Norway

THE young man on the deck of the ship gazed eagerly toward the Norwegian coast. His name was Knud Pederson Hammer. Formerly a minister in a Baptist church in North Dakota, U.S.A., Knud had become one of the Bible Students (now known as Jehovah’s Witnesses) one year before. Now, in 1892, he was coming back to his native country to preach to friends and relatives.

The majority of Norway’s two million inhabitants were members of the Lutheran State Church. Knud was eager to help sincere Norwegians get to know the true God, Jehovah, and to help them understand that this loving God does not torment sinners in a burning hell. He also wanted to tell them about Christ’s coming Thousand Year Reign, during which the earth will become a paradise.

As the ship approached the coast, Knud scrutinized the contours of this gorgeous land​—a long, narrow country with high, snow-covered mountains, deep fjords, and extensive forests. He realized that it would be a challenge to reach the sparsely populated regions that had few roads and bridges. Although many Norwegians lived in expanding cities, others lived in rural areas, in fishing villages, or on the hundreds of islands dotting the coastline. The result of Knud’s preaching as well as the growth of true worship in Norway in the face of daunting challenges is faith-strengthening and inspiring to God’s people everywhere.

KINGDOM SEED BEARS FRUIT

Although some in the area of Knud’s hometown, Skien, showed interest in his message, he was not able to remain with them but had to return to his family in the United States. In 1899, however, he traveled to Norway again, this time at the request of Charles T. Russell, who had oversight of the work of the Bible Students at the time. Brother Russell wanted Knud to establish a congregation in Norway. Knud brought some copies of the first two volumes of the Millennial Dawn series of books (later called Studies in the Scriptures), which had been translated into Dano-Norwegian. (At that time written Norwegian was similar to Danish, and the publications could be read in both Denmark and Norway.) Knud witnessed to many people and placed some books, but after a while he again needed to return to the United States.

The following year, Ingebret Andersen, who lived just outside Skien, obtained the book then called The Plan of the Ages, probably one of the copies that Knud had brought to Norway. For a long time, Ingebret had been interested in the “second coming” of Christ, and now both he and his wife, Berthe, became absorbed in what they read. Soon Ingebret started to witness to others. He even went to religious meetings to tell people about Christ’s Thousand Year Reign. Later he visited those who showed interest, and soon there was an active congregation of at least ten Bible Students in Skien.

When Knud heard from a relative about the small congregation in Skien, he returned to Norway in 1904 to find Ingebret. Knud stopped a man on the street and asked, “Can you tell me if a man named Ingebret Andersen lives in this area?” “Yes,” answered the man, “that’s me.” Knud was so excited that he opened his suitcase right there in the middle of the street to show Ingebret the books he had brought. Ingebret, of course, was delighted to meet Knud and to see the abundance of literature.

Knud eagerly told his Norwegian fellow believers about the organization and the preaching work. By the time he returned to his family, then living in Canada, the Skien Congregation had received much encouragement to move ahead.

REACHING OTHER PARTS OF NORWAY

The preaching work in Norway received a welcome boost in 1903 with the arrival of three zealous colporteurs (full-time preachers)​—Fritiof Lindkvist, Viktor Feldt, and E. R. Gundersen. Fritiof settled in the capital, Kristiania (now called Oslo), and in 1904 his home became the office of the Watch Tower Society, where literature orders and subscriptions to Zion’s Watch Tower were processed.

Late in 1903, when Brother Gundersen was preaching in Trondheim in central Norway, he witnessed to Lotte Holm, who accepted some literature. Later, she went home to the Narvik area, above the Arctic Circle, and became the first publisher in northern Norway. Afterward, Viktor Feldt went to Narvik and helped two married couples to become Bible Students. They got in touch with Lotte, and soon this small group gathered regularly to study the Bible. Lotte’s sister, Hallgerd, also accepted the truth, and later they both served as zealous pioneers in various parts of Norway.

Brothers Feldt and Gundersen had particularly good response to their preaching in Bergen in 1904 and 1905. Zion’s Watch Tower of March 1, 1905, reported: “A prominent preacher of the Free Mission church of [Bergen] has become thoroughly grasped by the clear light, and he is now setting forth the full and true Gospel to his always large and attentive audiences.”

That preacher was Theodor Simonsen, who was later expelled from the Free Mission Church for teaching the wonderful new truths he had learned from our publications. The church’s loss, however, was the Bible Students’ gain. Among Jehovah’s people, Theodor was much appreciated as a brother and a speaker. Later, he settled in Kristiania, where there was a growing congregation of Bible Students.

[Picture on page 88]

Knud Pederson Hammer