Chapter 16 (1881)
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CHAPTER 16 (1881) New Edition of the Book of Mormon—Sickness and Death of President Niels Wilhelmsen— Special Council Meeting in Copenhagen—My Release and Return Home. With a prayer for my own success and for the welfare of my little family far away, I commenced the year 1881, exchanging the compliments of the season with the Elders from Zion and local saints. In the evening the members of the Copenhagen Branch choir and other invited guests (about 40 people) gathered at the mission office to celebrate the ushering in of the new year. We enjoyed ourselves hugely until 2:00 o’clock in the morn- ing, indulging in games, singing and other pastimes. During the month of January several sheets of the Book of Mormon were printed. Bro. Hugo D. E. Peterson, who had been appointed to succeed Gustaf Peterson as writer for “Nordstjarnan,” our Church periodical in the Swedish language, arrived from Sweden Feb. 7, 1881. Elder Gustaf Peterson had been sick for some time and finally died April 13, 1881. He was a humble, lovable man, highly respected and beloved by his co-laborers at the mission office and the Copenhagen saints generally. He had labored as translator and writer for “Nordstjarnan” since September, 1878. I attended a conference at Malmö, Sweden, on April 30th and May 1st, and on May 7th and 8th we had a most enjoyable conference in Copenhagen. For some time I was engaged in making an index to the Book of Mormon, the last sheet of which was published in the latter part of May, and on June 4th we received the first bound copies of the new edition of the book from the book-binders. Without boasting, this edition of the Book of Mormon was the prettiest and finest book ever published by the saints in Scandinavia. It was printed in large type and contained 48 sheets of 16 pages each, large octavo size. Each of these sheets cost 70 kroner for printing; hence the expense of printing the whole work amounted to 3,360 kroner. The issue consisted of 2,000 copies and sold for four and five kroner per copy, according to binding. At this time it became apparent that Bro. Hans Jørgenson, who had been sent to Denmark to release me as writer for the Church period- ical in the Danish language, was not capable of doing the work. Hence, Pres. Wilhelmsen wrote on June 4th to Pres. Albert Carrington in England, asking to have another man sent from Utah to Scandinavia to work in the publishing department. In the meantime Elder Peter O. Hansen who had arrived in Scandinavia on his third mission was appointed to assist me in translating for “Skandinaviens Stjerne” and Bro. Jørgenson was appointed to labor as a missionary on the island of Fyn. CHAPTER 16 115 On July 16th I completed a list of the missionaries from Zion who had filled missions in Scandinavia. Three hundred and five such Elders had labored as missionaries in the lands of the north, including 33 visitors, among whom were nine Apostles. Some of these had labored in the mission several times, including Peter O. Hansen, who was filling his third mission, and Olaf N. Liljenquist, Canute Petersen, Jesse N. Smith, John Van Cott, Wm. W. Cluff, Jens Hansen, Carl C. Asmussen and myself who had filled two missions each. On July 21st, Pres. Niels Wilhelmsen, who for some time had suffered with gall stones, decided to go to the hospital to submit to medical treatment, thinking that perhaps it would be necessary for him to undergo an operation. This unexpected turn of affairs cast a gloom over us all. We truly felt sorry for our beloved president. I accompanied him to the hospital, and on the road home I felt so depressed in my feelings that I burst into tears and could not regain my equilibrium for some time. I feared that something terrible was going to happen. After my return to my office I wrote to Pres. Albert Carrington in England, informing him of what had taken place. After that I visited President Wilhelm- sen every day. While on one of these visits on Sunday, July 24th, I arrived at the hospital at the very moment when Pres. Wilhelmsen was carried into the operating room for treat- ment. An awful feeling took possession of me in witnessing what took place. Later in the day I visited the hospital again, Bro. Wilhelmsen had gone through a dangerous ordeal, the stones in the bladder had been crushed and the fragments extracted, while he was under the influence of anesthetics. When I visited him he was suffering intense pain and could scarcely speak. On Sunday, July 31st, on one of my visits to the hospital, I found him suffering with a high fever, and pain which had caused him serious reflections, and he spoke to me confidentially about his affairs in case anything serious should happen to him. He remarked: “I am not afraid to die, but would like to see my family first. If I die, it is the will of the Lord.” He gave me instructions concerning himself, his family and the mission affairs in general, and furthermore advised me regarding his funeral, if he should pass away. With a heavy heart I left him, and yet the thought never occurred to me that he would die. Late in the afternoon when I again visited the hospital I only conversed with him a little in a low tone of voice as he was too weak to speak louder. This was the last time I saw him alive. In the evening, when I retired to rest, I could not sleep and had most peculiar feelings in regard to him, but even then I could not conceive that there was any great danger of his passing away. Involuntarily I was led to exclaim at times: O Lord, spare his life. On Monday, August 1st, at 9:00 o’clock a. m., I made my way as usual to the hospital, and on my arrival there I received the heartrending intelligence that Pres. Wilhelmsen had died about three hours before, or at 6:00 o’clock a. m. Never before in my life had a mes- sage made so painful an impression upon me. It seemed impossible that Pres. Wilhelmsen should die. No one of the many Elders from Zion who had labored in Scandinavia as mis- sionaries up to that time had died in that mission field, except Willard Snow who passed away on the voyage between Denmark and England in 1853. But, alas, it was too true! There lay before me the dead body of President Wilhelmsen, pale and inanimate. I was led to reflect: Why should such a faithful servant of God pass away while absent from his family and friends in Zion, and just as he was about to be released from a most successful mission to return home? I loved Pres. Wilhelmsen sincerely. Never before had I labored with a man in the mission field, or elsewhere, with whom I had sustained such intimate and confidential relations as with him. I could not love my own father more than I loved this man. Filled with sadness and with tearful eyes I returned to the mission office and told the Elders what had happened. 116 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW JENSON We all felt like bereaved children, but our grief was too intense to find relief in tears. I sent at once the following telegram to Pres. Albert Carrington at 42 Islington, Liverpool: “Pres. Wilhelmsen died this morning at 6:00 a. m. Come, if possible; otherwise please give instructions.” I also telegraphed to all the presidents of conferences in the mission. After doing so I wrote a letter to Pres. Carrington, giving further details. At 4:00 o’clock I received the following telegram from Pres. Carrington: “Can’t come. Have cablegraphed Taylor. Did he leave instructions?” I wrote to all the conference presidents in the mission and requested them to come to Copenhagen to attend the funeral of President Wilhelmsen the following Sunday. After that I again went to the hospital in company with Bro. Hans Funk and was told by the nurse who had been with Pres. Wilhelmsen in his last moments that he passed away peacefully without any apparent pain, and that until a few moments before his death he was able to converse quite freely and did not seem to have the least intimation of his departure from this life. We ordered a casket for his remains and made all arrangements to have them placed in the hospital chapel. After my return to the office I wrote a lengthy letter to Bro. Wilhelmsen’s family in St. Charles, Idaho, and enclosed the same in a letter addressed to Pres. William Budge in Paris, Idaho, whom I requested to convey the sad intelligence to the family. I finished my writing at midnight. The following morning (Aug. 2nd) I arose early and went to the hospital to obtain a death certificate, and then walked out to “Assisstents Kirkegaard,” where in a central place in the cemetery I bought a burial lot in which to inter the remains of Pres. Wilhelmsen. It cost 72 kroner and we obtained a deed, good for twenty years. In the afternoon I received the following telegram from Pres. Carrington at Liverpool: “Did Pres. Wilhelmsen leave instructions as to burial? if so, carry them out. Answer.” I answered immediately by simply telegraphing: “He did.” After that I wrote a lengthy let- ter to Pres.