Joseph Toronto

Joseph Toronto

Joseph Toronto (born Giuseppe Efisio Taranto) was raised in Palermo, Sicily. From an early age he worked as a fisherman and sailor. In 1843, while sailing to the United States, Taranto had a dream in which he was instructed to take his money, saved over several years, to “Mormon Brigham.”

After arriving in the United States, Taranto began searching for Mormon Brigham. In Boston, he became converted after listening to a missionary named George B. Wallace. After his baptism, he remained in Boston and adopted the anglicized version of his name, Joseph Toronto. Toronto worked as a shipping merchant for more than a year, but when he nearly lost his life in an accident, he decided to move to Nauvoo, Illinois, during the summer of 1845.

At the time, the Nauvoo Temple was nearly completed, but a lack of funds had stalled construction. On July 6, President Brigham Young urged members to contribute to the temple. Two days later, Joseph Toronto donated $2,600 in gold he had saved during his years as a sailor. Because of the sacrifices of Toronto and others, the temple was completed in 1846. Toronto later formed a close relationship with President Young. In 1849, Young called Toronto as one of the first missionaries to Italy to become “a messenger of salvation to [his] native land.”