John Peter Rasmus Johnson was born on April 10, 1824, in Lindved, Denmark, to Johannes Christensen and Ane Dorthea Jonasdatter. John married Caroline Marie Nielsen Toft on April 24, 1847, in Denmark. They had ten children. John joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1851, and immigrated to Utah in 1854, crossing the plains with the Independent Ox Team Company. John and his family settled in Provo, Utah. Johnson married a second wife, Kirstine Marie Larsen, in 1856, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they had one child. He married a third wife, Maren Poulsen, on January 16, 1857, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they had six children. Johnson married a fourth wife, Inger Johnson, on November 11, 1865, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they had nine children.

John was a railroad contractor, cabinet maker, carriage builder, and farmer. He served as the bishop for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Provo 1st Ward from 1864 to 1883. He also served as a missionary to Denmark from 1860 to 1864. On his return trip from Denmark, John crossed the United States with the John Smith Company from July to September 1864. He also served a mission to the Northwestern States Mission in 1886. John was convicted of unlawful cohabitation in Provo, Utah on September 19, 1888. He served three and one half months of his sentence. John died July 9, 1910, in Provo, Utah.