CHRISTIANA, NORWAY by John G. Matteson

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 27, 1879

CHRISTIANA, NORWAY.

By John G. Matteson

Matters are very interesting and lively here. Our faith was attacked in one of the daily papers. After a hard struggle with the editor he was persuaded to publish our reply. It will go through seven or eight papers, and then be printed in tract form—32 pp.

The papers call for the priests to come forward and defend their old faith, and a little sheet is flying through town commencing thus: “Are nearly all the shepherds of the churches in Christiana asleep?” Further down the writer says, “After the pure doctrine of the State Church has, through print and public lectures, been clearly proved to be a forgery through and through, as is now done, the priests need to do something else than merely to warn the churches against attending and listening; for the people go by hundreds anyway.”

Such strong calls have, of course, awakened the shepherds, so that the Sabbath and immortality questions were discussed Sunday evening in three or more pulpits. Nevertheless more than one thousand people crowded our hall, so that every foot of ground was occupied. I spoke on the change of the Sabbath, and the Lord seemed to roll conviction on the minds of the people. The clouds from the thundering artillery around us were illuminated by light from Heaven, and the light appeared all the more beautiful by coming in contact with these dark bodies.

About fifty brethren and sisters are keeping the Sabbath, although this is quite a task just now under so great a pressure. We are greatly blessed in our Sabbath meetings, and are thankful to the Lord that he has caused his Spirit to rest also in the north country. Zech. 6:8.

Jan. 27, 1879. JOHN G. MATTESON.