One year in Scandinavia : results of the gospel in Denmark and Sweden

In Short

This volume serves as both a historical record and a personal testament, documenting the 1850–1851 mission of a prominent Latter-day Saint leader to Scandinavia. Through a collection of correspondence, journal entries, and descriptive essays, the book traces the initial efforts to introduce a new faith into a region dominated by the state-sanctioned Lutheran Church. It captures the tension between the author’s spiritual conviction and the harsh realities of foreign travel, police surveillance, and public vitriol. The work remains an essential account of early international proselytizing, offering a vivid window into the cultural and religious landscape of Northern Europe during a period of significant political transition.

The Story

The narrative begins with a sense of urgent duty. The author, having spent the previous twelve years in near-constant motion—enduring the hardships of the Missouri persecutions and the long trek to the Salt Lake Valley—is called to carry the gospel to Denmark. Accompanied by P. O. Hanson, a native Dane who had previously found the faith in America, he departs his home, leaving behind a family he has barely known. The journey itself is a trial of endurance, crossing plains and oceans, before reaching Copenhagen in June 1850.

Upon arrival, the author finds a city that is a seat of learning and influence but also, in his estimation, a bastion of "priestcraft" and political stagnation. The mission starts in secrecy; he fears that public preaching will invite immediate suppression. He focuses his early energy on organizing small, private meetings while navigating the complexities of Danish law, which, though shifting, remains deeply tethered to the Lutheran establishment. He describes a land of stark contrasts: a "kind and hospitable" peasantry living in relative poverty and filth, contrasted with the fortified order of the capital and the strict, black-gowned presence of the clergy.

The mission soon expands, yet the path remains narrow. As he and his companions begin to baptize and organize branches, they face a barrage of physical and legal opposition. Meetings are broken up by mobs, houses are stoned, and individuals—particularly in the provinces like Jutland—find themselves targeted for their new beliefs. The author chronicles the experiences of his fellow missionary, John Forssgren, whose efforts in Sweden lead to his arrest and eventual expulsion. Forssgren’s ordeal, which involves being smuggled onto an American ship by the police and later detained again on Danish soil, becomes a central point of anxiety and divine interpretation for the group.

Throughout the winter, the author struggles with ill health caused by the damp, foggy climate and the sheer labor of translating the Book of Mormon into Danish. He works tirelessly, resisting the help of "learned professors" who lack the spiritual alignment he deems necessary, instead relying on Hanson and a local teacher. The triumph of finishing the translation is mirrored by the growth of the congregation, which reaches over one hundred members in Copenhagen alone. As spring arrives, the mission matures; they begin to send pairs of missionaries into the countryside and even toward Iceland. The narrative concludes with the author preparing to depart for London to recuperate, satisfied that the "little ship" of his mission has weathered the storms of its first year, leaving behind a nascent community grounded in newfound faith.

How It Unfolds

The Call and Departure The author receives the mandate to head for Scandinavia, leaving his family and the nascent Salt Lake City behind to embark on an eighty-thousand-mile journey. He reflects on the sacrifice of his domestic life, driven by a conviction that the "restoration" of the faith requires a global reach.

Arrival in Copenhagen The mission establishes its base in the Danish capital, viewing it as a strategic hub for influencing all of Scandinavia. The author quickly assesses the political climate, noting the presence of a new constitution that offers only a veneer of religious freedom.

The Swedish Conflict Elder John Forssgren enters Sweden to preach, only to be met with state-enforced exile and police harassment. His story, recounted through letters and the author’s own visions, underscores the dangerous reality of challenging established Lutheran dominance.

Translation and Trials The author spends a grueling winter translating the Book of Mormon, simultaneously managing the growing pains of a persecuted congregation. He balances the spiritual successes of the members—manifested in visions and healings—against the persistent threat of mob violence and state interference.

Expansion and Reflection As the mission stabilizes, the author organizes formal branches and sends new missionaries into the provinces. The book closes with a summary of the first year’s progress, acknowledging both the physical toll on the missionaries and the steady growth of the faithful.

The People

The book is centered on the author, a man of relentless focus and administrative rigor, who views himself as an instrument of divine will. He is consistently caught between the "pressures of circumstances"—the need to translate, to defend his brethren from the police, and to comfort the new converts—and his longing for his distant family. P. O. Hanson, his companion, serves as the vital linguistic and cultural bridge to the Danish people, though he remains a supportive figure in the author’s shadow. John Forssgren emerges as the tragic, courageous focal point of the mission’s struggles in Sweden; his willingness to face imprisonment and deportation highlights the high stakes of the enterprise. The Danish converts, described as "honest souls," appear as a collective, yearning for a spiritual identity outside the cold formalism of the state church. Finally, the "priests" are portrayed as the primary antagonists—a monolithic force of influence who use the law and social stigma to protect their hegemony, though the author expresses a nuanced hope that they might eventually be bypassed by the "right-minded" populace.

In Its Own Voice

"The literature of the great university of Copenhagen has long taken the lead in this north country, so that works published in Danish may be read and understood by a large portion of the Swedes."

The author explains the importance of translating the Book of Mormon into Danish to reach the widest possible audience.

"The priests are often to be seen in the streets with their black gowns and white ruffles."

In his general observations on Denmark, the author notes the visible and pervasive presence of the clergy in everyday life.

"It seemed, indeed, as though the powers of earth and hell were combined to crush the work of the Lord in that land, but through much prayer and fasting we received strength, and the clouds began to disperse."

Describing the intense local resistance, the author reflects on the spiritual battle he believes he is fighting.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book is an inquiry into the nature of institutional change and the cost of religious dissent. It examines how a minority faith attempts to insert itself into a society where religious life is rigidly defined by the state. The author grapples with the tension between "truth" as he understands it and the "priest-ridden" structures of European tradition. Beneath the events, there is a recurring argument that the "fullness of the gospel" provides a necessary, revolutionary freedom that is incompatible with the existing political order. The struggle for religious liberty is not just a matter of law, but a spiritual war against "cold indifference," where the author suggests that the act of conversion itself is a catalyst for personal and societal transformation.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of global religious expansion will find this account invaluable, as it captures the raw, often unvarnished perspective of a missionary operating in a culture that is fundamentally hostile to his message. The book offers a fascinating look at the logistical, linguistic, and physical challenges of the nineteenth-century mission field, from the tedium of manual translation to the terror of mob riots.

However, modern readers should approach the text with an awareness of its era. The author writes from a position of absolute conviction, and his characterizations of the "filthy" habits of the peasantry or the "priest-ridden" nature of the government reflect the subjective biases of a nineteenth-century American observer. The prose can be dense, and the frequent inclusion of letters and journal excerpts creates a fragmented, sometimes repetitive structure that demands patience. Yet, for those who value primary source documents, there is a haunting quality to the author’s descriptions of his dreams, his navigation of icy, flooded landscapes, and his deep, melancholic longing for home. What lingers is not just the missionary success, but the image of a man attempting to build a bridge between the American frontier and the old traditions of the Baltic, capturing a specific, volatile moment in the history of faith.