Persecution for Preaching the First Angel’s Message
135
them, and for six weeks they searched for them in the woods, but in
vain.
Through the efforts of the priest they were finally arrested and
imprisoned. An account of this is given by one of the young men, as
follows: “At last the priest summoned us to appear before him. In
answer to this summons, about forty of us, mostly young men and
women, repaired to his house. After a few questions, he felt our pulse
to ascertain if we were affected by disease. We assured him that we
were in good health. He then became angry, and demanded a reason
for our conduct. This we gave him from the Bible. When we had
finished presenting our faith, we noticed that nearly all present had
been weeping. All, except my companion and myself, were permitted
to return home. The next morning we were arrested by the police,
and thrown into the prison at Orebro, where we were assigned a cell
among the thieves.
“When we were brought before the governor for examination, he
demanded by what authority we were sent to preach. We referred
him to
Joel 2
, and
Revelation 14:6-8
, and told him further that the
Spirit of God came upon us with such power that we could not resist it.
After a number of questions he angrily said, ‘I will cure you of your
foolishness.’ He then lashed us till his strength failed, when he threw
the scourge to his private secretary, and ordered him to continue the
lashing. After being severely punished in this way, we were returned to
our cell. The same treatment was repeated the next day. The governor
ended by saying, ‘If you do not cease your preaching, I will shut you
up where neither sun nor moon can ever shine upon you.’
“The following day we were taken to the hospital to be examined
by the doctors. Two physicians, two ministers, and a chamberlain were
present. We were requested to testify concerning our faith, and we
complied with this request. While we were speaking, the chamberlain
left the room, with tears streaming from his eyes. The ministers and
one of the doctors soon after withdrew without saying a word. The
remaining doctor then called in his servant, and directed him to shave
our heads, but to leave some hair in the form of a cross. This was done,
and the next day we were taken to the insane asylum.
“Here we were put in a room which had been left by its previous
occupant in so filthy a condition as to be not only unhealthful but
indecent. In the morning we were conducted to an antechamber, and