Rock Ferry, July11th, 1851.
Rock Ferry, July11th, 1851.
Rock Ferry, July11th, 1851.
Beloved brother,—Yours of the first instant is received. * * * I sincerely sympathize with the Saints in Aalborg in their trials, and pray that the grace of God may be sufficient for them. I doubt not that what they did was with the purest motive; and I have faith in God, that he is able to overrule all for good in the end, and hope that it may contribute to arouse and combine the energies of the right minded in favour of truth and freedom.
I hope the scenes growing out of that public baptism, and the imprudent sayings of the brethren on that occasion, however painful the results, may serve as a lesson of wisdom and experience for all Saints in that land from henceforth.
Where a cold indifference prevails, a littlehealthy excitementto arouse the public mind to investigation may be profitable, provided it can be controlled, and thetruth kept before the people. But Denmark is not England nor America—religious liberty is not grounded in the hearts of the people. They are under the influence of their priests and attached to their religion—once their feelings outraged, the voice of truth or reason cannot be heard. While a little fire kindled upon the hearth, in a cold day, is very convenient, all will admit the folly of firing the house, by which the inmates might be consumed or left houseless in mid winter.
Counsel the Saints in Aalborg to continue their little meetings for prayer and exhortation, if they can, without excitement: and if you can, you had better send them an Elder, not known there, to encourage and minister among them until I come, which I trust will not be long.
Denmark Proper is but a small state, including the peninsula of Jutland and the islands of the Cattegat, and those of the southern and western parts of the Baltic, to which is attached the dukedoms of Sleswick, Holstein, Oldenburg and Lauenburg, the most of whose inhabitants use the German language. Her foreign dependencies, like those of Great Britain, are far more extensive than her home dominions. These have their peculiar dialects, and use the Danish language only in part, chiefly in public affairs and business transactions, and even her home provinces and islands have great dialectic peculiarities, to a considerable extent unintelligible to each other. But the literature of Copenhagen is the regular and standard language, if in truth it can be said to have a standard. But the language, like the people, is so surrounded and intermixed with others, that changes and improvements are very considerable, and its laws quite unsettled.
In the State of Norway, the Danish language is spoken and written generally and taught in her schools. And although they maintain their rustic dialects, it is doubted if the old Norsk language has been used in printing since the days of the Reformation.
Iceland, probably, possesses quite as many associations of interest to the Danes as any other of their foreign dependencies. In my interviews with Professor Repp, he frequently took occasion to refer, with apparent pride and satisfaction, to hisnativeIceland, as the nursery of literature and keeper of the Danish records, during the barbarous and demoralizing wars that swept over Scandinavia. They still maintain their own literature, and have a translation of the Scriptures, but as their priests are educated in Copenhagen, and their merchants mostly Danish, the national religion, policy and impress of Denmark is stamped upon them as upon her other provinces. At present, with a territory larger than Denmark Proper, Iceland only numbers about sixty thousand inhabitants.
Denmark Proper is about in the latitude of Scotland, and has a climate somewhat similar. Unlike the cold mountainous regions of Norway and Sweden, it lies low, and by being to such an extent surrounded by water and interspersed with small lakes, preserves an equilibrium of temperature beyond what its latitude might otherwise indicate. Though it is sometimes visited with heavy falls of snow, and the severity of winter has congealed the salt water of the Belts and the sound, so that teams have crossed the ice between Denmark and Sweden. The islands, particularly Zealand and Fuen, the two largest, are rich and in a high state of cultivation. The country generally is poorly supplied with highways, and I sometimes found myself wandering from house to house and from village to village, through bye roads and footpaths, crossing sluiceways on a plank or pole, and at wet seasons, when the country was nearly half covered with water, obliged to wade through mud and water, or take a serpentine route through fields.
The country people, generally, live in small villages, miserable houses, with thatched roofs and clay floors, and are generally filthy and uncouth in their habits. In the large towns a degree of order and neatness is exhibited, and urbanity of manners, such as is common to English towns. Nearly every village, however insignificant, has its Church, and priest to receive their tithings, and attend to their spiritual wants. With regard to improvements, the Danes are sadly deficient in means or enterprise, probably both. They have but one piece of railroad, sixteen miles in length, from Copenhagen to a neighbouring town. The capital itself is still lighted with the old oil lamps, and the fire companies haul their hose and water on sheds with tubs and barrels. A telegraph is unknown in the country. The navy yard and fixtures, fortifications, public buildings, walks and gardens, of Copenhagen, would be a credit to any town or nation. The priests are often to be seen in the streets with their black gowns and white ruffles.
Their texts, sermons, worship, &c., defined by law, are uniform throughout the country, and repeated yearly. Their rites are similar to those of the Church of England. There is a universal observance of the numerous holydays and festivals common in catholic countries, but the sabbath is lightly esteemed. Sunday evening is usually selected for balls, and other amusements, and that is the time the theatres are thronged. The priests are by no means so pious out of church as to prevent their mingling freely in those amusements.
Churchgoing is in late years getting much out of fashion, except on extraordinary occasions. It is no uncommon things in their popular churches, to see only eight or ten persons, but the priest is paid and required by law to perform services if there are two present.
I was very strongly impressed on an occasion of the congregation of a priest in "Frue Kirke," a splendid edifice, the pride of Copenhagen, patronised by the royal family.
At the east end, overlooking the altar, stands a marble statue, representing Jesus in the act of preaching, while on either side of the body of the church, at equal distances, stand the Twelve Apostles, each holding an appropriate insignia; for instance, Peter holding three keys, Matthew his pen and scroll, &c. These are all in marble, and were cut in Rome. Above these in the walls are the carved representations of young angels, with wings, while another larger one stands before the altar, holding a marble basin of water, for the sprinkling of infants. While the chief Bishop, surrounded by his clergy, in sacerdotal robes, was engaged in the services of the occasion, I asked myself these questions; If these were living figures, what would be their language to these men and this assembly? were they to give utterance to the doctrines they taught while living, how long would they be permitted to grace this building? I reflected that by the influence of these clergy, and at the instigation of this Bishop, was P. C. Monster repeatedly imprisoned for preaching to this people that they must follow Jesus down into the water and be baptized. This was the Bishop that thought it the duty of government to protect the people from this "dangerous sect"—the Latter-day Saints. These are the men, who, while they allow the people to have access to the Bible, put a padlock upon it and pocket the key. I exclaimed in my heart at the scene before me, surely the great mother of abominations, with her numerous progeny of the protestant family, after their fathers martyred Jesus and his apostles, transgressed his laws, changed his ordinances, broke his everlasting covenant, and drove the last vestige of his kingdom from the earth, have now placed their statues in her temples to grace her triumph.
I will here remark that there are a few honorable exceptions among the Danish clergy, whose voices have been heard in favour of religious freedom, and reformation among the people. Although there are a few persons that have a zeal for the Scriptures, and their diffusion among the people, yet the most of the Danish clergy discourage the use of them, by the masses, and under a cloak of charity, they long ago shrewdly procured the passage of a law giving a charitable institution, which they control, called "Veisenhuuset," the exclusive right of publishing, importing, or selling the scriptures, in any shape or form, in the Danish language. The result is, that we sometimes may hunt whole neighbourhoods over and not find a copy of the Scriptures, except, perhaps, in church, or with the priest. The novelty of a new religion in the country, the excitability of the people, the control of the priests, over churches and school-houses; the fear of violence and damage, that deters men from leasing us houses; the restrictions of law upon street preaching and promiscuous assemblages; the spleen and jealousy of a well organized national police, are all no small obstacles in the way of getting truth before the people.
Although the ancient races of Scandinavia have become somewhat intermixed, and a strong analogy exists between the Danish and Swedish languages, and one country is more or less subject to the influence of the other, yet the state of society in Sweden and spirit of the people are, in many respects, quite different from that of Denmark. At present there is much less freedom, both political and religious, a wider difference between the toiling millions and the nobility and gentry, and more extreme cases of degradation. Until recently their laws have been inimical to emigration, and the influence of the Lutheran religion and policy of the government, have tended to perpetuate the evils rather than remove them. Yet with the masses, a much stronger religious feeling appears to exist than in Denmark, and a much more general diffusion and perusal of the Scriptures; and in the absence of that encouragement which they have a right to expect from the Lutheran clergy that swarm the country, the labouring classes who feel religiously inclined, have formed their little associations for investigating the Scriptures and edifying each other therein.
A few years since a man, by the name of Johnson, made considerable stir in the country, and taught quite extensively the prophecies that relate to the last days, the second advent, gathering, Zion in America, &c.; and although he did not baptize or organize a church in opposition to Lutheranism, yet he became very obnoxious to the clergy, and after being subjected to many of their stratagems and to imprisonment, he finally emigrated with a portion of his friends to Illinois, where he was killed not long since. But the spirit of the latter-day movements and events, which he infused among his countrymen, did not entirely leave or die with him. It is said that in one town there are as many as a thousand, and many in other places, who entertain his notions and look for important events.
It is also asserted that in 1846, (if my memory serves as to time) was published in the papers, in three different parts of the kingdom on the same day, a remarkable occurrence, said to have transpired the preceding night, viz., the illumination of a church in the three different places, and in them the sound of delightful music, singing of Zion and the work of the Lord on the earth, when the churches were known to be closed and to possess no earthly means of illumination. I have seen it, but am sorry that I am unable to furnish at this time a translation of the sketch of the song said to have been sung in each of the three churches, and heard by many persons.
In 1842 commenced in Sweden, what the Swedish papers call "Praedeke Sygdom," (the disease of preaching) a strange manifestation of a spirit upon sundry illiterate persons, otherwise perfectly healthy, by which they acted very curiously, preaching and prophesying marvelous things, and cryingrepentance unto the people. Nor was it confined to men, but women also and even babes, under the same influence, opened their mouths, and testified marvelous things, to the great astonishment of many. And when the excitement could not be hushed by the priests, the doctors were called to their aid, who decided it a sort of monomania, and thereafter every person, so soon as they manifested any of the above symptoms, were immediately confined in hospitals or lunatic asylums, and no one allowed to see them until they were cured of their preaching.
During the last year or two, the Swedish papers report several cases again of the "Praedeke Sygdom" in different places, but the doctors are pushed forward to nip the spirit in the bud. The doctors were ordered to examine brother Forssgren for the same purpose, but his American passport and general appearance admonished them to take another course. One of those families consisting of seven persons, including two small children, resolved at all hazards to make their way to America, and actually travelled on foot several hundred miles, from the upper part of Sweden to Gottenburg, where they arrived too late for a passage last fall, and they made their way to Copenhagen and came immediately to our meetings, and received the Gospel with great joy, and have proved to be an excellent spirited family.
A strong dissatisfaction exists in Sweden with regard to reigning institutions, religious and political, and the opposition is strengthening itself daily, and becoming more thoroughly organized for efficient action. It has its seat in Stockholm, and extends its influence throughout the country, chiefly among the mechanic associations, and farming interests. Elder Forssgren found warm friends among the leaders of this party. The king is favorably disposed towards the popular wants, while the majority of the nobility and clergy seem struggling to maintain their power and influence. While measures for reform and extension of liberty, which had been submitted by the king, were under discussion before the legislature last winter (which finally failed) insurrectionary movements were set on foot in Stockholm, and large quantities of troops from a distance were called to maintain order, till the close of the legislature. One of the reform leaders writing to brother Forssgren in March, congratulates us on the liberty we enjoy in Denmark, and the success of our mission there, and says, "no such good has yet come over poor Sweden;" but, he adds, "we still labor in hopes, and are doubling our diligence." The same writer says that (using the documents furnished him by ourselves) he had published several articles refuting the newspaper charges against the Mormons.
A recent letter from elder Forssgren's father, brings news of a newspaper war between the two parties, in which the defender of reform principles animadverts severely upon the priests for their tyranny and oppression of people who had no confidence in their doctrines, and he fails not to charge home upon them with effect, the expulsion of "Mormoniten Forssgren," without judge or jury. I shall continue to watch with deep interest every movement in Sweden, until the yolk is broken, the fetters burst, and Israel that is pent up in those north countries goes free. I cannot feel satisfied to close this brief review of Sweden without treating my readers to a sketch of the vision of Charles XI, king of Sweden, which I find in the Danish over his seal and signature, attested by five officers of state, who were with him on the occasion. Being ill, and of an unusually melancholy frame of mind, he raised himself in bed, about twelve o'clock at night, and on looking towards the window that commanded a view of the legislative hall, saw a light in the hall. The officer in attendance assured him it was only the reflection of the moon's rays upon the windows. Partly pacified with this explanation, he turned himself in bed to seek repose, but being troubled in spirit, he shortly looked and saw the light again. He then demanded of another officer, who that moment called to inquire after his health, if a fire had not broken out in the legislative hall. This man offered the same solution of the light as the first, but on gathering his garment around him, and going to the window, the king not only saw more distinctly a light, but also the appearances of personages in the hall, whereupon he called immediately for the master of the watch, with the keys, and accompanied him and four others to the hall. The king directed him to open the door, but by this time fear had seized upon him and all the others, so that each in turn refused to open the door, and besought the king to excuse them from the task. At their words the king himself began to fear, but renewing his courage he seized the keys and said, they that fear God have nothing in the world to fear, perhaps the gracious Lord will reveal us something, will you follow me? they trembling answered, yes.
As the king opened the door he drew back with terror, but strengthening his resolution he entered and saw a large table surrounded by sixteen grave looking men, with large books before them, and a young king standing at their head, at the motion of whose head they all smote hard upon their books. As he turned himself he saw blocks with instruments for beheading, and executioners, and at the motion of the young king the grave men smote upon their books, and the executioners began the work of beheading. Those beheaded were all young noblemen. The blood flowed down the floor. So real did it appear, that the king examined himself to see if the blood did not cleave to him. As he looked beyond the table at the right of the young king, he saw a throne, partly upset, and a man about forty years of age, whom he took to be the premier, standing near it. "I approached the door," continued the narrative, "and exclaimed, gracious lord, when shall these things be? I received no answer. Again I cried, Lord, when shall these things be? I received no answer, but the young king motioned with his head, while the others smote hard upon their books. I cried the third time loudly, gracious God, when shall all this take place? The young king then replied, not in your day, but in the sixth reign from yours, and that king shall be as you see me to be, then shall be a time of trouble, and the throne well nigh cast down, but it shall be established after the shedding of much blood. He shall sustain and strengthen it, (pointing to the man by the throne), and after shall Sweden experience great prosperity and blessings, such as she has never enjoyed." Further particulars were explained to the king which I do not here give, but the above is the substance, and then the vision vanished, and the king and his men found themselves alone in the hall, with light in hand, and all appeared in its natural state. Whether true or false, the vision is not without its influence upon Sweden. The present incumbent is the sixth prince from Charles XI.
Had the author of the following lines known the calling and mission of the Latter-day Saints, he would have, most unquestionably, represented them in his song; as it is, we offer it to our readers, assuring them that we often appropriate it to our own use.
WIFE, CHILDREN, AND FRIENDS.
When the black letter'd list to the gods was presented—A list of what Fate for each mortal intends:At the long string of ills a kind angel relented,And slipp'd in three blessings—wife, children, and friends!In vain surly Pluto declared he was cheated,For Justice divine could not compass her ends:The scheme of man's folly, he said, was defeated,For earth became heav'n with wife, children, and friends!If the stock of our bliss is in strangers' hands vested,The fund ill secured oft in bankruptcy ends;But the heart issues bills that are never protested,When drawn on the firm of wife, children, and friends!The soldier, whose deeds live immortal in story,Whom duty to far distant latitudes sends,With transports would barter whole ages of glory,For one happy hour with wife, children, and friends!But valor still glows in life's waning embers;The death-wounded tar, who his colours defends,Drops a tear of regret as he dying remembersHow blest was his home with wife, children, and friends!Though the spice-breathing gales o'er his caravan hovers,While 'round him the fragrance of Arabia descends,Yet the merchant still thinks on the woodbine that coversThe bow'r where he sat with wife, children, and friends.The dayspring of youth still unclouded by sorrow,Alone on itself for enjoyment depends;But dreary's the twilight of age when it borrowsNo warmth from the smiles of wife, children, and friends!Let the breath of renown ever freshen and nourishThe Laurel that o'erhisfair favourite bends;O'ermewave the Willow, and long may it flourish,Bedew'd with the tears of wife, children, and friends!
When the black letter'd list to the gods was presented—A list of what Fate for each mortal intends:At the long string of ills a kind angel relented,And slipp'd in three blessings—wife, children, and friends!In vain surly Pluto declared he was cheated,For Justice divine could not compass her ends:The scheme of man's folly, he said, was defeated,For earth became heav'n with wife, children, and friends!
If the stock of our bliss is in strangers' hands vested,The fund ill secured oft in bankruptcy ends;But the heart issues bills that are never protested,When drawn on the firm of wife, children, and friends!The soldier, whose deeds live immortal in story,Whom duty to far distant latitudes sends,With transports would barter whole ages of glory,For one happy hour with wife, children, and friends!
But valor still glows in life's waning embers;The death-wounded tar, who his colours defends,Drops a tear of regret as he dying remembersHow blest was his home with wife, children, and friends!Though the spice-breathing gales o'er his caravan hovers,While 'round him the fragrance of Arabia descends,Yet the merchant still thinks on the woodbine that coversThe bow'r where he sat with wife, children, and friends.
The dayspring of youth still unclouded by sorrow,Alone on itself for enjoyment depends;But dreary's the twilight of age when it borrowsNo warmth from the smiles of wife, children, and friends!Let the breath of renown ever freshen and nourishThe Laurel that o'erhisfair favourite bends;O'ermewave the Willow, and long may it flourish,Bedew'd with the tears of wife, children, and friends!