Anthon L. Skanchy

“ One Sunday, in the summer of 1860, I went to the church located a short distance beyond the city. A little valley lies by the side of the main road. I went into this valley, under some trees, and bent upon my knees and prayed to the Lord with a loud voice. Immediately came a moment of great exaltation, but followed quickly by a voice which spoke to me in a contemptuous tone:
"What is wrong with you? What do you want? You come here and bend upon your knees as a child; you, who have learned your profession so well; you, who have so many friends, and have so much honor and respect! ”

“ It seems as if Nature has here made attempt after attempt to invite wealth and beauty to the children of men. Three months throughout the year the midnight sun shines; the great ocean teems with measureless wealth of food for man. Wherever one turns there is something attractive to behold. ”

“ This part of Norway is called Finmarken. The country is here very barren. No vegetation, excepting grass, is found, and the population, chiefly Finns and Lapps, live on the mountains and care for their great herds of reindeer, or, they live on the islands and fish from season to season. Fishing, as is well known, is the life-blood of Norway's industrial existence. I give these facts because this great mission field is little known, even now, in our Church history.
I was called to go on a mission to Nordland, which includes many cities such as Namsos, Bodo, Harstad, and Tromso. ”

“ On this trip I was arrested for preaching the gospel of Christ and brought by steamer to the city of Hammerfest, where sentence was pronounced on me; and from there, in another steamer to Tromso where I spent ten days in prison on a diet of bread and water. I learned many things from these seasons of imprisonment. I was a young man, healthy and strong, accustomed to moving quickly in my work, and I found that this diet of bread and water did not agree with me; especially as I was given a tiny piece of sour, heavy, dry, coarse bread, about the size of half of my hand, every twenty-four hours. ”

“ I organized a choir, held meetings and preached the gospel with all my might. Many were won to the truth. Those who did not enter the Church, through baptism, are good friends to our people, and respect "Mormonism" with its doctrines and principles of salvation. Among many others, I had the honor to baptize, as a member of the Church, Anna C. Widtsoe. Her son, John, I had the joy to baptize after the family arrived in Utah. Our meeting place, at that time, was on what was known as Mollenberg, in a house belonging to Johnson who later settled in Logan. ”

“ While I had charge of the Scandinavian Mission, Sister Anna C. Widtsoe and her sister Lina Gaarden, were called on a mission to Norway and remained there for about four years. These two sisters traveled over Norway, from the extreme north to the extreme south, and spared neither time nor money in order to bring before the people the gospel. They won honor and friends everywhere for the cause of truth. They bore a great testimony to the world, which we hope will in time bear fruit. ”

“ Not only is the eye pleased, but the spiritual intelligence is touched as well. To me it was as if, in this rugged nature, a new world of inspiration and introspection came from God, who from the beginning had organized the whole land. No wonder that thousands visit summer after summer this land of the midnight sun, this wonderland.
I took passage homeward in a steamer under Capt. J. S. Green, a friend of mine, and a member of the Church. I was very grateful to the Lord for his fatherly care and protection over me during my honest labors both on land and sea ”

“ As I was quick, strong, and endured the sea without becoming sick, I felt that I never needed to take a place inferior to any of the other men. My associates were raw, uncultured seamen. I thought to myself, "Here is something for me to do." I went out among the great rocks that littered the coast and had my prayers and communions with the Lord. Soon I acquired influence over the men and began to teach them to refrain from their fearful swearing and cursing, which they continued from morning until evening. ”

“ My mission was filled with active labors, and I believe much good was accomplished.
In the year, 1888, while I presided over the Christiania Conference, many were baptized into the Church. Among them was Brother Koldstad who afterwards became superintendent of the Christiania Sunday school. His wife seemed to be against the gospel, but the Lord, who knows the hearts of the children of men, made manifest to her when she humbled herself in prayer, that "Mormonism" is a saving message sent by God from the heavens. ”

“ First I went to the island of Hatsel, and from there to a place near Lofoten, in the midst of the wild ocean, and hired out to one of the fishermen, the owner of a large boat. There were six of us in the boat, and during the winter we fished with all our strength in the great Atlantic Ocean. An old house stood on the shore, at a point known as Qualnes, in which the fishermen lived during the fishing season. Twelve men, six from our boat and six from another, lived in the large, one room of the cabin. ”

“ I have forgotten to take care of myself in my desire to care for others. The Lord be honored and praised from now to eternity and forever. Amen. The Lord be merciful with us all and forgive our weaknesses and imperfections.
XVII. THE SIXTH MISSION.
After Bishop Skanchy had returned from his labors as President of the Scandinavian mission, he entered again upon his duties in the bishopric of the Logan Sixth Ward. He rallied the people to his support, and he laid the cornerstone of a new ward chapel, one of the handsomest in the Church. ”

“ It was about the middle of December that one of the brethren who took a boat and rowed me into Gosfjorden, whence I could walk over a mountain, about fourteen miles, until I would be opposite the island which was my destination. The country here was very wild and open, and had great chasms running through it. It was very easy for a person to become hopelessly lost in a maze of wonderful natural phenomena. I bade my good brother goodbye by the ocean side; he gave me explicit instructions for my guidance. ”

“ In 1879, when the Logan tabernacle was completed, and we were at work on the Logan temple, I was called, at the October conference, to go on a mission to Scandinavia. I left Logan in November, 1879, and reached Liverpool, December 12. We had a rough voyage across the ocean. I was sent to Frederickstad, for a short time, then to my native city, Trondhjem, in Norway. Elder Ellingsen, of Lehi, was there when I arrived, but in a couple of months he was released to return to his home. ”

“ The boy was instructed by his mother and is a faithful elder in the Church today.
In the spring of 1867, at a conference held in Christiania, C. C. A. Christensen, who had arrived from Utah, was assigned to preside in Norway. I bade farewell to Aalesund and began my journey up the valley of the Roms, over Dovre mountain again, and then down Guldbrands valley until I reached the little town of Lillehammer, where we had a sister in the gospel, Ellen Buckwald, who was employed in the household of a Mr. Revers, a friend of our people. ”

“ Taken, by a sudden call, from the home, workshop, field, store or office, they have gone out at their own expense, with no special training in speaking or argument, to teach to all the world a system of eternal truth, against which mighty forces have ever been arrayed. ”

“ Hundreds of tourists from various nations visit this place every summer. Here they may see the midnight sun circle around the horizon, through two long months of summer. After we leave North Cape the coast line draws north-east and east to south, until the great Atlantic ocean surrounds Norway's northern, barren and fjord-furrowed coast. ”

“ Some of the faithful old sisters doubted my sincerity, since I had not before attended their meetings; moreover, it was looked upon as a wonder that a young man, like myself, could face the persecution sure to follow the acceptance of a religion so despised as was "Mormonism." At that time there were few young men in the Church. It was soon proposed that I be ordained an elder. ”

“ Mr. Nielsen, who had learned something of the gospel, bore testimony in my behalf, and then everything went wrong. I was not present, but the two must have had a serious time together.
In a few days came a letter from the superior priest to Mr. Nielsen insisting that as Nielsen was a respected man in the community, in order to maintain his good name he must not any longer give me lodging. Mr. Nielsen was now in a tight place, and he presented the matter to me. He did not want to turn me out, yet he desired to favor the chief priest of the district. In fact, so overcome was he that he cried. ”

“ I presented to the First Presidency the necessity of having C. D. Fjeldsted accompany me as he was well acquainted with Denmark. This was permitted. We had a pleasant voyage across the ocean.
In Copenhagen we bought the place where our mission house is now erected. President Fjeldsted was called home again and I remained to arrange the matter. I laid the foundation of the Copenhagen mission house and dedicated the place together with the corner stone the 2nd of March, 1901. The house itself was dedicated on the fourth of July, 1901. ”

“ This became a good foundation for me in the practice and preaching of my dear religion of the future and, through this knowledge of the Bible, I learned to understand a little of the Lord's dealings with the children of men, which became a great blessing and relief to me in the mission field and at home.
After three years of school work I was confirmed, with a very good grade, in the Lutheran church. I had worked now and then in the rope walks and had become greatly interested in this work. I then apprenticed myself to a rope factory, the owner of which was T. H. Berg. ”