“Local Missionaries,” Global Histories: Norway (2019)
“Local Missionaries,” Global Histories: Norway
Local Missionaries
Members of the Christiania (Oslo) Norway Branch
In this environment, it became difficult for foreign missionaries to acquire visas. Local members were called instead to serve as missionaries. But even these local missionaries were subjected to harsh treatment. In 1858, Christoffer S. Winge, a shoemaker from Drammen, was called to preach in Stavanger. He was soon arrested and jailed as a non-Christian minister. Unable to pay his fines, Winge spent several months in prison, subsisting on bread and water. Upon release, he immediately resumed preaching. After several arrests for preaching and performing unsanctioned ordinances, Winge was banished from his country and eventually immigrated to the United States.
Like the missionaries, new converts were frequently subjected to prosecution and were often ostracized. Many immigrated to Utah shortly after baptism. Though individuals and families continued to convert to the Church, emigration, persecution, and prosecution limited the growth of the Church in Norway.