self. It was he who brought me from out the dark
prison house; it was he who told me, hour after hour, about the great love of 'Abdu'l-
Bahá for all His children and that he was here to help us show that love for our
fellowmen. Honestly, I often wondered then what Mr. Hall meant when he talked so
much about love, God's love, Bahá'u'lláh's love, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's love, love for the
Covenant . . . I was bewildered. Still, I returned, to become more bewildered, so I
thought; and I wondered why. . . Thus the Word of God gave me a new birth . . .”
 Fred doesn’t know how to read.

 Hall gives him two books, one about
the Bahá’í Faith, the other a
dictionary;

▪ Fred uses these to teach
himself to read.
 Even though the gift has been
presented, Mortensen hasn’t
yet fully unwrapped it, and his
instinct for preservation kicks
in:

▪ As soon as his leg heals, Fred

attacks a guard, steals his
keys, and escapes.
▪ He ends up in Oakland,
California where he works at
the newspaper.

▪ After experiencing an
earthquake, Fred hightails it
back to the midwest, then
travels to the Dakotas; finds
work each time with the local
newspapers.
 Fred comes across the book
he’d gotten from Albert Hall.
This time the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
reach deep into his heart.
 After four years as a fugitive, he returns to Minneapolis, knowing
he’ll probably be sent back to jail, but unable to resist the urge
to reconnect with Hall and learn more about the Bahá’í Faith
 To Fred’s surprise, Hall, now District Attorney, doesn’t have him
arrested
 While living in Minnesota, Fred learns
‘Abdu’l-Bahá will visit Green Acre, Sarah
Farmer’s home in Eliot, Maine (close to
Portsmouth, NH) which was a center for the
study of comparative religions
 He also hears the Master may not travel west
 Fred takes off traveling to
Green Acre
 On reaching Cleveland, OH, he attends a

printers’ convention before continuing his
journey, but, anxious to meet the Master,
he leaves before it ends.
 However, his funds are depleted.

 Out of money, Fred rides the

rods, hobo-style, on top, under
trains, never inside – all the coal
dust from the burning coal
spewing forth, permeating his
clothes and clinging to his skin.
 In Fred’s Words
“… [as] I crawled off from the top of one of its passenger
trains at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I was exceedingly
happy. A boat ride, a street-car ride, and there I was, at the
Gate of Paradise. My heart beating double-time, I stepped
onto the soil of that to-be-famous center tired, dirty, and
wondering, but happy.”
The Ballad of Fred Mortensen
written, composed & performed by
Mike Rogers
from his CD,
Steppin’ to a Brand New Beat
 In a hurry to reach his destination,

and with no money at his disposal,
Fred arrives in a disheveled state,
covered in soot from riding for days
on the outsides of coal-burning
trains, smelling like the rail cars on
which he’d traveled.
 Even with a letter of introduction from Albert

Hall, efforts are made to turn him away.
 Two of the women, Mrs. Kinney

and Barbara Fitting, ignore the
vigorous protests of the
menfolk, invite Fred in, give him
the opportunity to wash up and
offer him a bed for the night.
 Told schedule full — no chance of an audience

 Goes anyway and signs the appointment ledger

 At the end of the first interview, Fred is told the Master
will receive him next. He is stunned:
▪ “Why, I nearly wilted. I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t expected
to be called until the very last thing. I had to go, and it
was a strange feeling in my heart and wondering what
would happen next.”
 After first asking after Fred’s health, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asks about

his trip to Green Acre, requesting specifics. Fred tries to avoid

the subject, but the Master won’t let it go. Fred figures He

already knows so he’d better tell the truth.

 Mahmud’s Diary relates: “He explained everything about his

journey to the Master, who then told him, 'You are my guest.’”
“. . . a wondrous light seemed to pour
out. It was the light of love and I felt
relieved and very much happier. He gave
me much fruit, and kissed the dirty hat
I wore, which had become soiled on my
trip to see Him.”
 Penoyer writes:
▪ “Fred often spoke of the great amount of
fruit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave him during their
conversation. As soon as he finished one piece,
he was given another. He would later say he had never eaten so
much fruit in one day. Interestingly, the day before Fred’s
arrival at Green Acre, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked one of His
interpreters to buy a basket of fruit, as he was expecting a
special guest to arrive the next day.”
 Fred joins the others seeing the Master off the

next morning.
 As the Master’s car is passing, it stops suddenly

and the Master pulls him in and invites Fred to
spend the week with Him in Malden,
Massachusetts, the next stop on His itinerary.
 Penoyer says,
▪ “Unfortunately, what transpired between them during this time is

unknown. What is known, however, is that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Fred
became close friends for the remainder of their lives. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
often referred to Fred as “my son.” Such an appellation was very rare
for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to make. They met again briefly a few weeks later,
when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on His way to Chicago, requested a detour to
Minneapolis. This was unusual in that there was only a small Bahá'í
community there at the time. Fred, Albert Hall, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
spent the day together, the last time they would meet in person.”
 Fred Mortensen’s life is forever changed after
this experience; he writes:

▪ “These events are engraved upon the tablet

of my heart and I love every moment of them.
The words of Bahá'u'lláh are my food, my drink,
and my life. I have no other aim than to be of
service to His Pathway and to be obedient to His
Covenant.”
 A year later, a letter from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá prophesies,

▪ “That trip of thine from Minneapolis to Green Acre
will never be forgotten. Its mention will be
recorded eternally in books and works of history.”
 Thirty-two years later, Shoghi Effendi writes in God Passes By:

▪ “A survey, however inadequate of the varied and immense
activities of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His tour of Europe and America
cannot leave without mention some of the strange incidents
that would often accompany personal contact with Him. The
bold determination of a certain indomitable youth who, fearing
'Abdu'l-Bahá would not be able to visit the Western states, and
unable himself to pay for a train journey to New England, had
traveled all the way from Minneapolis to Maine lying on the
rods between the wheels of a train . . . “
 His story is now also included in:

▪ Alan Ward’s 239 Days

▪ H. M. Balyuzi’s ‘Abdu’l-Bahá — The Centre of the Covenant

▪ Star of the West Volumes VI & IX & XIV

▪ The Bahá’í World, Volumes X & XI

▪ Mahmud’s Diary

▪ and on a website dedicated to him which includes the thesis of his
great-grandson, Justin Charles Martin Penoyer
 Jealousy raises it’s ugly head amidst the believers,
beginning at Green Acre when that “filthy, horrid man”
as someone so rudely refers to him, receives that
special, unscheduled audience with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. More
incidents feed the green-eyed monster lurking within
the Bahá’í community, like his invitation to spend the
week with the Master in Malden, and moreso when
‘Abdu’l-Bahá refers to Fred Mortensen as His “son.”
 Fred moves to the South to work
for racial amity.
 He uses his natural leadership skills to organize numerous
successful proclamation events for teaching the Faith,
bringing in many excellent speakers.

Louis Gregory takes to calling him
“Frederick the Great.”
 Thinking of his mother, Fred had mixed

emotions, sad for what he put her through

yet happy that her hopes for him finally came

true. He wrote:

“My dear mother had done everything in her power to make me a good boy. I

have but the deepest love for her and my heart has often been sad when

thinking how she must have worried for my safety as well as for my future

well-being. Through it all and in a most wonderful way, with a god-like

patience, she hoped and prayed that her boy would find the road which

leadeth to righteousness and happiness.”
 The American Bahá'í Community wishes to send funds to the Holy Land to assist with ‘Abdu’l-

Bahá’s humanitarian work.

 The Master, unsure if a trip to the Holy Land can be accomplished, due to the war, allows them to

make the attempt.

 However, He refuses to approve the person selected by the Bahá'í Temple Unity to make the trip,

insists that He will only permit the effort if Fred Mortensen serves as the representative.

 This exacerbates the already intense ill-will of the Baha'is towards Fred, they mistakenly

assuming naivety on the part of the Master, thinking He just doesn’t understand what “these

people” are like.

 Fred’s ship, as the Master had feared, is turned back. The journey cannot be completed and

monies are not delivered.
 Fred moves as a homefront pioneer to Montana where he personally finances publicity and

publishes many articles about the Faith in local newspapers. According to Penoyer’s thesis,

▪ “In one instance, he felt obliged to correct an article printed in the Montana Record

Herald, which gave credit for the conception of the League of Nations to an unspecified

king of France. Encouraged by friends in Helena, he wrote a letter to the paper in which

he clearly stated that Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í faith, had revealed the basic

principles of the League at least fifty years before it was established; furthermore, these

same principles were explained by His son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a book titled The Secret of the

Divine Civilization, written in 1875. A few years later, Fred wrote an essay titled “The

Three Great Lights,” in which he eloquently described the nature of progressive

revelation. This essay was published in the March 1925 edition of the Star of the West.”
 In 1922 Fred meets and marries Kathryn May Rubeck, happy to welcome
her infant son as his own, especially because he’d given up hope of ever
having children.
 But they have four more children together, in rapid succession, and he
remembers that the Master once told him he would
receive “four blessings.” These children, he believes,
are those blessings.
 After their home in Helena, Montana burns down (caused by
earthquake in 1925) the
Mortensens move to
Chicago to be near the
House of Worship.
In Chicago, Mortensen

 Remains an active believer

 Works nights at the Chicago Tribune

 Devotes the majority of his time to his family
 Penoyer relates:

▪ “Every night he went over his children’s homework, and he made sure

they were well fed and properly clothed.
▪ In addition to their school studies, he was very involved in

their sports activities and other interests;
▪ and, most important, he

taught them the words of

Bahá'u'lláh, stressing the

importance of love in all

facets of society. His children

all became dedicated Baha’is.
 According to Penoyer,

▪ “His daughter, Kathryn, remembers him as

▪ ‘a standard of fatherhood’

▪ whom she viewed as a saint.”
 Active in YMCA
 Boxing
 Swimming
 Skating
 Baseball
 Handball
 Forming Unions
▪ Fought for
▪ Age limitations
▪ Minimum Wage
▪ Safer Working Conditions
 All the wonderful things that happened to Fred, and that he in
turn, did for family, society and within the Bahá’í community, he
credits to a spiritual transformation:

▪ “…the Word of God gave me a new birth, made me a living soul, a

revivified spirit. I am positive that nothing else upon the earth
could have changed my character as it has been changed. I am
indeed a new being, changed by the power of the Holy Spirit…I
have been resurrected and made live in the Kingdom of Al Abhá.”
 1946 - End of World War II; children grown, Fred wishes to
serve the Faith abroad
 Writes to Shoghi Effendi requesting permission to pioneer
to Germany
 Guardian suggests Austria instead
 Fred makes plans to go
 Shortly before departure date, falls seriously ill
 Dies on June 13th, of a cerebral hemorrhage, just a few
months after he was to travel to Austria
 On learning of Fred’s death,
the Guardian cables the family:

▪ “Grieve passing beloved Fred.
Welcome assured in Abhá Kingdom by Master.
Praying progress his soul. His name is forever
inscribed Bahá'í history.”
 Buried at Cedar Park Cemetery, Chicago, IL
Per Fred’s request,
his autobiographical account,
When a Soul Meets the Master
was read at the service
 His obituary in the “In Memoriam” section of
the Bahá’í World, Vol. XI, quotes his daughter,
Mrs. Kathryn Mortensen Penoyer:
▪ “My father lived and practiced the Bahá’í
Religion to a degree beyond possible
explanation . . . On the very eve before his
death he spent his last time teaching the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. His devotion cannot be
measured in mere words, they are not
powerful enough.”
 Penoyer sums up his thesis:

▪ “Fred Mortensen’s background was that of a rogue and thief. Fred was

not an advantaged person, and as such would not be a likely candidate
to understand, let alone embrace, a new religion. He lived his beliefs
without benefit of wealth or education, much like his mentor, ‘Abdu’l-
Bahá. He was so moved by his exposure to Bahá'í teachings that
the direction of his life changed instantly. The facts suggest a
metamorphosis on a level other than scholarly.
 “Fred’s story is well known in Bahá'í history. The
documentation is the result of his example of faith in
action, not of his material accomplishments. Fred
perceived a truth more impressive than that of his
grinding poverty, more real than his material needs,
and more important than his immediate gratification.
He is an example of one who learned that material
things are transient, while inspiration and faith
survive.
SUCH IS THE POWER OF FAITH TO CHANGE A LIFE.

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