Malmin was born on August 19, 1899 in Thompson, Iowa.  He attended Gale College in Galesville, Wisconsin, then Luther College, graduating from that institution in 1921 with a bachelor’s degree.  He taught at Luther Academy for three years before enrolling at Luther Theological Seminary in 1924.  He left Seminary in 1926 to teach at Luther, and then returned to graduate in 1927.  After his marriage to Fernanda Urberg on August 7 of that same year, Malmin and his wife moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, where he became the pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church.  In the years following, he served as pastor of two other churches, one in South Dakota and the other in Minneapolis.  In 1938, he became the editor of The Lutheran Herald, holding that position for over twenty-one years.  He was also the editor-in-chief of Augsburg Publishing House for five years.  Malmin was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Luther College and a Doctor of Letters from Pacific Lutheran University.

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Malmin ble født 19. august 1899 i Thompson i Iowa. Han studerte ved Gale College i Galesville, Wisconsin, og deretter ved Luther College fram til 1921. Han underviste ved Luther Academy i tre år før han begynte ved Luther Theological Seminary i 1924. Han forlot seminaret i 1926 for å undervise ved Luther College, men reiste tilbake for å ta avsluttende eksamen i teologi i 1927. Etter han hadde giftet seg med Fernanda Urberg 7. august samme år, flyttet de begge til Rapid City, Sør Dakota, der han begynte som prest i Trinity Lutheran Church. (Fernanda Urberg var datter til Søren Urberg, prest i Blair, Wisconsin). I de følgende årene tjenestegjorde han som prest i to andre kirker, en i Sør Dakota, den andre i Minneapolis. I 1938 ble han redaktør av The Lutheran Herald, og denne stillingen hadde han i over tjueto år. Han var også redaktør av Augsburg Publishing House i fem år. Malmin ble tildelt æresdoktorgrad fra Luther College og fra Pacific Lutheran University.