The Norwegian Conference by Guy Dail

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 30, 1906

The Norwegian Conference

By Guy Dail

GUY DAIL

The twentieth annual session of the Norwegian Conference convened in our pleasant and commodious chapel in Christiania, June 6-11. Of the twenty-three churches, sixteen were represented by seventy-two delegates, and in all, over three hundred and fifty attended the meetings. Greetings and well wishes were exchanged between their newly elected king and the conference.

The gospel services and the business sessions were all characterized by that spirit of love and brotherly deference one for the other which we should see among Christians. Effective help was rendered by Elders Conradi, Hansen, Ostlund, Raft, Johnson, and Dr. J. C. Ottosen. On Sabbath, God blessed the people with a Sabbath-day's blessing. The baptism of eleven at the afternoon service was a pleasing scene, and that the more because two of the candidates were children: “Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” We can but rejoice to see so many promising youth among the believers here; and most of these young people are engaged in some department of our work. At the close of the presentation of missions in Africa, on Sunday, after it had been decided that the Norwegian First-day offerings should be dedicated to opening a mission in Abyssinia, several of these young workers volunteered for service in the foreign field. The collection at this meeting amounted to nearly twenty-nine dollars.

During the twelve months ending Dec. 31, 1905, one hundred and one were received into the conference by baptism and confession of faith; this is thirty-nine more than were accepted the previous year, and it has raised our membership from eight hundred and eight at the beginning to eight hundred and forty-seven at the close of the year. The tithe amounted to $4,977, the offerings to $659, and the book sales to $6,674 for 1905; this shows an increase of nearly $570 in the tithe, and a loss of about $200 in gifts and $600 in book sales, if compared with the previous year. Lack of suitable literature is thought to quite largely account for the falling off in sales; but as we are now getting out the book on Revelation, and will publish “Ministry of Healing” by the first part of next October in the Danish-Norwegian, we expect better sales this year. The gifts in 1904 were raised so high by one single donation that was made to foreign missions; hence the decrease in gifts for 1905. Our Christiania Health Home had a gain of nearly one hundred and twenty dollars last year. The Book Mission about made its way.

Brother O. J. Olsen has opened successful treatment rooms in Bergen, and at the same time carried on public meetings that have been blessed of God to the salvation of souls. Brother Angell, of Hamar, is still successfully operating his bathrooms. He has been made happy by the donation of the electric-light bath formerly used in our Christiania work, and this has very materially helped him. God's blessing is with him, and his work continues to grow, although it is bitterly opposed by some of the physicians. The four church-schools (in Christiania, Hamar, Lille Vandve, and Hadsel) have an enrolment of sixty-eight, and are doing well. They prove a blessing to the field.

The financial depression that has had such a deleterious influence upon the country for the past five years, seems to be gradually lifting. During the whole of this period, there has been no really favorable season for the farmer; and, as if in harmony with the saying that calamities never come singly, the Norwegian fisheries have more or less failed. This spring the cod fishing industry started in well, and the hopes of the fishermen were high—all to be blasted by the unusually stormy weather which prevailed for weeks, making it impossible for the small boats to put to sea. Thus the country was once more deprived of a part of the income that would have been realized by a favorable season. Of late, copper and iron have been discovered in the northern parts of Norway, and this will be of benefit to the country financially. The lawmakers, however, are finding it necessary to protect the lumber industry by enacting laws

against the ruthless destruction of native forests by foreign investors, who care nothing for the good of the country, but are anxious only to make as much money as they can in the shortest time possible.

The educated classes of Norway are to some extent drifting toward higher criticism. An effort is being put forth by the religious element of the Lutheran State Church, to separate church and state in Norway, because the strictly “orthodox” element of that church has been unable to prevent the authorities from appointing on the university faculty some professors who are tinctured by the more “modern” ideas. The noted author, Bjornstjerne Bjornson, also took part in the discussion, and wrote an excellent article advocating separation of church and state.

One of our own canvassers related an experience he had had in the far north, where he found himself among a number of infidels, who said that it was a humbug to think that the Lord created the heavens and the earth in six days, and made a man and a woman who brought sin into the world, or that the Bible is an inspired book. He found the people so opposed to all religion that it was necessary for him to show up more particularly the historical side of the book he was selling, and by doing this, he was successful in placing many books in the homes of these people.

Another queer manner of opposition was manifested against us in Trondhjem, where the papers reported that we were Mormons. Our minister wrote a reply, but the papers would not accept it for their columns. But what seems not a little strange is the fact that the Mormons themselves went around privately among the people, and stated that we were a sort of Mormons—more like them than any other denomination in the world. In this underhand manner they sought to throw suspicion on our work the whole winter, but in spite of this, eighteen or twenty were baptized, and when we had to leave there for work in another field, there was a better interest than there had been at the beginning, and a number of others were right on the point of deciding for the message. The church there will look after those interested, and ere long it is expected that others will be added.

The following officers were chosen for the coming year: President, O. A. Johnson; other members of committee, N. P. Nelsen, J. M. Naerem, H. Z. Johansen, H. J. Hansen; Treasurer, A. C. Christensen; Secretary, C. B. Jensen; Sabbath-school and Missionary Department, John Nielsen.

Ministerial credentials were granted to O. A. Johnson, N. P. Nelsen, O. P. Nordehus, A. Sevaldsen; licenses to Edw. Iversen, A. O. Naerem; missionary credentials to Julie Lycke, Johanna Björkelund, Christian Tobiassen. These workers, and the brethren who were present, go forth to enter upon the work of the new year, among the two million five hundred thousand people of Norway with strong hearts and renewed courage, trusting that soon the time may come when this gospel of the kingdom shall have gone to all the world.

Hamburg, Germany.