Grythyttehed
Sabbath and Sunday, October 24 and 25, we spent at Grythyttehed,
a village surrounded by forests, nearly a hundred and fifty miles north-
west from Stockholm. Here we were kindly cared for at the hospitable
home of Bro. and Sister Hedin. This brother had in former years been a
man of dissipated habits; and as the result, he was poor in every sense.
When the truth was preached here, he received it, and it began its
work in his life and character. He became temperate and industrious,
and began to prosper in his business, so that he now keeps several
men in his employ. He desired to entertain the ministers that visited
them; but his house was small, and his family large, and it was often
necessary for the ministering brethren to find a place among strangers.
Such was Bro. Hedin’s love for the truth, that he hired money to build
a good-sized two-story house where he could have room to receive
the Lord’s servants. Two large chambers, comfortably furnished, and
provided with stoves and writing-tables, are kept for their use. This
brother’s history shows what Bible truth can do for a man. It elevates,
ennobles, and refines him; it will fit him for the society of holy angels
in the kingdom of God.
But worldly prosperity is not often the lot of those who receive the
truth. Our brethren in America have but little idea of the difficulties to
be met by those who keep the Sabbath in these countries. The laboring
class is poorly paid, especially in the country. Many a man works
for thirty-five cents a day in the summer, and fifteen in the winter.
Most of our people are poor, and it is very difficult for them to obtain
work, even at low prices. The elder of this church is employed in a
store as general manager, and when he began to keep the Sabbath,
his salary was cut down from 700 to 600 kroner, about $162, a year;
on this small sum he supports a family of five. There are many who
have to lift a heavy cross, and walk by faith, not by sight. Many suffer
poverty and reproach; but this should not prevent them from obeying
God’s commandments. Their reward will be in accordance with their
self-denial and sacrifice for the truth’s sake.
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