Johann Leonhard Dober

Johann Leonhard Dober (born March 7, 1706, Mönchsroth, Swabia, Germany to Johann Dober and Anna Barbara Link; died April 1, 1766, Herrnhut, Saxony, Germany) was, along with David Nitschmann, one of the two first missionaries of the Moravian Brethren (Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine) in the West Indies in 1732.

Dober learned the trade of pottery from his father. He was converted at age 17 while visiting the Moravian church at Herrnhut. On July 24, 1731, he heard a talk given by Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf about missions to the slaves of the Caribbean. In his talk, Zinzendorf described a former slave from the Danish island of St. Thomas named Anthony Ulrich, who believed that the slaves would be very receptive to Christian missionaries. Dober, along with his friend Tobias Leupold, felt called to go to the Caribbean, and they began to prepare for this work. Although they initially met with opposition from the Moravian Brethren, the doubts were eventually settled by drawing lots. Dober's lot read, "Let the lad go, for the Lord is with him," but Leupold's said that he must wait. Instead, David Nitschmann was chosen to go with Dober to help start the Caribbean mission.

On August 20, 1732, Count Zinzendorf blessed the two young men, and after a prayer meeting sent them on to Copenhagen, where they were to find a ship bound for St. Thomas. In Copenhagen, they again met with opposition to their plans. Even Anthony Ulrich, who had originally proposed the idea, began to have second thoughts. Von Plesz, the King’s Chamberlain, asked them how they would live.

“We shall work,” replied Nitschmann, “as slaves among the slaves.”

“But,” said Von Plesz, “that is impossible. It will not be allowed. No white man ever works as a slave.”

“Very well,” replied Nitschmann, “I am a carpenter, and will ply my trade.”

“But what will the potter do?”

“He will help me in my work.”

“If you go on like that,” exclaimed the Chamberlain, “you will stand your ground the wide world over.”

Although the Danish West Indian Company refused to grant them passage, the two men eventually found sympathy at the Danish court, and with the help of a court officer they obtained berths on a ship bound for the West Indies. Leaving Copenhagen on Oct 8, 1732, they arrived in St. Thomas two months later on December 13. While in St. Thomas, they lived frugally and preached to the slaves, and they had a certain amount of success. Dober returned to Germany in 1734 (David Nitschmann had only gone to help Dober get settled and had left after only a few weeks), but other Moravian missionaries continued the work for fifty years afterward, establishing churches on St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John’s, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, and St. Kitts. Moravian missionaries baptized 13,000 converts before any other missionaries arrived on the scene.

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