Part 1

ANTHON L. SKANCHY

A BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH of the MISSIONARY LABORS of a VALIANT SOLDIER FOR CHRIST

TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY JOHN A. WIDTSOE 1915

[Image captioned "BISHOP ANTHON L. SKANCHY. Born, Trondhjem, Norway, Sept. 17, 1839; died Logan, Utah, April 19, 1914."]

Anthon L. Skanchy

A Brief Autobiographical Sketch of the Missionary Labors of a Valiant Soldier for Christ

Translated and Edited by JOHN A. WIDTSOE 1915

CONTENTS

I. Early Years

II. I Accept the Gospel

III. I Go on My First Mission

IV. Missionary Labors in Nordland and Finmarken

V. Again Before the Courts

VI. How I Spent the Winter in Nordland

VII. The Lord Sends Me Money and More Friends

VIII. I Am Released from My First Mission

IX. I Labor in Aalesund

X. I Preside in Christiania

XI. The Land of Zion

XII. My Third Mission

XIII. My Fourth Mission

XIV. Quiet Years of Home Service

XV. My Fifth Mission

XVI. The Last Word

XVII. The Sixth Mission

XVIII. The End of the Journey

INTRODUCTION

The missionary labors of the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would form a most interesting chapter in the history of human endeavor. Every experience seems to have fallen to the lot of "Mormon" missionaries, who have labored under every clime and among all classes and races of 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. The third generation of this volunteer army is now carrying the gospel over the face of the earth, and the vigor of the work is unabated.

The plain, unstudied sketch herewith presented of a few of the missionary experiences of an elder who spent a third of his long, mature life in foreign missionary service can be duplicated by hundreds of the missionaries of the Church. Simple and straightforward these sketches are; yet, between the lines, may be read every human emotion, from the highest exaltation of spirit to the darkest despair. It would be well if many such missionary lives could be published for the encouragement of all who desire to battle fearlessly for righteousness.

Bishop Anthon L. Skanchy died on April 19, 1914, after a lingering illness of several years. In the midst of the pain of this sickness he wrote these sketches, chiefly of his early mission when he had the privilege of opening the gospel door in the beautifully majestic land of the midnight sun, and of bringing hundreds into the Church. He wrote in his mother tongue, which he loved so well. The eloquent directness, as well as the severe repression of feeling, characteristic of the northern people, are on every page.

A few weeks before his death. Bishop Skanchy entrusted his manuscript to me, to do with it as I might see fit. He hoped that, somehow, his experiences might strengthen the testimonies of others. The missionary instinct was strong within him. I have rendered it freely into English, and, while in so doing it has lost its peculiarly eloquent flavor, I hope it has not wholly lost its power for good. I should greatly love to fulfil the wish of the noble author of these sketches, who was the instrument in the hands of God of bringing to the family to which I belong, and to me, the priceless gift of an understanding of the gospel.

That thousands of such strong men as was Anthon L. Skanchy could and do find a life's satisfaction in the gospel, in spite of the hardships and contempt they must endure, is a strong testimony of the inherent vitality of the message of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

LOGAN, UTAH

Anthon L. Skanchy

A Brief Autobiographical Sketch of the Missionary Labors of a Valiant Soldier for Christ

TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY JOHN A. WIDTSOE.

If any of my friends should interest themselves in reading parts of my life's history, of my missions especially in the northern parts of Norway, they may do so in this short report, and they may depend upon it that what is here written is the truth.

I. EARLY YEARS.

I, Anthon L. Skanchy was born in Trondhjem, Norway, September 17, 1839, the seventh child of Elling Lornsen Skanchy and Mina Ansjon. My father was a sea-faring man, well known, and much sought after as a pilot in northern Norway. He, as many other sea-faring men of that day, became addicted to strong drink, and consequently, though he earned well, there was poverty in the home. My dear mother was compelled to work both day and night to keep the children, who numbered seven in all.

From the time I was eight years old, I had to work and earn something for the family. My boyhood was spent by the water, where the great fjord comes in from the ocean. The shore was low and level, and great sand-spits ran out into the water. There the water ebbed and flowed every six and one half hours, through a distance of eight or ten feet. When the water was low, we could go out to the sand-spits into the fjord, and there I used to fish with one hundred hooks on my line, baited with sand worms. The line was left on the sand, with the end secured, and after fifteen hours, the water again was low and the lines lay in the dry sand with the fish that had been caught by the hooks. The fish thus caught furnished some means to the support of the family. As I grew a little older I was employed by a fisherman, who owned his own boat, and with him learned how to fish. I also worked between times in the rope factory, where I later became apprenticed and learned the trade well.

The school naturally was neglected, and I was there only once in a while. When I was thirteen years old I began, however, to see the necessity of taking proper hold of my schooling, and determined to use my whole time in the attempt to win back what I had lost. My mother could not earn all the necessaries of life for me and herself, and during this period I learned to know the gnawings of hunger and the effects of hunger upon my system. A young school boy as I was could not grow and develop without proper and sufficient food. Those days I can never forget. My mother had a little house of three rooms, built on rented ground. In a little garden around the house she raised potatoes with which to pay the larger part of the rent on the land. Because of broken health and the weakness of my aged father, he had been compelled to quit the sea-faring life, and had journeyed to his oldest son who lived far up in Nordland. There my father resided until his death.

I gave all my time to schooling during three years. I was determined to win back what I had lost, and my interest was centered on the school, and as a result I made good progress. Among other things I was taught the Lutheran religion, and we had regular lessons in the history of the Bible, and explanations of the events and doctrines found in both the Old and the New Testaments. These books on Bible history we were obliged to learn by heart, and I learned my lessons well. 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. I was permitted to remain at home with my mother, and received about $1.12 a week for my support in return for my service. This was pretty good, and occasionally I earned something extra between times. As I remained at home it was possible for me to have a little more liberty than I would have had, had I remained with the other apprentices in the household of the master.

Since I had now left the school, in which I had been so intensely interested, I became possessed of a kind of melancholy which led me to seek the Lord and to study religion more closely. I went for help to the Lutheran priest who had confirmed me, and he loaned me several books on religion and other books containing much useful information, in which I interested myself for some time. Nevertheless, I found no satisfaction as a result of my reading; in fact, I hardly knew what I was reading.

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! Are you not ashamed?"

Under the influence of this voice I began to feel almost ashamed of myself, and of what I was doing. Presently, however, I broke through the mist, and was given power to rebuke the evil spirits and to compel them to draw back. Then a great joy rested upon my soul. I prayed for light. From that time on, I felt as free as a bird in the air.

In the fall of 1860, I finished my apprenticeship. In accordance with the contract, I received my last year's pay, $14; a suit of new black clothes; new shoes; a silk velvet hat of the best kind, and, in the evening, a splendid dinner. It was customary at the end of the apprenticeship to do a piece of work as a proof that the business had been thoroughly learned. I was required to make a long rope, used by ships in measuring the number of knots traveled per hour. I made such a rope, and it was accepted as very good by the shipping committee. After my apprenticeship was over I was offered work in the same factory, but with the difference that I was to receive the pay of a master workman. In those days there was great traffic in rope, because wire cables had not yet been introduced, and there was much building and travel of ships in the city of Trondhjem.

II. I ACCEPT THE GOSPEL.

My uncle Cornelius and his wife, who owned a house in the city, a short time before had been baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by the brothers Dorius, who were the first missionaries in the northern part of Norway. I visited this aunt and presented her with a clothes line which I had made. My aunt was a well spoken lady, very fervent in her faith, and she immediately began to bombard me with "Mormonism." In fact, she lent me a lot of tracts and Scandinavian _Stars_ for me to read. These I began to read, and compared what I read with the Bible.

I had my own room in our home and spent all my spare time in the study of the Bible and the "Mormon" books. I soon borrowed more gospel literature and studied it, with the Bible, both day and night, and prayed to God for aid and guidance in the investigation. The testimony that I had the truth came to me more strongly, until, as it were, I became transformed both in body and spirit through the saving message of the gospel.

In those days, many kinds of spirits made themselves known, but this had no influence upon me, for I had seen even the evil one in the days that I attended school. This may sound peculiar, but I have, in truth, seen with my material, eyes, evil spirits in different appearances, and under such varying conditions that I am absolutely convinced of their existence among us. Both good and evil spirits are among us even here in the valleys of the mountains. I am ever grateful to the Lord that he has permitted me to see and hear such things, as they have been of great use to me in my life's journey. When I investigated the gospel I established an unspeakable faith in the apostle's counsel that the Saints should seek after spiritual gifts. I have the same faith and conviction today.

I reflected much upon the message that had come to me, without saying much to any one. There was a missionary in Trondhjem, Thomasen, by name, from Christiania, a well informed and talented man; also another named John Dahle, from Bergen. These missionaries conducted meetings among the Saints, but I did not visit their meetings, for I was very retiring in my disposition. Meanwhile my oldest sister, Mrs. Martha Hagen, had investigated the gospel and was baptized. Shortly afterward I also became so strongly convinced of the truth of "Mormonism" that I went to Elder Thomasen and asked to be baptized. In the evening of the 16th of January, 1861, I was baptized at Trondhjem, under a most pleasant influence.

After my baptism, I presented myself at one of the meetings of the Saints. It was the first time that I had attended. 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. I felt, however, that I was not possessed of the power and information to receive so high a calling, and I asked that the ordination be postponed for some time. In a later meeting it was suggested again that I should be ordained to the priesthood, and I was then ordained an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Immediately afterwards I was called to assist the missionaries.

Trondhjem, at that time, was notoriously the headquarters of "Mormon" persecution. The authorities had gone to the extreme. They had arrested and severely punished some of our sisters because they had left the legal church of the land and had accepted "Mormonism," and had been baptized into this new Church. Among the sisters so punished were Marit Greslie and Mrs. Olsen, two sisters who later came to Logan and were married to respectable men; also Lena Christensen who later came to Salt Lake City. These sisters were imprisoned and sentenced to five days' imprisonment with a diet of only bread and water. I was also called to the court house at the trial and had to answer many questions put to me by the chief of police. Several of the questions were of such a nature that I did not feel under any obligation to answer them, which did not bring the chief into the best of humor. As a result, the police chief promised me that he should not forget me. He was very bitter in his feelings towards the Saints.

"Mormonism" from that time on, became my guiding star. With great interest I accepted the call to help in bearing testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel, and in visiting the Saints in the city and its surroundings. All this time I continued my work in the rope factory, owned by Mr. Berg, under whom I served my apprenticeship. He was a religious man, a dissenter who had some time before left the Lutheran church and now belonged to a local sect. While my master and I walked up and down the rope walk together spinning hemp, "Mormonism" became the theme of the day, during weeks and months. By this time I had acquired many of the principles of the gospel as taught in the tracts of Orson Pratt and Parley P. Pratt, and I was enabled thereby to continue day after day our interesting discussion.

After I had joined the Church, since it was very difficult to rent a house where meetings could be held, the missionaries secured the largest room in my mother's house. The missionaries lived there, and conducted their meetings there for several years. Many times the house was bombarded by mobs, and my mother had to go and talk to the people in order to disperse them. After a year or so, the persecution quieted somewhat and life became more peaceful. The missionaries had, as it were, a home with my mother, and many enjoyable meetings were held in my mother's house.

After a time my mother also made herself acquainted with the gospel, and developed a faith in it, but was not baptized. On many occasions, during the persecutions, she went out in her garden and preached "Mormonism" to the restless crowd of people standing in the street and around the house. She was well acquainted with the Bible, and at once, when an editor was present in the crowd, he wrote down the principles that she declared to the crowd, and printed them in his paper as the remarkable speech of an old woman. She had a good singing voice and went often to the houses of our neighbors where she sang songs from our hymn book. The missionaries remained in my mother's house, and loved her, during many years, even after I returned from my first mission to Nordland and Finmarken in the northern part of Norway.

Several were baptized at Trondhjem. Several changes occurred among the missionaries, and at one time we were in charge of a local elder, who gave us good counsel and guidance. Later we received as our missionary, Hans A. Hansen from Christiansand, who was sent to Trondhjem to care for the new branch there. This man later became my counselor in the bishopric of the sixth ward of Logan.

I secured frequently at this time leave of absence from the factory for a week or two at a time, in order to accompany the missionaries on their visits to the surrounding districts, such as Stordalen, Indhered, Seldo, Borseskogen. In this manner I learned to know something of the different conditions that a "Mormon" elder has to meet. Often, though he had money, we could not secure the privilege of buying food, or a place in which to sleep, simply because we were "Mormons." Nevertheless, we were of good faith, though we were many times utterly exhausted by the long distances that we had to cover on foot, without proper food. These experiences were of a kind to give us greater preparation for our important work as messengers carrying the glad tidings of the gospel to the people. We felt much interested in our labors, especially since we had the joy of seeing some of the fruits of them. Thus passed the first two years of my membership in the Church.

III. I GO ON MY FIRST MISSION.

Early in the spring of 1863 I was called to be present at the conference to be held in Christiania. I resigned, immediately, my place in the rope factory. According to law, six weeks' notice had to be given when a person resigned from steady employment; but if I was to reach the conference on time, I had to leave at once, for at that time there was no railroad between Christiania and Trondhjem. I was, therefore, obliged to tell the owner of the factory that I had to leave in one week. This was a hard nut for him to crack, especially since he had the law on his side. I told him that I was going to the conference, law or no law, and that I was going to be there on time. He finally gave in to my request, and even offered to meet me in the morning of my departure to bid me goodbye, and promised to send an apprentice to carry my satchel to the city limits.

On the morning of my departure, the master came, according to his agreement, and brought with him an old school teacher, connected with the church, as I supposed for the purpose of driving "Mormonism" out of me. Their plan did not materialize; our discussions were carried on in a friendly way, and at last they bade me goodbye, and gave me their best wishes for my future. The apprentice came and carried my satchel through the city. Thus I left my native city, to begin the many years of missionary service.

A Swedish rope-maker was also on his way to Christiania, and we, therefore, traveled together. We traveled on foot, along the country roads, the 350 miles that separate Trondhjem from Christiania. This was early in the month of March. The roads were difficult to travel for there was much snow. Moreover, neither of us knew the conditions and short cuts of the roads. We had snow shoes along with us, which made our journey more rapid in places where they could be used. On we traveled, day after day; along the valleys, over the hills, now in heavy drifted snow, now where the road was bare from the heavy winds.

In the course of our journey, we finally had to climb Dovre mountain, the highest divide in Norway. The mountain side was covered with drifted snow, and it was exceedingly difficult to walk there. One evening we reached the station known as Grievestuen, the first station north of Dovre mountain, and spent the night there on nearly the highest point of the mountain. This is far above the tree line, and no dwelling houses are found so far up on the mountain. The next day we crossed the mountain, for the first time for me, though it was not to be my last. That day we undertook, as usual, almost too much of a day's journey, for we traveled almost fourteen miles through the heavy drifted snow, to the second station from the one in which we had spent the night. Darkness overtook us. The road was filled with drifted snow, and in our worn-out condition we were in danger of giving up and remaining in the snow throughout the night. I had in my pocket a small bottle of camphor drops of which we took a drop now and then. This seemed to help us, and at length, we reached the station.

The next morning we walked ten or twelve miles downward into the beautiful and well-known Guldbrands Valley. Some days later we reached the beautiful city of Lillehammer, which lies at the end of the great lake of Mjosen. Ships here take passengers to Eidsvold; but, when we arrived, the lake was still covered with ice and we had to continue our foot journey twenty-eight miles farther. At last we reached the town of Gjevig, where we journeyed by ship to Eidsvold, the railroad terminus, where we boarded the train immediately, and found ourselves in Christiania the same day. The long walk was ended.

On the evening of my arrival, the conference began, in the large hall in Storgaden. Elder Rasmus Johansen was president, and the brothers Dorius were also there. I felt like one who has just escaped from a prison--glad and happy. We had a good time together. Nearly all of the missionaries and our local elders were there. During this conference I was called to go to Nordland on a mission, and I received my commission from President Rasmus Johansen. I suppose few of those present knew anything about Nordland at that time.

Soon after the conference, I began, alone, my long tramp of 350 miles, northward, to my native city of Trondhjem. On the return journey, however, I took a somewhat different route, through Osterdalen. On this trip, also, I had to walk across a great mountain and as I was not acquainted with the conditions, it was night before I came down from the mountain, into the nearest village. The people had all gone to bed. I knocked on the door of one of the houses. "Who is there?" asked someone. "A stranger who has come over the mountain," said I. "No, he can get no entertainment here," said a woman, briskly. "Hold on," said a man. "A man who has walked over the mountain alone at this time of night needs rest. I have been out myself and know what it means." He dressed himself, opened the door, put good food on the table, made my bed, and said, "Help yourself." This man was one of the many who has secured, for himself, a reward.

[Image captioned "MISSIONARY CERTIFICATE OF BISHOP ANTHONY L. SKANCHY. This certificate, issued in 1863, bears the endorsement of different police officers, under date of Nov. 2, 1863; June 10, 1864; and May 24, 1865."]