,,one ,,year ,,in ,,scandinavia3        
,,results ,,of ,,the ,,gospel ,,in      
,,denmark ,,and ,,sweden--,,sketches    
,,and ,,observations  ,,on ,,the        
,,country ,,and ,,people--,,remarkable  
,,events--,,late ,,persecutions ,,and   
,,present ,,aspect ,,of ,,affairs4    99
 99 99 99 99    ,,by ,,erastus ,,snow1  
,,one ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,apostles    
,,of ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,jesus        
,,christ ,,of ,,latter-,,day  ,,saints4 
,,price ,,threepence4    ,,liverpool3   
,,published ,,by ,f4 ,d4 ,,richards1    
#ae1 ,,wilton ,,street4    #ahea4    99 
99 99 99 99    ,,liverpool3 ,,printed   
,,by ,r4 ,,james1 ,,south ,,castle      
,,street4    99 99 99 99 99             
,,contents4    ,extract of a ,letter    
from ,erastus ,snow to the ,first       
,presidency4 ,august  #agth1 #ahej      
,extract from the ,private ,journal of  
,e4 ,snow4    ,letter to ,z4 ,snow1     
,esq41 of ,canton1 ,ohio4 ,february     
#adth1 #ahea    ,letter to ,president   
,brigham ,young4 ,liverpool1 ,july      

#ajth1 #ahea    ,extract of a ,letter   
from ,elder ,forssgren4 ,july #ast1     
#ahea    ,extract from ,elder ,snow's   
,reply4 ,rock ,ferry1 ,july #aath1 #ahea
    ,,denmark--,general ,observations on
 the ,country and ,people4              
,,sweden--,general ,observations on the 
state of the ,country1 politically  and 
religiously--,visions1 ,marvellous      
,occurrences and ,events--,present      
,prospects1 c4    ,,poetry4--,wife1     
,children1 and ,friends4                
,,introduction4    ,the author was born 
in the ,state of ,vermont1 ,november    
#ith1 #ahah2 first  believed the fulness
 of the ,gospel in the spring of #ahcb2 
first saw the  ,prophet ,joseph ,smith  
in ,december1 #ahce1 in ,kirtland1      
,ohio1 which was  then head quarters of 
the ,church1 was ordained one of the    
,seventies the  following spring1 and   
has been engaged in the ministry ever   
since2 was  with the ,saints through    
their persecutions in ,missouri and     
,illinois2  was in prison with the      

,prophets1 ,joseph and ,hyrum1 in       
,missouri2 carried  the chain for       
surveying the first town lots of        
,nauvoo2 was one of the  two ,latter-day
 ,saints who first entered ,salt ,lake  
,valley2 has crossed  the back-bone of  
the ,american continent four times1 and 
travelled1  probably1 not less than     
eighty thousand miles on that continent1
 but  never1 until this mission1 left   
his native shore1 or was absent from    
his family more than one year at a time4
 ,and during a period of over  twelve   
years1 in which he has had a family1 he 
has at no one time been  permitted to   
remain with them so long as one year    
with the single  exception of one year  
and twenty-nine days in the ,salt ,lake 
city1 prior  to this mission4 ,robbed   
and plundered in common with his        
brethren1 he  transplanted his family   
through poverty and deep affliction to  
that  resting place4 ,the first year    
spent in surmounting the difficulties of
  a new country1 and while collecting   

materials for building1 the voice  of   
inspiration cried1 ,to the nations1 oh6 
ye elders of ,israel4 ,his  destination 
was ,denmark2 to be accompanied by      
brother ,p4 ,o4 ,hanson1 a  native of   
,copenhagen1 who had been mysteriously  
led by the ,spirit to  ,america1 in     
search of the ,kingdom of ,god1 and     
found it in time to sup  with the       
,saints their cup of afflictions1 and   
accompany them to the  mountains4       
,thursday1 of the same week in which the
 mission was first  intimated1 was fixed
 for starting1 though subsequent        
circumstances  caused a little longer   
delay4 ,the parting is left to          
conjecture4 ,god be  thanked for a      
family that amid the overflowing        
emotions of the heart  never say don't  
go4 ,the journey over the plains1 four  
hundred miles  of mud1 through          
,missouri2 the trip through the ,states1
 crossing the  ,atlantic1 visit in      
,england1 voyage from ,hull to          
,copenhagen1 the first  scenes in       

,denmark1 are all to some extent known  
to the ,english ,saints1  and however   
many associations of interest they might
 awaken1 the writer  has no design here 
to recapitulate them4    ,the pressure  
of business and haste with which these  
items have been  thrown together1 is the
 only apology for the use made of the   
following  extracts of private letters1 
which were never intended for           
publication4        ,,one ,,year ,,in   
,,scandinavia4        ,,extract ,,of ,a 
,,letter ,,from ,,erastus ,,snow4       
,copenhagen1 ,denmark1 ,august #agth1   
#ahej4    ,,to ,,the ,,first            
,,presidency ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,of   
,,jesus ,,christ ,,of ,,latter-,,day    
,,saints2 ,,greeting3    ,beloved       
,brethren1--,knowing your anxiety1 and  
your prayers and unceasing  diligence   
for ,zion at home1 and for the welfare  
of the cause of ,god in  all the world1 
,i take great pleasure in writing to you
 at this time1  to communicate to you a 
statement of the condition and prospect 

of  affairs in this part of the         
vineyard1 in which it has pleased ,god  
and  my brethren to assign my labours   
for a season4 99 99 99 99 99    ,by the 
advice and consent of those of the      
,twelve who were in ,england1  ,i       
concluded to take with me ,elder ,george
 ,p4 ,dykes--he having preached  before 
to the ,norwegians in ,illinois1 and    
having a little knowledge of  their     
language as well as manners and customs4
 ,i thought1 if the ,lord  opened the   
way1 to send him into that country1 to  
open the door of the  gospel among them4
    ,the spirit of the ,lord seemed to  
lead me to this city1 to commence my    
labors4 ,from my first appointment my   
mind rested upon ,copenhagen1 as  the   
best place in all ,scandinavia to       
commence the work1 and every thing  has 
since strengthened my convictions4 ,it  
is the capital of ,denmark1  and was1 at
 one time1 the capital of the united    
kingdoms of ,denmark1  ,norway1 and     
,sweden4 ,it is a beautiful city1       

strongly fortified1  numbering about    
#adj1jjj inhabitants1 and is by far the 
largest and most  influential town in   
the kingdom2 and from its central       
position1 on the  east side of the      
,island of ,zealand1 within sixteen     
miles of the ,swedish  shore1 it affords
 an easy communication by steamboat to  
the principal  places of ,norway1       
,sweden1 and ,denmark4 ,it is the seat  
of learning for  all the north of       
,europe2 and1 ,i might add1 of          
priestcraft1 infidelity1  and politics2 
and in my opinion1 it possesses more of 
the spirit of  freedom than any other   
place in this part of the world         
notwithstanding4    ,after the          
separation of ,sweden1 ,norway still    
continued under the ,danish  government 
until the fall of ,napoleon1 and then   
the ,allied ,powers1 as  a sort of      
punishment upon ,denmark for her        
alliance with ,france1 gave  ,norway to 
the king of ,sweden2 since which time   
,norway1 though nominally  subject to   

the ,swedish king1 has had her domestic 
legislature1 and  enjoyed a greater     
degree of political freedom than either 
of the other  two countries4    ,the    
government of ,denmark1 until recently1 
was an absolute monarchy4  ,the king and
 his ministry both made and executed the
 law1 and the  ,lutheran clergy had the 
superintendence and control of all the  
primary  schools1 and public instruction
 of the country1 with the exception  of 
certain special privileges granted to   
the ,jews1 and to foreign  mechanics who
 had been invited into the country4 ,but
 no foreigner  was permitted to attempt 
to proselyte from the ,evangelical      
,lutheran  ,church1 or preach against   
her doctrines1 on pain of being expelled
  from the country1 which has been      
enforced against several foreign        
missionaries within the last ten or     
fifteen years2 and would have been      
against us1 in all probability1 if we   
had come a little sooner4 ,mr4  ,peter  
,c4 ,monster1 the ,baptist reformer1    

introduced immersion1 and now  his      
followers number in ,denmark about three
 hundred and sixty4 ,at first  he was   
fined1 afterwards imprisoned1 and when  
he had served out one  term in prison1  
he would preach until the priests would 
cause him to be  arrested and imprisoned
 again2 and so continued until he was   
imprisoned  six times1 and three years  
in all4 ,meanwhile ,french philosophy1  
infidelity1 and republican principles   
have been increasing in this city  and  
throughout the country1 until about the 
time of the late revolution  in ,france1
 the death of the old king of ,denmark  
afforded the ,danish  people an         
opportunity to reform their government4 
,the heir to the throne was kept at bay 
until a constitution or ground  law was 
agreed upon1 signed1 and proclaimed1    
,june #e1 #ahdi4 ,this  secures to the  
people a ,rigsdagen or legislature1 to  
be elected  by the people2 and quite as 
much ,,political ,,freedom as is enjoyed
 in  ,england4 ,the press is            

sufficiently free and untrammelled for  
all  purposes for which we wish to use  
it2 and while it protects and  supports 
the ,lutheran ,church as the ,state     
,church1 it secures to the  citizens the
 right to dissent and organize other    
societies2 but the  rights and          
privileges of such societies are to be  
defined by law4 ,the  old laws are to be
 enforced until the legislature shall   
organize the  different departments of  
government1 and provide all the         
necessary laws  and regulations for     
carrying into effect the new            
constitution4    ,lutheranism is        
protected by similar laws in ,norway and
 ,sweden4 ,not  long ago some           
,methodists were expelled from ,sweden1 
and quite recently  some ,baptists near 
,gottenburgh were arrested and sentenced
 to leave  the country2 and an appeal   
was taken to the king1 and petitions    
sent  in against the decision2 and quite
 a war is going on in the ,swedish      
papers about it2 and ,i pray that it may

 be increased1 until ,norway and        
,sweden shall follow the example of     
,denmark4 ,i feel quite willing that    
the ,lord should use the ,methodists and
 ,baptists to prepare the way for  the  
fulness of the gospel2 for their systems
 are less exceptionable to  the wicked1 
and they have more sympathy to sustain  
them4 ,how truly can  we behold in these
 things1 as in every other move among   
the nations1  the fulfilment of the     
words of ,jesus in the ,book of ,mormon1
 that when  these things shall come     
forth among the ,gentiles1 the work of  
the  ,father shall commence among the   
nations1 in ,,preparing ,,the ,,way for 
the  restoration of thee1 ,o ,house of  
,israel4    ,we landed here1 ,june #ad4 
,the first legislature elected under the
  new constitution was in session4 ,they
 adjourned in ,july to meet  again in   
,october4 ,the first session was        
occupied with the political  and        
financial affairs1 and they adjourned   
without providing the  laws necessary   

for carrying into execution the         
provisions of the  constitution relative
 to religious societies4 ,there is a    
number of  priests in the legislature1  
and they will stave off any action on   
the subject as long as they can4 ,among 
other important reforms that  will be   
much in our favor1 is the abolition of  
the odious internal  passport system4   
,formerly their own citizens were liable
 to arrest and  imprisonment1 if they   
were caught even for one night beyond   
the limits  of their own town or parish 
without a passport4 ,this continual     
renewing  of passports1 signing and     
countersigning them by the police       
officers at  every stopping place1 and  
the inconvenience and expense attending 
it1  has always been a source of great  
annoyance to those who wish to travel4  
,we have not been able as yet either to 
preach in ,danish1 or write for  the    
press2 and we have thought it wisdom not
 to create much excitement  until we are
 fully organized1 and speak the language

 better4 ,elder  ,hanson is now engaged 
in translating some extracts from our   
works1  which ,i intend for the press4  
,i intend1 if the ,lord will1 soon to   
publish in ,danish1 a short history of  
the rise and progress of the  ,church1  
and its faith and doctrines4 ,he had    
previously translated a  few ,,extracts 
from the ,doctrine and ,covenants1 such 
as ,i thought wise  for the benefit of  
the believers2 also ,,revised ,,some    
,,choice ,,passages in  the ,book of    
,mormon4 ,brother ,hanson had been so   
long in ,america1 that  he had become   
very dull in his native tongue2 and     
having no ,bible or  any other ,danish  
book with him in ,america1 as might have
 been expected1  his translation of the 
,book of ,mormon was very imperfect1 and
 will  necessarily have to be thoroughly
 revised before it goes to press4       
,last ,monday1 the #abth of ,august1 we 
began to baptize1 and baptized  fifteen 
the first night1 and eleven more during 
the week1 making  twenty-six in all4    

,the greater part of these are from ,mr4
 ,monster's  followers1 and the best he 
had2 and many more of them are          
believing1  while the rest of them are  
full of wrath and indignation4 ,mr4 ,m4 
himself1 who received us at first1 and  
opened the way for us to form           
acquaintances with his people1 now      
stands as it were upon a pinnacle1      
undecided whether to forsake his people 
or the truth2 still he will not  turn   
against us and those who have left him2 
his influence is exerted  for good1 and 
,i still hope and pray that he may      
follow4 ,among those who  are baptized  
are ,germans1 ,swedes1 and ,danes--all1 
however1 understand  the ,danish4 ,they 
are well-grounded in the work and       
firm--,we had with  us one copy of      
,elder ,o4 ,hyde's ,german work1 which  
we kept moving among  the ,dutch1 and   
when we found any that could read       
,english1 we gave them  ,english books2 
and to the ,danes we read ,brother      
,hanson's translation  of the ,book of  

,mormon and ,doctrine and ,covenants1 c4
 ,we have operated  only in private1 and
 in small family meetings2 but we have  
now arrived  at the time when we shall  
no longer seek retirement but notoriety4
 ,we  hope soon to find a large public  
place1 and we thank ,god that the seed  
has sprung up1 and has deep root2 so    
that if we are banished from the        
country1 the work will spread4    ,the  
,lord has visited these believers with  
many visions1 and dreams1 and           
manifestations of the ,holy ,spirit1 and
 some have told us that they had  seen  
us in visions before we came4 ,they have
 drawn out of us by their  faith1 every 
thing pertaining to the gathering1 the  
redemption of the  dead1 c41 and drink  
it in as an ox drinketh up water4    ,i 
hope before long to have many of them   
scattered over the country1  preaching  
the word4 ,if the ,lord permit1 ,i shall
 endeavor to get the  ,book of ,mormon  
published in the course of the fall and 
winter4 ,i have  not much means towards 

it as yet1 but have the promise of      
backers in  ,england1 so that ,i trust  
the way will open for publishing by the 
time  it can be properly revised1 and ,i
 can know that it appears in ,danish  in
 its own native simplicity and truth4   
,the literature of the great  university
 of ,copenhagen has long taken the lead 
in this north country1  so that works   
published in ,danish may be read and    
understood by a large  portion of the   
,swedes2 and as for ,norway1 although   
they have their  rustic dialects1 yet   
the ,danish is the public language of   
the ,state4    ,i should like to know   
your minds about the ,book of ,doctrine 
and  ,covenants1 whether1 if the ,lord  
should raise up much people in this     
country1 and the way should be opened   
before us1 it would be advisable  to    
attempt to translate and publish it     
entire1 or publish from time to  time1  
such portions of it as circumstances    
shall seem to require4 ,what  little ,i 
have seen and learned1 convinces me of  

this fact1 that it is  no easy matter to
 translate them with all the force and  
spirit with  which those revelations are
 written in ,english4 ,the ,english is  
much the  richest language1 and the     
,,idiom of the two are ,,entirely       
,,different4    ,as far as my experience
 and observation extend1 the ,danes are 
a kind  and hospitable people1          
especially the middle and lower classes2
  and a higher tone of morality         
pervading them1 than exists in the      
corresponding classes in ,england and   
,america2 and if ,i mistake not my      
feelings1 the ,lord has many people     
among them4    ,brother ,john ,forssgren
 accompanied us to this place and       
stopped a few  days with us1 and then we
 blessed him and sent him on his way4   
,the ,lord  is with him1 he is full of  
faith and the ,holy ,ghost4 ,from here  
to the  home of his childhood where his 
relatives are1 is about six hundred     
miles in a north east direction up the  
,baltic4    ,all that we have heard from

 the ,valley since we left1 was your    
,general  ,epistle of ,april #ab1 which 
was brought from the ,valley to the     
,bluffs  by ,mr4 ,livingston1 and from  
there to ,liverpool by ,elder ,pratt1 a 
proof  sheet of which was forwarded to  
me in a letter1 which ,i received ,july 
#bg1 and after perusing it1 forwarded it
 to brother ,forssgren4 ,it was a       
precious morsel to us all4    ,as to the
 signs of the times and the aspect of   
affairs among the  nations of ,europe1  
dark forebodings of the future seem to  
pervade all  hearts1 and the heads of   
the nations seem to be conscious that   
they are  steering the ship of ,state in
 ,,dangerous ,,seas4 ,denmark is at     
present  the point of the greatest      
interest4 ,the ,dukedoms of ,holstein   
and  ,sleswick1 which are mostly        
,german1 have been in a state of        
,,revolt ever  since the death of the   
old king4 ,the new government has been  
unable  to compel their submission4     
,several severe battles have been       

fought1  and both parties still seem to 
be more and more desperate4 ,on the     
#bcrd  and #bdth ,july1 a battle was    
fought in ,sleswick1 in which out of    
about  #cj1jjj engaged on ,,each ,,side1
 they sustained a loss of about #djjj   
,,each1  according to their             
acknowledgments2 but as the official    
reports have  been kept from the public1
 it is generally believed that the loss 
was  much greater4 ,over #cjjj wounded  
were brought to this city1 and all the  
hospitals had the appearance of         
slaughter-houses and the surgeons1      
butchers4    ,considered by itself      
alone1 this domestic war might not      
disturb the  peace of ,europe2 but there
 is a secret at the bottom1 which       
interests  the great powers4 ,by a      
glance at the map1 you will see that    
,denmark's  stronghold at ,elsinore     
holds the key to the ,baltic1 and taxes 
all  nations who traffic upon her       
waters4 ,this is an outlet for the      
,russian  fleet1 and for the commerce of

 ,prussia and other ,german ,states1 as 
well as ,sweden4 ,the ,german ,states1  
including ,prussia1 are aiming to       
establish a ,,federal ,,union1 and to   
build a fleet1 that they may be able  to
 compete with the great powers of       
,europe4 ,sleswick and ,holstein are    
essential to that union on account of   
their harbors upon the ,north ,sea  for 
their fleets4 ,they being ,germans1 are 
like minded1 and wish to  throw off the 
,danish yoke2 in doing which they have  
the support of all  ,germany4 99 99 99  
99    ,since ,i commenced writing this  
letter1 the postman has brought me one  
from brother ,j4 ,forssgren1 dated      
,stockholm1 ,aug4 #acth1 of which ,i    
will  give you a summary4 ,he says he   
baptized his brother and sister1 and one
  or two others at ,geffle2 and by      
request translated brother ,o4 ,pratt's 
pamphlet on the rise and doctrine of the
 ,church2 but the printers  refused to  
publish it4    ,he next heard of a ship 
load of farmers about to sail for ,new  

,york1 and  went to them1 and while they
 were waiting for the vessel1 he        
preached  the gospel to them1 and found 
them a humble people1 who were looking  
for the redemption of ,israel1 and were 
going to seek for ,zion in  ,america4   
,he baptized some sixteen or seventeen  
of the farmers1 and many more  were     
believing4 ,he ordained two elders and  
some teachers1 c41 gave  them           
instructions how to watch over and teach
 the company1 and baptize  others that  
should desire it4 ,this he finished on  
the #gth inst41 and  preached the same  
evening at #e o'clock p4m41 in the woods
 just out of  town4 ,having preached    
there once before1 it had been noised   
abroad1 and  the grove was full of      
priests and people2 the former1 however1
 together  with the marshal1 were       
secreted behind trees and rocks4    ,he 
preached and bore testimony of the word 
with power1 and many were  pricked in   
their hearts4 ,after he had closed and  
dismissed1 the  marshal1 with the       

priests and police1 arrested him1       
variously insulted  him1 marched him    
through the town1 and proclaimed the    
dipper1 c41  and arraigned him before   
the governor of the city1 and all the   
priests4  ,having an ,american passport 
he was sent to ,stockholm4 ,the king was
 not  at home2 neither the ,american    
charge-d'affairs4 ,he was had several   
times before the courts in ,stockholm1  
and when the ,american ,,charge came    
home on the #abth1 he1 with the judges1 
police1 and all hands1 tried  to        
persuade him to quit his preaching2 but 
he told them1 the will of  the ,lord    
should be his will4 ,he adds in a       
postscript1 that they had  concluded to 
send him out of the country2 but he had 
not learned how  they would send him4   
,he further adds1 that he should preach 
there by  invitation the next eve4 ,i   
immediately wrote to him1 not to leave  
till  he was obliged1 and then to ordain
 such as were worthy1 and come to       
,denmark4    ,dear ,brethren1 ,elders   

,dykes1 ,hanson1 and myself unitedly    
greet you and  the saints of ,god1 with 
warm emotions of brotherly love2 and we 
pray  our ,father in heaven1 that we may
 be preserved to rejoice together  again
 in the flesh4    ,yours truly and      
affectionately1    ,,erastus ,,snow4    
,p4 ,s4 ,aug4 #bj4--,we have baptized   
thirty four persons1 and more are       
ready4 ,a very scurrilous letter about  
the ,mormons1 from ,america1 has  just  
appeared in a ,copenhagen paper         
translated from a ,french paper4 ,it  is
 the first of the kind that has         
appeared4    ,e4 ,s4        ,,extract   
,,from ,,the ,,private ,,journal ,,of   
,e4 ,,snow4    ,after hearing of the    
arrest and treatment of ,brother        
,forssgren in  ,sweden1 ,i wrote to him 
to come over to ,denmark and labour with
 us4 ,a  few days after ,i felt much    
anxiety for his safety2 and fearing lest
  the ,swedish government should either 
put him in close confinement1 or        
smuggle him away privately to the       

,united ,states1 we unitedly prayed     
that he might be delivered and come to  
us in safety4 ,i went to bed1  and      
dreamed of seeing him in water up to his
 arms1 and held by a man  whom ,i       
understood to be an officer4 ,i thought 
he was anxious to come  to where ,i     
stood on the shore4 ,the officer seemed 
waiting for the  decision of his        
superiors1 whom ,i saw with a crowd at a
 distance4 ,he  received his orders1 but
 ,i could not understand them4 ,brother 
,forssgren  was immediately released1   
and pressed hard through the water to   
come  to me2 but1 before he got out of  
reach1 the officer thrust his hand      
quickly under the water behind1 and     
caught his leg or garment1 and  pulled  
his feet from under him1 which dipped   
his head under water4 ,i  saw his       
perilous situation1 but could not render
 him any assistance4  ,another man1 of a
 kind expression of countenance1 stood  
near them1 to  whom ,brother ,forssgren 
called with an agonizing voice for help4

 ,he went  and raised his head out of   
the water1 and made the officer let him 
go4  ,he started again to come to me1   
and ,i awoke4 ,september #ahth1 ,brother
  ,forssgren arrived in ,copenhagen and 
related his story1 which explained  my  
dream4 ,it runs as follows3--,after     
being examined and bearing  testimony   
before the authorities1 civil and       
ecclesiastical1 in ,geffle  and         
,stockholm1 he was held as a prisoner at
 large in the latter place1  not being  
permitted to preach or to leave town2   
but the newspapers  published accounts  
of his doings and sayings1 and his      
whereabouts in  ,stockholm1 and the     
result was that many people flocked to  
see him1  both from town and country4   
,he was invited to visit among them1 and
  to their mechanic club meetings4 ,thus
 he instructed many in private1  and    
made many warm friends2 and1 as some    
began to desire baptism1 the  police    
took him by night and put him on board  
an ,american vessel1 which  was ready to

 start for ,new ,york2 paid his passage1
 and requested the  captain to see that 
he did not land until he reached ,new   
,york4 ,but  ,elder ,forssgren soon won 
the friendship of the captain2 and when 
they  arrived at ,elsinore1 where the   
vessel called to pay toll1 the captain  
landed him on ,danish ground4 ,very soon
 after landing he was arrested  by the  
,danish police1 at the instigation of   
the ,swedish consul of that  place1 and 
was about to be re-shipped for ,new     
,york4    ,he now ascertained that the  
,swedish authorities at ,stockholm1     
fearing  that he might land in ,denmark 
and recross the sound into another part 
of ,sweden1 had sent despatches to their
 consul at ,elsinore 7the only  place   
where the vessel would stop17 describing
 him and the vessel1  and directing the 
consul to see that he was shipped to    
,new ,york4 ,he  produced his ,american 
passport1 and claimed the protection of 
the ,hon4  ,walter ,forward1 ,american  
minister to ,denmark1 who had just      

landed in  that place from ,copenhagen4 
,my previous interviews had won the     
friendship of ,mr4 ,forward1 who        
quickly came to his assistance1 and     
effected his release1 repudiating  the  
aspersions of his enemies1 and          
accompanied him to ,copenhagen1 where   
he arrived in good health1 full of joy  
and the ,holy ,ghost1 having been       
absent from us about three months4    99
 99 99 99 99    ,the following extract  
from a private letter1 which found its  
way into  the ,frontier ,guardian1      
contains some further particulars4      
,,letter ,,to ,z4 ,,snow1 ,,esq41 ,,of  
,,canton1 ,,ohio4    #aif ,norgesgade1  
,copenhagen1 ,denmark1 ,february #adth1 
#ahea4    ,brother ,zerubable1--,i have 
received1 through ,elder ,pratt1 the    
letters  you sent him to be forwarded to
 me2 and was very thankful for them1 and
  perhaps you have expected an answer   
before now1 but ,i have deferred        
writing as long as ,i thought ,i could  
in safety and have my letters  reach you

 before you start for the ,valley2 and  
you will be able to  carry a report of  
me up to this date1 in case the letters 
which ,i sent  by mail fail to reach my 
family4 ,i was very much pleased at the 
good  spirit which was breathed in your 
letters1 and particularly that you  were
 so decided about going to that peaceful
 home of ,saints early in  the spring4  
,your appointment as ,judge of the      
,supreme ,court of ,utah territory1 was 
from the ,lord1 though it came through  
the ,president1 and will doubtless  be a
 blessing unto you1 in a pecuniary point
 of view2 and if you are  wise in the   
use of it1 may be a blessing unto many  
thousands4 99 99 99 99 99  99    ,i     
suppose the ,valley news of a general   
nature you will have obtained  from the 
papers2 probably you will also see my   
letters in the ,star1  and learn a      
little how we prosper here4    ,this is 
a well fortified and pleasant city4 ,the
 winter has been  pleasant--but little  
snow2 and about the temperature of ,new 

,york4 ,i  have good health1 and plenty 
of business1 warm friends1 and plenty of
  enemies4    ,this is a perfect        
priest-ridden and king-ridden people1   
but many honest  souls among them4 ,we  
have had some persecution in this city1 
7saying  nothing of the flood of lies   
that always follows the truth71 such as 
breaking up our meetings1 stoning houses
 and windows and the like1 but  not so  
much here as in some other places in the
 kingdom4    ,brother ,dykes1 who is now
 laboring in the province of ,jutland1  
has had  a hard time1 and made some     
hair-breadth escapes from his enemies1  
but  has been greatly blessed           
notwithstanding1 and has baptized over  
fifty4    ,brother ,john ,forssgren1    
7whose persecution and expulsion from   
,sweden  ,i mentioned in my letter in   
the ,star71 has fared but little better 
in ,denmark4 ,he and a ,danish brother  
was mobbed1 and variously  maltreated   
lately in ,roskilde1 the old capital of 
,denmark2 and after  two days complete  

uproar in the town1 they were expelled  
by the chief  authorities of the town1  
against all law4 ,notwithstanding all   
these  things1 we rejoice continually in
 the ,lord our ,god1 who blesses our    
labors and pours out the ,holy ,ghost   
upon us and the ,saints1 with its  gifts
 and blessings1 visions and dreams1     
prophecy and healing1 casting  out      
devils1 c4 ,we have baptized about one  
hundred and fifteen in this  city1 and  
have a good prospect4 ,we are but       
miserable tools in the  ,danish         
language1 at the best1 but the ,lord    
makes weak things become  strong unto   
them who believe4    ,pray for us       
continually1 that we may do a good work4
    ,i am now very busily engaged with  
brother ,hanson1 in translating and     
publishing the ,book of ,mormon2 it is a
 very laborious and tedious work  to get
 it issued clean and pure1 according to 
the simplicity of the  original2 and    
requires the closest attention4 ,i am   
publishing three  thousand copies--have 

only one hundred and sixty-eight pages  
finished1  it will take me till ,may or 
,june4 ,i circulate two hundred by the  
sheet1  weekly4    ,yours1 c4    ,e4    
,,snow4        ,,letter ,,to ,,president
 ,,brigham ,,young    #ae1 ,wilton      
,street1 ,liverpool1 ,july #ajth1 #ahea4
    ,beloved ,president1--,as ,i        
intimated in my letter of last ,august1 
,i have  made an exertion1 and through  
the blessing of ,god after eight months 
faithful and unceasing application1 have
 succeeded in the translation  and      
publication of the ,book of ,mormon1 in 
the ,danish language2 a copy  of which  
,i hope to have the opportunity of      
sending you soon4    ,i have issued an  
edition of three thousand copies2 ,i    
should have had it  stereotyped1 and    
issued a smaller edition first1 if ,i   
could have found  a stereotype foundry  
in the kingdom1 but ,denmark is a little
 behind the  age in this as in most     
other improvements4 ,they are now being 
thrown  into circulation by the         

brethren1 and a bookdealer of           
,copenhagen4    ,in the work of         
translation1 ,i employed such help1 as  
the ,lord furnished  to my hand1 feeling
 that it was better so to do1 than to   
confide it to  learned professors who   
were not imbued with the spirit of the  
work4 ,i  sought the acquaintance of    
several1 but could not feel satisfied in
  spirit to confide the work to either  
of them4 ,after brother ,hanson  became 
improved in his language1 by a few      
months' practice1 ,i set him  to        
re-writing and revising his old         
translation1 and soon a ,danish lady1  a
 teacher of ,french1 ,german1 and       
,english1 embraced the faith1 whom ,i   
employed to assist in the work2 but ,i  
did not allow it to go to press  until  
,i had become sufficiently acquainted   
with the language1 as ,i  believed to   
detect any error in sentiment1 and given
 it a thorough  review with them a third
 time4    ,i feel that ,i have done the 
best ,i could under the circumstances1  

and  that the ,lord has accepted it and 
will add his blessing4 ,as the ,saints  
began to peruse its sacred pages1 the   
,holy ,ghost descended upon them1  and  
bore record of it in a marvellous       
manner1 speaking to some in  dreams1    
visions1 and divers manifestations1     
which caused our hearts to  magnify the 
,lord4    ,in ,september1 ,i published a
 small work1 entitled ,the ,voice of    
,truth to  the honest in heart1         
containing a sketch of the rise of the  
,church and  its doctrines2 and in      
,march ,i published one containing the  
articles of  the ,church1 and several   
extracts of revelations1 for the        
instruction  and government of the      
,saints1 and also a small collection of 
some of  our best hymns1 put into       
,danish1 and adapted to the tunes used  
in ,zion4  ,these little publications   
were a great help to us1 and a source of
 much  joy to the ,saints4    ,those who
 have laboured as you have for many     
years in a cold world to  preach the    

word of life1 can easier imagine than ,i
 can describe the  sensations of our    
bosoms on hearing the ,songs of ,zion in
 a foreign  tongue1 and the ,saints     
relate their dreams and visions1 and    
pray  for ,zion and the ,presidency1 and
 the travelling ,elders and ,saints     
throughout the earth4    ,on the #aeth  
,september1 #ahej1 we duly organized    
,jesu ,christi ,kirke af  sidste dages  
,helege in ,denmark1 consisting of fifty
 members4 ,we had  been baptizing and   
confirming from the #abth of ,august1   
but had operated  privately in small    
family gatherings1 for ,i felt          
constrained to refrain  from any attempt
 at public meetings4    ,we now         
presented our organization and sketch of
 our faith1 before the  ,cultus-minister
 and board of magistrates1 and obtained 
permission to  procure a place of       
worship and hold meetings1 but he       
informed us that  we might meet         
obstruction from the police4    ,elder  
,john ,e4 ,forssgren being banished from

 ,sweden1 arrived in  ,copenhagen on the
 #ahth ,september4 ,soon after this     
elder ,dykes was  appointed to commence 
labour in ,aalborg1 in the province of  
,jutland1  where he soon established a  
branch of the ,church4 ,i thought to    
send  brother ,forssgren to the island  
of ,bornholm1 which formerly belonged   
to ,sweden1 and has a dialect nearly    
allied to the ,swedish2 but he was      
positively refused a pass to that or any
 other province4 ,the reason  assigned  
by the president of the police          
department was1 that he had  taken upon 
himself1 at the request of the ,swedish 
government1 to see  to it1 that         
,forssgren did not make his escape into 
,sweden4 ,he has  consequently remained 
in and about ,copenhagen ever since1 and
 has been  a great help to me1 for he   
was soon able to make himself understood
  by the ,danes1 as well or better than 
myself2 besides1 there were many  native
 ,swedes in ,copenhagen1 many of whom   
are now numbered among our  best        

members4    ,during the winter a bill   
relating to dissenting religious        
parties1 with  very liberal provisions1 
was introduced into the legislature1 but
 met  with such powerful opposition from
 the bishops and their clergy in all    
parts of the state1 that it was finally 
ruled out4    ,while this was pending   
many of the papers were teeming with    
misrepresentations about ,mormoniterne1 
and the chief bishop published  a       
pamphlet against the bill1 in which he  
detailed the usual catalogue  of        
transatlantic lies about the ,saints1   
and thought it the duty of  governments 
to protect the people against this      
dangerous sect4  ,several marvelous     
cases of healing1 and other             
manifestations of the  power of ,god1   
together with the weekly distribution of
 #bjj copies of  a sheet of the ,book of
 ,mormon1 contributed also greatly to   
exasperate  them1 and arouse the demon  
of persecution1 which came upon us      
almost  simultaneously1 in every place  

where we were sowing seed4    ,in       
,aalborg1 where the ,saints had secured 
a popular hall1 the chief  officer of   
police suppressed their meetings2 and   
elder ,dykes was mobbed  in a           
neighbouring town1 where he had begun to
 baptize1 and narrowly  escaped with his
 life4 ,in ,roskilde1 where brothers    
,forssgren and ,aagren  had secured a   
hall and commenced preaching1 they were 
mobbed1 beaten1  arrested1 and banished 
from the town by the chief officers of  
police1  while those that were known to 
have received them1 paid the penalty    
with the loss of windows and the like4  
,in ,hersholm1 where they next          
commenced1 they fared but little better4
  ,in ,copenhagen1 our hall and the     
streets about it were thronged by a     
great crowd of journeymen1 apprentices1 
sailors1 c41 led on by the  theological 
students1 who turned our meetings into a
 pow wow1 dealing  out all manner of    
threats and abuses1 until we were       
finally obliged to  cease our public    

meetings1 while the police refused      
interference in our  behalf4    ,some   
private houses where we had small       
gatherings next became the  object of   
vengeance4 ,near the same time also evil
 spirits attacked some  persons in the  
,church1 and manifested their power in  
many strange ways1  and it took sometime
 to entirely subdue them1 all of which  
afforded  lessons of wisdom and         
experience to the young ,saints4 ,they  
also made  an angry demonstration upon  
brother ,forssgren and myself1 in our   
room  at night1 somewhat similar to that
 upon elders ,hyde and ,kimball1 in     
,preston4 ,my eyes were open to behold  
them1 and through humble prayer  we     
obtained power to withstand them and    
rebuke them from our presence  and room4
 ,it seemed1 indeed1 as though the      
powers of earth and hell  were combined 
to crush the work of the ,lord in that  
land1 but through  much prayer and      
fasting we received strength1 and the   
clouds began to  disperse4 ,we sent a   

deputation to the king with a memorial1 
a ,book of  ,mormon1 and my pamphlet4 ,i
 shortly after heard of the ,book of    
,mormon  in the possession of the queen 
dowager 7who is reputedly pious1 and a  
lover of the ,bible71 who1 as her maids 
reported1 was so wrought upon  by the   
presentation1 and tale of the book1 that
 excitement and alarm  spread through   
her palace1 and she was unable to leave 
her room for  several days4    ,we were 
afterwards informed through the         
,cultus-minister1 who has  the          
superintendence of all school and church
 affairs1 that the  government was      
disposed to allow us our regular course1
 and interpose  no obstacles4 ,after    
this1 the police officer in ,aalborg1 by
 order of  the ,cultus-minister1        
restored to the ,saints their           
privileges1 and we  began also to enjoy 
peace and quietness in our meetings at  
,copenhagen4  ,branches were organized  
in ,hals and ,hersholm1 and the ,saints 
generally  increased in number1 faith1  

and joy1 in the ,holy ,ghost4    ,before
 the adjournment of the legislature1 a  
law passed in a  modified form1         
sustaining religious freedom1 and       
abrogating the old  law which denied the
 rights of matrimony1 and all other     
civil and  social privileges to native  
subjects1 unless sprinkled1 educated1   
and confirmed in the ,lutheran church4  
,yet there is nothing in the            
constitution or laws that guarantees us 
that protection in our  worship1 and in 
the exercise of our religious rights1   
which is afforded  by the laws of       
,england and ,america4    ,i now feel   
that the shell is broken in old         
,scandinavia1 and the work  of the ,lord
 will advance4 ,probably an earlier     
mission to that country  would have     
proved a failure4    ,though to you and 
others they might have seemed trifling1 
yet upon  me the cares1 anxieties1 and  
pressure of circumstances attending the 
mission have weighed heavily4 ,in the   
midst of them ,i have frequently  been  

visited with encouraging dreams1 in     
which ,i often saw brother  ,joseph     
,smith1 yourself1 or president ,kimball1
 and received instructive  lessons4 ,in 
the midst of the exciting scenes of the 
winter1 ,i saw  myself and brethren     
navigating a dangerous stream1 on a     
fishing  excursion4 ,our vessel had     
neither steam nor sails1 yet 7by what   
power  was not perceivable7 it was      
slowly but steadily advancing against a 
rapid current1 and we were drawing in   
fish4    ,in the spring three           
,icelanders who had embraced the faith  
in ,copenhagen  returned to their native
 land1 with the ,book of ,mormon and    
pamphlets1  two of whom ,i ordained and 
commanded them to labour among their    
people1  as the ,lord opened their way1 
to read1 pray1 teach1 baptize1          
translate1  c41 and one of them to      
return to me in the fall4 ,they were    
mechanics1  and the ,spirit rested      
copiously upon them4    ,the total      
number baptized1 including those        

baptized by elder ,forssgren  in        
,sweden1 is about three hundred4 ,the   
number of elders1 priests1  teachers1   
and deacons1 ordained in branches1 and  
travelling1 is about  twenty-five4      
,towards the close of ,may ,i appointed 
brother ,hanson and five others in      
pairs1 supplied with books and          
pamphlets1 to open new fields of labour3
  two to south ,jutland1 two to         
,bornholm1 and two ,swedes to that part 
of  ,sweden lying immediately across the
 ,sound from ,copenhagen4 ,these last   
were instructed to go among their       
friends1 circulate tracts1 read1  talk1 
pray1 and baptize1 secretly if they     
could1 in a manner to attract  the least
 possible attention from the priests4   
,the winter in ,denmark was mild4       
,little snow1 but much rain1 and        
exceedingly thick foggy weather2 this   
coupled with my anxieties  and close    
application to the ,book of ,mormon1 and
 my other duties1  considerably impaired
 my health4 ,leaving the presidency with

 brother  ,forssgren1 ,i resolved to    
join my brethren in conference at       
,london1 and  rest and recruit myself a 
little season1 by a change of labours   
and  scenery4    ,i came by steamboat to
 ,wismar1 in ,germany1 and from thence  
to ,london2  passing through the states 
of ,mecklinburgh-,schwerin1 ,hanover1   
,belgium1  and part of ,prussia1 by     
railway1 and crossed the channel from   
,ostend  to ,dover4 ,on my way ,i called
 upon a pious ,german nobleman1 on the  
,elbe1 with whom ,i had corresponded1   
and to whom ,i had sent a ,voice  of    
,warning4 ,he welcomed me to his family2
 and said he had begun to  translate the
 ,voice of ,warning into ,german4 ,his  
interest or curiosity  became           
sufficiently excited to induce him1 in a
 few days1 to follow  me to ,london2 but
 when he learned that we did not believe
 in standing  still to be killed1 only  
when we were compelled so to do1 he     
turned  back with many pious regrets1   
thinking it utterly impossible to       

reconcile ,mormonism with his favourite 
doctrines of peace and  non-resistance4 
,we had an interesting and profitable   
time in ,london4 ,elders ,taylor1  ,l4  
,snow1 and ,f4 ,d4 ,richards1 were      
present1 and the ,american elders       
generally4 ,the great ,crystal ,palace  
and its collected products of a  world's
 industry1 was the great theme of       
,london1 not to say of ,europe  and     
,america4 ,since the ,june conference in
 ,london ,i have attended  conference in
 ,manchester and ,preston1 and spent    
about ten days with  elder ,joseph ,w4  
,johnson1 in the ,preston and ,clitheroe
 conferences1  where he is doing a good 
work1 reviving the dead in those old    
conferences4 ,he wished me to remember  
him affectionately to you4    ,on the   
arrival of the ,fifth ,general ,epistle1
 ,i forwarded it to  ,denmark1 to be    
translated and published4 ,i have the   
,voice of ,warning1  and portions of the
 ,doctrine and ,covenants in process of 
translation4  ,i expect to return in a  

few days1 and ,i hope to be able before 
another  spring to establish a monthly  
periodical1 and publish some works also 
for circulation in the ,swedish         
language4 ,i should do violence to my   
feelings to close this epistle without  
expressing the gratitude of  my heart   
for the deep interest of1 and efficient 
aid afforded me by  presidents ,o4      
,pratt1 ,f4 ,d4 ,richards1 and others4  
,here ,i would say1 a  word about the   
labours of brother ,richards1 and the   
grace of ,god that  abounds upon him    
since the departure of elder ,pratt1 but
 with you it  can add nothing1 his works
 will speak for themselves4 ,he honors  
his  station1 and feels its             
responsibility4 ,i love him1 and so do  
all the  ,saints4    ,please present my 
affectionate remembrances to my beloved 
family when  opportunity affords1 and   
accept assurances of the same for       
yourself and  family4 ,when shall we all
 meet again8 ,echo answers--,when4      
,may the choice blessings of ,israel's  

,god rest upon you and all his  people2 
and may a liberal share of that ,spirit 
that is upon you be my  portion1 in the 
name of ,jesus ,christ4 ,amen4    ,i    
remain your fellow-labourer in the      
kingdom of ,god1    ,,erastus ,,snow4   
,to ,b4 ,young1 ,president of the       
,church of ,jesus ,christ1 of           
,latter-day  ,saints1 in all the world4 
,,extract ,,of ,a ,,letter ,,from       
,,elder ,,forssgren4    ,copenhagen1    
,july #ast1 #ahea4    ,beloved brother  
,snow1--,having received news from you  
through brother  ,dykes1 ,i take        
pleasure in addressing you a few lines  
concerning myself  and the church here  
universally4 ,in the ,copenhagen branch 
peace and  union prevail4 99 99 99      
,brother ,dykes1 in company with brother
 ,jensen1  from ,aalborg1 arrived here  
this morning in the steamer ,juno4 99 99
 ,the  little ship ,zion1 of ,aalborg1  
has stood through a dreadful storm in   
the last eight or nine days1 which you  
may hear of through the papers  before  

you get this4 ,on ,sunday1 the #bbnd1   
,elder ,jensen and his brethren  of the 
priesthood1 came to the conclusion to go
 and baptize at a public  place by the  
sea shore1 which caused a great         
gathering of great and  small1 aged1    
middle aged1 and young4 ,to these1      
brothers ,larsen and  ,jensen bore      
testimony of the truth1 according to the
 spirit of the  ,book of ,mormon1 and   
warned the people to flee from the      
church of the  devil1 and let them know 
those priests they had in those high    
steepled  temples1 were ,gentiles1 c4   
,the ungodly became enraged1 seized one 
of the brethren1 and took him  before   
the high priest2 the whole body of the  
mob gathered round his  house1 to see   
what he would say and do4 ,the priest   
with horror and  affright cried out1    
away with him4 ,some took shelter in    
brother  ,olson's house1 but on the way 
were stoned1 knocked into the gutters1  
and clothes torn off some4 ,the mob then
 proceeded to the place of the  ,saints'

 worship1 and began a havoc on the      
house1 all the windows went  in as with 
a blow1 and doors torn down4 ,sister    
,petersen1 who resided in  the small    
room1 escaped through a window with a   
babe in her arms4 99 99  99 ,the police 
and soldiers of the city guard were     
ordered out to quell  the tumult1 but   
all their efforts were in vain1 till the
 artillery  of heaven was moved upon4   
,sharp thunder and lightning and a      
shocking  shower of rain came down upon 
them1 which caused the mob to disperse  
for the night4 ,next day they began with
 more strength2 all the windows  of the 
,saints' houses were stoned to pieces2  
some of the women taken  and dealt with 
in a brutal manner4 ,since the          
commencement of the  uproar1 all the    
,saints have been more or less roughly  
handled4 ,elder  ,jensen's manufacturing
 establishment has been threatened1 but 
it stands  good yet4 ,the ,saints' house
 of worship was unroofed1 and part of   
the  walls torn down4    ,for nine days 

has the town been in a dreadful         
tumult1--the police  quarrelled among   
themselves1 the citizens with each      
other1 and the  lower classes fighting  
among themselves4 99 99 99 99 99 99     
,brother ,dykes arrived there yesterday1
 but was immediately taken and  sent on 
board the steamer out of the way1 that  
none of the ,saints could  see him4     
,brother ,jensen made his escape on     
board a boat1 unknown to his  enemies4  
99 99 99 ,he will now be with us for a  
short time1 he is full of  joy in the   
,holy ,ghost4 ,he will probably seek to 
talk with the king1 to  seek protection 
for the ,saints in ,aalborg4 99 99 99   
,no news from those brethren lately sent
 out on missions4 ,we hope to  hear from
 you soon4    ,your ever humble servant1
 and brother in the new and everlasting 
covenant1    ,j4 ,e4 ,,forssgren4       
,p4,s4--,last week eight were baptized1 
and the work is taking root among  the  
better quality of people4        ,,an   
,,extract ,,from ,,elder ,,snow',s      

,,reply4    ,rock ,ferry1 ,july #aath1  
#ahea4    ,beloved brother1--,yours of  
the first instant is received4 99 99 99 
,i  sincerely sympathize with the       
,saints in ,aalborg in their trials1 and
  pray that the grace of ,god may be    
sufficient for them4 ,i doubt not that  
what they did was with the purest       
motive2 and ,i have faith in ,god1 that 
he is able to overrule all for good in  
the end1 and hope that it may           
contribute to arouse and combine the    
energies of the right minded in  favour 
of truth and freedom4    ,i hope the    
scenes growing out of that public       
baptism1 and the imprudent  sayings of  
the brethren on that occasion1 however  
painful the results1  may serve as a    
lesson of wisdom and experience for all 
,saints in that  land from henceforth4  
,where a cold indifference prevails1 a  
little healthy excitement to  arouse the
 public mind to investigation may be    
profitable1 provided it  can be         
controlled1 and the truth kept before   

the people4 ,but ,denmark  is not       
,england nor ,america--religious liberty
 is not grounded in the  hearts of the  
people4 ,they are under the influence of
 their priests and  attached to their   
religion--once their feelings outraged1 
the voice of  truth or reason cannot be 
heard4 ,while a little fire kindled upon
 the  hearth1 in a cold day1 is very    
convenient1 all will admit the folly  of
 firing the house1 by which the inmates 
might be consumed or left  houseless in 
mid winter4    ,counsel the ,saints in  
,aalborg to continue their little       
meetings for  prayer and exhortation1 if
 they can1 without excitement3 and if   
you  can1 you had better send them an   
,elder1 not known there1 to encourage   
and minister among them until ,i come1  
which ,i trust will not be long4        
,,denmark    ,,general ,,observations   
,,on ,,the ,,country ,,and ,,people4    
,denmark ,proper is but a small state1  
including the peninsula of ,jutland  and
 the islands of the ,cattegat1 and those

 of the southern and western  parts of  
the ,baltic1 to which is attached the   
dukedoms of ,sleswick1  ,holstein1      
,oldenburg and ,lauenburg1 the most of  
whose inhabitants use  the ,german      
language4 ,her foreign dependencies1    
like those of ,great  ,britain1 are far 
more extensive than her home dominions4 
,these have  their peculiar dialects1   
and use the ,danish language only in    
part1  chiefly in public affairs and    
business transactions1 and even her     
home provinces and islands have great   
dialectic peculiarities1 to a           
considerable extent unintelligible to   
each other4 ,but the literature  of     
,copenhagen is the regular and standard 
language1 if in truth it can  be said to
 have a standard4 ,but the language1    
like the people1 is so  surrounded and  
intermixed with others1 that changes and
 improvements  are very considerable1   
and its laws quite unsettled4    ,in the
 ,state of ,norway1 the ,danish language
 is spoken and written  generally and   

taught in her schools4 ,and although    
they maintain their  rustic dialects1 it
 is doubted if the old ,norsk language  
has been used  in printing since the    
days of the ,reformation4    ,iceland1  
probably1 possesses quite as many       
associations of interest  to the ,danes 
as any other of their foreign           
dependencies4 ,in my  interviews with   
,professor ,repp1 he frequently took    
occasion to refer1  with apparent pride 
and satisfaction1 to his native         
,iceland1 as the  nursery of literature 
and keeper of the ,danish records1      
during the  barbarous and demoralizing  
wars that swept over ,scandinavia4 ,they
  still maintain their own literature1  
and have a translation of the           
,scriptures1 but as their priests are   
educated in ,copenhagen1 and their      
merchants mostly ,danish1 the national  
religion1 policy and impress of         
,denmark is stamped upon them as upon   
her other provinces4 ,at present1  with 
a territory larger than ,denmark        

,proper1 ,iceland only numbers about    
sixty thousand inhabitants4    ,denmark 
,proper is about in the latitude of     
,scotland1 and has a climate  somewhat  
similar4 ,unlike the cold mountainous   
regions of ,norway and  ,sweden1 it lies
 low1 and by being to such an extent    
surrounded by  water and interspersed   
with small lakes1 preserves an          
equilibrium of  temperature beyond what 
its latitude might otherwise indicate4  
,though  it is sometimes visited with   
heavy falls of snow1 and the severity of
  winter has congealed the salt water of
 the ,belts and the sound1 so that      
teams have crossed the ice between      
,denmark and ,sweden4 ,the islands1     
particularly ,zealand and ,fuen1 the two
 largest1 are rich and in a high  state 
of cultivation4 ,the country generally  
is poorly supplied with  highways1 and  
,i sometimes found myself wandering from
 house to house  and from village to    
village1 through bye roads and          
footpaths1 crossing  sluiceways on a    

plank or pole1 and at wet seasons1 when 
the country was  nearly half covered    
with water1 obliged to wade through mud 
and water1  or take a serpentine route  
through fields4    ,the country people1 
generally1 live in small villages1      
miserable  houses1 with thatched roofs  
and clay floors1 and are generally      
filthy  and uncouth in their habits4 ,in
 the large towns a degree of order and  
neatness is exhibited1 and urbanity of  
manners1 such as is common to  ,english 
towns4 ,nearly every village1 however   
insignificant1 has its  ,church1 and    
priest to receive their tithings1 and   
attend to their  spiritual wants4 ,with 
regard to improvements1 the ,danes are  
sadly  deficient in means or enterprise1
 probably both4 ,they have but one      
piece of railroad1 sixteen miles in     
length1 from ,copenhagen to a           
neighbouring town4 ,the capital itself  
is still lighted with the old  oil      
lamps1 and the fire companies haul their
 hose and water on sheds  with tubs and 

barrels4 ,a telegraph is unknown in the 
country4 ,the navy  yard and fixtures1  
fortifications1 public buildings1 walks 
and gardens1  of ,copenhagen1 would be a
 credit to any town or nation4 ,the     
priests  are often to be seen in the    
streets with their black gowns and white
  ruffles4    ,their texts1 sermons1    
worship1 c41 defined by law1 are uniform
  throughout the country1 and repeated  
yearly4 ,their rites are similar  to    
those of the ,church of ,england4 ,there
 is a universal observance of  the      
numerous holydays and festivals common  
in catholic countries1 but  the sabbath 
is lightly esteemed4 ,sunday evening is 
usually selected  for balls1 and other  
amusements1 and that is the time the    
theatres are  thronged4 ,the priests are
 by no means so pious out of church as  
to  prevent their mingling freely in    
those amusements4    ,churchgoing is in 
late years getting much out of fashion1 
except on  extraordinary occasions4 ,it 
is no uncommon things in their popular  

churches1 to see only eight or ten      
persons1 but the priest is paid and     
required by law to perform services if  
there are two present4    ,i was very   
strongly impressed on an occasion of the
 congregation of a  priest in ,frue     
,kirke1 a splendid edifice1 the pride of
 ,copenhagen1  patronised by the royal  
family4    ,at the east end1 overlooking
 the altar1 stands a marble statue1     
representing ,jesus in the act of       
preaching1 while on either side of  the 
body of the church1 at equal distances1 
stand the ,twelve ,apostles1  each      
holding an appropriate insignia2 for    
instance1 ,peter holding three  keys1   
,matthew his pen and scroll1 c4 ,these  
are all in marble1 and were  cut in     
,rome4 ,above these in the walls are the
 carved representations of  young       
angels1 with wings1 while another larger
 one stands before the  altar1 holding a
 marble basin of water1 for the         
sprinkling of infants4  ,while the chief
 ,bishop1 surrounded by his clergy1 in  

sacerdotal robes1  was engaged in the   
services of the occasion1 ,i asked      
myself these  questions2 ,if these were 
living figures1 what would be their     
language  to these men and this         
assembly8 were they to give utterance to
 the  doctrines they taught while       
living1 how long would they be permitted
 to  grace this building8 ,i reflected  
that by the influence of these clergy1  
and at the instigation of this ,bishop1 
was ,p4 ,c4 ,monster repeatedly         
imprisoned for preaching to this people 
that they must follow ,jesus  down into 
the water and be baptized4 ,this was the
 ,bishop that thought  it the duty of   
government to protect the people from   
this dangerous  sect--the ,latter-day   
,saints4 ,these are the men1 who1 while 
they allow  the people to have access to
 the ,bible1 put a padlock upon it and  
pocket the key4 ,i exclaimed in my heart
 at the scene before me1 surely  the    
great mother of abominations1 with her  
numerous progeny of the  protestant     

family1 after their fathers martyred    
,jesus and his apostles1  transgressed  
his laws1 changed his ordinances1 broke 
his everlasting  covenant1 and drove the
 last vestige of his kingdom from the   
earth1  have now placed their statues in
 her temples to grace her triumph4    ,i
 will here remark that there are a few  
honorable exceptions among the  ,danish 
clergy1 whose voices have been heard in 
favour of religious  freedom1 and       
reformation among the people4 ,although 
there are a few  persons that have a    
zeal for the ,scriptures1 and their     
diffusion among  the people1 yet the    
most of the ,danish clergy discourage   
the use of  them1 by the masses1 and    
under a cloak of charity1 they long ago 
shrewdly procured the passage of a law  
giving a charitable institution1  which 
they control1 called ,veisenhuuset1 the 
exclusive right of  publishing1         
importing1 or selling the scriptures1 in
 any shape or  form1 in the ,danish     
language4 ,the result is1 that we       

sometimes may  hunt whole neighbourhoods
 over and not find a copy of the        
,scriptures1  except1 perhaps1 in       
church1 or with the priest4 ,the novelty
 of a new  religion in the country1 the 
excitability of the people1 the control 
of the priests1 over churches and       
school-houses2 the fear of violence  and
 damage1 that deters men from leasing us
 houses2 the restrictions  of law upon  
street preaching and promiscuous        
assemblages2 the spleen  and jealousy of
 a well organized national police1 are  
all no small  obstacles in the way of   
getting truth before the people4        
,,sweden    ,,general ,,observations    
,,on ,,the ,,state ,,of ,,the ,,country 
,,politically  ,,and                    
,,religiously--,,visions1 ,,marvellous  
,,occurrences ,,and ,,events--,,present 
,,prospects1 c4    ,although the ancient
 races of ,scandinavia have become      
somewhat  intermixed1 and a strong      
analogy exists between the ,danish and  
,swedish  languages1 and one country is 

more or less subject to the influence   
of the other1 yet the state of society  
in ,sweden and spirit of the  people    
are1 in many respects1 quite different  
from that of ,denmark4  ,at present     
there is much less freedom1 both        
political and religious1  a wider       
difference between the toiling millions 
and the nobility  and gentry1 and more  
extreme cases of degradation4 ,until    
recently  their laws have been inimical 
to emigration1 and the influence of  the
 ,lutheran religion and policy of the   
government1 have tended to  perpetuate  
the evils rather than remove them4 ,yet 
with the masses1 a  much stronger       
religious feeling appears to exist than 
in ,denmark1 and a  much more general   
diffusion and perusal of the            
,scriptures2 and in the  absence of that
 encouragement which they have a right  
to expect from  the ,lutheran clergy    
that swarm the country1 the labouring   
classes who  feel religiously inclined1 
have formed their little associations   

for  investigating the ,scriptures and  
edifying each other therein4    ,a few  
years since a man1 by the name of       
,johnson1 made considerable stir  in the
 country1 and taught quite extensively  
the prophecies that relate  to the last 
days1 the second advent1 gathering1     
,zion in ,america1 c42  and although he 
did not baptize or organize a church in 
opposition to  ,lutheranism1 yet he     
became very obnoxious to the clergy1 and
 after  being subjected to many of their
 stratagems and to imprisonment1 he     
finally emigrated with a portion of his 
friends to ,illinois1 where he  was     
killed not long since4 ,but the spirit  
of the latter-day movements  and events1
 which he infused among his countrymen1 
did not entirely  leave or die with him4
 ,it is said that in one town there are 
as many  as a thousand1 and many in     
other places1 who entertain his notions 
and  look for important events4    ,it  
is also asserted that in #ahdf1 7if my  
memory serves as to time7  was published

 in the papers1 in three different parts
 of the kingdom  on the same day1 a     
remarkable occurrence1 said to have     
transpired  the preceding night1 viz41  
the illumination of a church in the     
three  different places1 and in them the
 sound of delightful music1 singing  of 
,zion and the work of the ,lord on the  
earth1 when the churches were  known to 
be closed and to possess no earthly     
means of illumination4 ,i  have seen it1
 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 churches1   
and heard by many persons4    ,in #ahdb 
commenced in ,sweden1 what the ,swedish 
papers call ,praedeke  ,sygdom1 7the    
disease of preaching7 a strange         
manifestation of a spirit  upon sundry  
illiterate persons1 otherwise perfectly 
healthy1 by which  they acted very      
curiously1 preaching and prophesying    
marvelous things1  and crying repentance
 unto the people4 ,nor was it confined  

to men1  but women also and even babes1 
under the same influence1 opened their  
mouths1 and testified marvelous things1 
to the great astonishment of  many4 ,and
 when the excitement could not be hushed
 by the priests1 the  doctors were      
called to their aid1 who decided it a   
sort of monomania1  and thereafter every
 person1 so soon as they manifested any 
of the  above symptoms1 were immediately
 confined in hospitals or lunatic       
asylums1 and no one allowed to see them 
until they were cured of their          
preaching4    ,during the last year or  
two1 the ,swedish papers report several 
cases  again of the ,praedeke ,sygdom in
 different places1 but the doctors are  
pushed forward to nip the spirit in the 
bud4 ,the doctors were ordered  to      
examine brother ,forssgren for the same 
purpose1 but his ,american  passport and
 general appearance admonished them to  
take another course4  ,one of those     
families consisting of seven persons1   
including two small  children1 resolved 

at all hazards to make their way to     
,america1 and  actually travelled on    
foot several hundred miles1 from the    
upper part  of ,sweden to ,gottenburg1  
where they arrived too late for a       
passage last  fall1 and they made their 
way to ,copenhagen and came immediately 
to our  meetings1 and received the      
,gospel with great joy1 and have proved 
to be  an excellent spirited family4    
,a strong dissatisfaction exists in     
,sweden with regard to reigning         
institutions1 religious and political1  
and the opposition is  strengthening    
itself daily1 and becoming more         
thoroughly organized  for efficient     
action4 ,it has its seat in ,stockholm1 
and extends  its influence throughout   
the country1 chiefly among the mechanic 
associations1 and farming interests4    
,elder ,forssgren found warm friends    
among the leaders of this party4 ,the   
king is favorably disposed towards  the 
popular wants1 while the majority of the
 nobility and clergy seem  struggling to

 maintain their power and influence4    
,while measures for  reform and         
extension of liberty1 which had been    
submitted by the king1  were under      
discussion before the legislature last  
winter 7which finally  failed7          
insurrectionary movements were set on   
foot in ,stockholm1 and  large          
quantities of troops from a distance    
were called to maintain  order1 till the
 close of the legislature4 ,one of the  
reform leaders  writing to brother      
,forssgren in ,march1 congratulates us  
on the liberty  we enjoy in ,denmark1   
and the success of our mission there1   
and says1  no such good has yet come    
over poor ,sweden2 but1 he adds1 we     
still  labor in hopes1 and are doubling 
our diligence4 ,the same writer says    
that 7using the documents furnished him 
by ourselves7 he had published  several 
articles refuting the newspaper charges 
against the ,mormons4    ,a recent      
letter from elder ,forssgren's father1  
brings news of a  newspaper war between 

the two parties1 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 doctrines1   
and he fails not to charge home upon    
them with effect1 the expulsion  of     
,mormoniten ,forssgren1 without judge or
 jury4 ,i shall continue to  watch with 
deep interest every movement in ,sweden1
 until the yolk is  broken1 the fetters 
burst1 and ,israel that is pent up in   
those north  countries goes free4 ,i    
cannot feel satisfied to close this     
brief review  of ,sweden without        
treating my readers to a sketch of the  
vision of  ,charles ,,xi1 king of       
,sweden1 which ,i find in the ,danish   
over his seal  and signature1 attested  
by five officers of state1 who were with
 him on  the occasion4 ,being ill1 and  
of an unusually melancholy frame of     
mind1  he raised himself in bed1 about  
twelve o'clock at night1 and on looking 
towards the window that commanded a view

 of the legislative hall1 saw  a light  
in the hall4 ,the officer in attendance 
assured him it was only  the reflection 
of the moon's rays upon the windows4    
,partly pacified  with this explanation1
 he turned himself in bed to seek       
repose1 but  being troubled in spirit1  
he shortly looked and saw the light     
again4  ,he then demanded of another    
officer1 who that moment called to      
inquire  after his health1 if a fire had
 not broken out in the legislative      
hall4 ,this man offered the same        
solution of the light as the first1  but
 on gathering his garment around him1   
and going to the window1 the  king not  
only saw more distinctly a light1 but   
also the appearances of  personages in  
the hall1 whereupon he called           
immediately for the master  of the      
watch1 with the keys1 and accompanied   
him and four others to the  hall4 ,the  
king directed him to open the door1 but 
by this time fear had  seized upon him  
and all the others1 so that each in turn

 refused to  open the door1 and besought
 the king to excuse them from the task4 
,at  their words the king himself began 
to fear1 but renewing his courage he    
seized the keys and said1 they that fear
 ,god have nothing in the world  to     
fear1 perhaps the gracious ,lord will   
reveal us something1 will you  follow   
me8 they trembling answered1 yes4    ,as
 the king opened the door he drew back  
with terror1 but strengthening  his     
resolution he entered and saw a large   
table surrounded by sixteen  grave      
looking men1 with large books before    
them1 and a young king  standing at     
their head1 at the motion of whose head 
they all smote hard  upon their books4  
,as he turned himself he saw blocks with
 instruments  for beheading1 and        
executioners1 and at the motion of the  
young king  the grave men smote upon    
their books1 and the executioners began 
the  work of beheading4 ,those beheaded 
were all young noblemen4 ,the blood     
flowed down the floor4 ,so real did it  

appear1 that the king examined  himself 
to see if the blood did not cleave to   
him4 ,as he looked beyond  the table at 
the right of the young king1 he saw a   
throne1 partly  upset1 and a man about  
forty years of age1 whom he took to be  
the  premier1 standing near it4 ,i      
approached the door1 continued the      
narrative1 and exclaimed1 gracious lord1
 when shall these things be8  ,i        
received no answer4 ,again ,i cried1    
,lord1 when shall these things be8  ,i  
received no answer1 but the young king  
motioned with his head1 while  the      
others smote hard upon their books4 ,i  
cried the third time loudly1  gracious  
,god1 when shall all this take place8   
,the young king then  replied1 not in   
your day1 but in the sixth reign from   
yours1 and that  king shall be as you   
see me to be1 then shall be a time of   
trouble1 and  the throne well nigh cast 
down1 but it shall be established after 
the  shedding of much blood4 ,he shall  
sustain and strengthen it1 7pointing  to

 the man by the throne71 and after shall
 ,sweden experience great  prosperity   
and blessings1 such as she has never    
enjoyed4 ,further  particulars were     
explained to the king which ,i do not   
here give1 but  the above is the        
substance1 and then the vision vanished1
 and the king  and his men found        
themselves alone in the hall1 with light
 in hand1 and  all appeared in its      
natural state4 ,whether true or false1  
the vision  is not without its influence
 upon ,sweden4 ,the present incumbent is
 the  sixth prince from ,charles ,,xi4  
,,poetry4    ,had the author of the     
following lines known the calling and   
mission of  the ,latter-day ,saints1 he 
would have1 most unquestionably1        
represented  them in his song2 as it is1
 we offer it to our readers1 assuring   
them  that we often appropriate it to   
our own use4    ,,wife1 ,,children1     
,,and ,,friends4      ,when the black   
letter'd list to the gods was           
presented--       ,a list of what ,fate 

for each mortal intends3    ,at the long
 string of ills a kind angel relented1  
,and slipp'd in three blessings--wife1  
children1 and friends6    ,in vain surly
 ,pluto declared he was cheated1        
,for ,justice divine could not compass  
her ends3    ,the scheme of man's folly1
 he said1 was defeated1       ,for earth
 became heav'n with wife1 children1 and 
friends6      ,if the stock of our bliss
 is in strangers' hands vested1         
,the fund ill secured oft in bankruptcy 
ends2    ,but the heart issues bills    
that are never protested1       ,when   
drawn on the firm of wife1 children1 and
 friends6    ,the soldier1 whose deeds  
live immortal in story1       ,whom duty
 to far distant latitudes sends1        
,with transports would barter whole ages
 of glory1       ,for one happy hour    
with wife1 children1 and friends6       
,but valor still glows in life's waning 
embers2       ,the death-wounded tar1   
who his colours defends1    ,drops a    
tear of regret as he dying remembers    

,how blest was his home with wife1      
children1 and friends6    ,though the   
spice-breathing gales o'er his caravan  
hovers1       ,while 'round him the     
fragrance of ,arabia descends1    ,yet  
the merchant still thinks on the        
woodbine that covers       ,the bow'r   
where he sat with wife1 children1 and   
friends4      ,the dayspring of youth   
still unclouded by sorrow1       ,alone 
on itself for enjoyment depends2    ,but
 dreary's the twilight of age when it   
borrows       ,no warmth from the smiles
 of wife1 children1 and friends6    ,let
 the breath of renown ever freshen and  
nourish       ,the ,laurel that o'er his
 fair favourite bends2    ,o'er me wave 
the ,willow1 and long may it flourish1  
,bedew'd with the tears of wife1        
children1 and friends6