Lund was born in Aalborg, Denmark, to unmarried parents; he was raised by his maternal grandmother until his emigration to the United States in 1862.

[2] Lund was baptized a member of the LDS Church at age 12;[2] after his baptism, he assisted the missionaries and fulfilled his duties as first a teacher and then a priest by preaching with them.

In 1865, he responded to Brigham Young's request that men come to Salt Lake City and learn to be telegraph operators.

In 1866, Lund became the telegraph operator for the Mount Pleasant station,[2] where he was ordained as a seventy by Peter Madsen Peel.

[10] That same year, Lund delivered a general conference sermon in which he emphasized that it was no longer church policy to encourage its members to emigrate to the western United States.

He served in that position until April 7, 1910, when Smith called him as first counselor, to replace John R. Winder, who had died in March.

Lund assumed a myriad of duties, including heading various church agencies and again serving as a temple president.

Lund also served as a member of several writing committees to revise the church's standard works and other publications.

[19] Lund died in Salt Lake City on March 2, 1921, from a duodenal ulcer, an ailment that plagued him for many years.