Orebro
On our way to Christiania, we spent two days in Orebro, where
there is a small company of Sabbath-keepers. This place is situated
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in the central part of Sweden, in the midst of a fruitful valley, beyond
which, in the distant west, the blue mountains are visible. It has
upwards of twelve thousand inhabitants, and is one of the oldest cities
in Sweden, having probably been a city for a thousand years.
We arrived in Orebro in a rainstorm, and as there were no carriages
at the station, we were obliged to walk more than half a mile in the
rain to the house of Sister Jacobson. I had been ill, unable to take
sufficient food to sustain my strength, and this effort affected my heart,
causing a sharp pain that alarmed me. But an appointment was out for
me to speak that evening, and as the friends obtained a team to take us
to the place of meeting, I filled the appointment.
We were much disappointed to see what meager arrangements had
been made to bring the truth before the people of this large city. The
meetinghall consisted of a suite of chambers in the second story of a
private dwelling. As in many private houses in Sweden, the entrance
was at the rear of the building. The principal room would accommodate
about fifty persons, and the two smaller ones, opening one into the
other from this, would seat twenty each. All were furnished with board
benches, without backs. We had two evening meetings. At the first I
spoke from the words, “If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me;” and at the second, upon
the work of preparation to meet our Saviour, my text being, “Watch
ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to
escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before
the Son of man.” The rooms were crowded to their utmost capacity.
The Lord helped me to speak, and hearts were reached, I know, by
the starting tears, and the look of interest on many faces. I will do my
part faithfully in bringing the light before the people. If my brethren
neglect their duty, the responsibility will be theirs, not mine.
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