The Expansion of Missionary Work in Norway

Although Church President Wilford Woodruff announced the discontinuation of the practice of polygamy in September 1890, ministers of other faiths in Norway continued for many years to assert that the practice continued. Based on these allegations, government officials denied Church members full religious freedom.

In 1923, wanting to expand missionary work and better support converts in Scandinavia, the First Presidency sent Reed Smoot, an Apostle and a U.S. senator, and John A. Widtsoe, son of Anna Widtsoe and the most recently called Apostle, to seek legal recognition and protection in Norway. The trip was a first for Smoot, whose mother was Norwegian. For Widtsoe, it was his first return to Norway since he had left in 1883.

Arriving on July 26, 1923, Smoot and Widtsoe went to work immediately to assess the circumstances of the Church. Widtsoe visited local missionaries in company with fellow Apostle David O. McKay, who was serving as the president of the European Mission. The two Apostles were moved to tears as they met with 75 faithful Norwegian Saints, each called as a missionary, who told of their experiences while sharing the gospel.

Smoot, meanwhile, was attending to diplomatic business. In company with Laurits Swenson, U.S. minister to Norway, Smoot met with King Haakon VII. During their “pleasant interview” with the king on July 27, 1923, Smoot, a son of polygamous marriage, assured the king that plural marriages were no longer being performed. He then explained how the misunderstanding regarding the practice had led to significant visa difficulties for missionaries. After listening to Smoot’s explanations, the king asked what Smoot wanted him to do. Smoot asked that missionaries be treated like any other foreign religious group and be allowed to enter without harassment. He also requested an increase in the number of missionary visas. The king said that the requests seemed reasonable.

Over the next three years, officials from the governments of the United States and Norway worked with Church leaders to negotiate increased protections for the Church in Norway. In 1926, after several years of debate, the number of visas for Latter-day Saint missionaries was increased from 4 to 14.