"The house [I grew up in] was made by driving stakes in the ground and then the willows were woven in and out to make the walls. The roof was of dirt. From Weber we moved to Spring City, (Ephraim)... We lived in a log house and it was so cold the bread would freeze as hard as ice in the house. The furniture was very crude. The bed was three poles fastened to the wall and then braided across with rawhide."

When John was 10, he was a Black Hawk War bugler. John was raised on a farm. In 1868, the Larsen family moved to Logan, Utah. While in Logan, John participated in the construction of the railroad, building the road in Logan Canyon, and building the foundation of the Logan Temple.

"I remember being in church in the Second Ward at Logan. Pretty, brown-eyed Susannah Titensor came into the church. This thought came to me, 'that pretty little girl is going to be my wife.' I took her home from church, and she did become my wife. I didnt sleep much that night. We were married by William Preston at his home Feb 7, 1877..."

"In 1881, we moved to Cove,... to a farm and built a three room house. Threre was nothing on the place but sage brush and snakes. I never saw so many snakes. Through hardship and plenty of work, we made a beautiful modern country home..."