Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Mission to Norway 1970-1972 Brent Grigg Section 8


                                                                                       Fredrikstad, Norway 1971
April 1, 1971

I'll never forget the prayer that was offered by Bror Fosse.  The feeling I had and the burning that was in my bosom I cannot deny that the Lord was there.  Just before leaving we received a piece of handiwork from Runor and it was the most cherished gift I have received here in Norway.  When the day is over and everything is said and done,  I must thank the Lord for the help He has given me. 

April 4, 1971

A fast Sunday with sunshine and with a spirit that gives a person the feeling of love and helps to give the week a real good start.  

April 5, 1971

We awoke today with a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and was beginning to come up.  We had our regular study class and I studied a while and we had a big breakfast with egg, toast, cheese, milk and rice.  It sure filled me up.   


                                                                     Picture taken in April, 1971 in Fredrikstad, Norway

April 10, 1971 

Well, we were up and had our regular study class.  Of course I had to wash up and get my baptism clothes out so that I could be prepared for the rest of the day.  . . . . . It then came time to get in my baptismal clothes and to help the Fosses get into theirs.  Have you ever tried to herd a bunch of cattle, that was how it went.  Eddy had to change clothes.  They couldn't find any that would fit him and then Runar kept taking Eddy's.  Bro Fosse seemed able and capable but his pants were too big so he had to do some trading.  . . . . I baptised Runar and Eddy.  It is almost unbelievable the feeling I had. It was indescribable and it is something a person must do to know what I mean.  

April 19, 1971

We had a different day.  We did some tree trimming that seemed to help us get a really nice suntan or should I say sunburn.  We trimmed for about 5 hours and then Mor made us some middag (dinner)  and we ate and then finished up.   

I did learn something while talking to the J. W. That God lives and that we have the truth.  My testimony was really strengthened.   

May 2, 1971

I really seemed to feel weak today but my spirituality has seemed to rise.  My testimony is stronger and my body is healthier.   After church I came home and tried my luck with a pork and bean casserole. I used potatoes, pork and beans, water, tabasco sauce, milk, flour, and butter and put it all together and baked it. I made some pudding and then put cheese on the casserole and made carrot salad with raisins.  It sure was a good dinner.  The best I've tasted for a long time.  

May 9, 1971

I taught priesthood as always and to my surprise I was called to lead the meeting. It was sure cool. I'm glad that I had had the experience febfore.  After church I was given a real great opportunity to ordain Brother Fosse into the Aaronic priesthood. He was ordained to a deacon.   

May 12, 1971

The phone rang and it was the president.  I was moving to Fredrikstad with a new elder.  In a way it wasn't a surprise. I hope I can continue in the path I have found myself.  Always doing the Lord's work. I hope I can actually help this new missionary overcome his shyness and to become a good instrument in the hands of the Lord.  


                                                                                               Fredrikstad, Norway 1971

May 18, 1971

I knocked on the door and the man came, he wasn't going to let us in.  But I continued talking and he came out.  We continued talking about religion and then his wife came to the door. She asked me some questions and I answered.  Then she started saying that you need not be baptized.  Well that turned my thoughts to John 31:5 and I bore testimony of.  After a while they let us come in.  We sat down and I answered their questions and at the end we gave them a Book of Mormon. I shall never forget that sermon that I preached.  I have never born testimony so hard as I did that night.  

May 20, 1971

My companion seems to be improving. He is beginning to speak fluently and he losing his scaredness.  He still has a hard time staying awake.  

May 26, 1971

When arriving home I read my brother's letter and found out he had been called to the Central German Mission.  It was sure cool to hear about it.  He sounded very pleased with the opportunity to go and preach the gospel.  I am sure the Lord will bless him in his work.  It will  be so cool to hear from him time and again.       

June 12, 1971

We spent the morning cleaning up around the church.  Mopping floors and carrying out garbage.  The Johanne's gave us a very good dinner.  They were so kind. That evening we did some tracting and then went to our appointment .  We taught them about Mormon's Bok and then we gave the parts of the first discussion.  We received an invitation to come back again next week.

Many of Elder Grigg's entries are talking about tracting, placing Book of Mormon's and teaching the gospel to people they meet at their homes or in the streets.  Many times he talks about returning to their apartment to pray and then go back to work again. 

June 20, 1971

Today the sun is shining and there is a small breeze blowing.  We have had our study class and eaten breakfast.  I read the Sunday School lesson and really came to know the true meaning of "blessed is the pure in heart for they shall see God.  It is so true. I only pray that I can be of the pure in heart.  That I can only say that which need to be said.  That I can say it in the spirit, have meekness and in power.    

June 25, 1971

The morning went pretty slow.  There were very few people that were willing to listen to he message that we had.  There were a few.  The rest of the people just were not home.  We got into a quick discussion at the door with a boy about our age. He sure knew the scriptures but he was lacking the meaning behind them. 

June 27, 1971

To begin the day, I prepared my talk on the 3rd person in the Godhead.  It wasn't a bad talk at all. There wasn't many at church but everything went real smooth.

 

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Mission to Norway 1970-1972 Brent Grigg Section 9



It is hard to decide what to post for the family to read.   Brent was very good about recording in his journal something every day.  
I am condensing 20 pages of entries each month into one or two pages. I try to posts happy posts and some discouraging ones, but have to miss many other entries.  It would be a very long post if I put everything from his journal here.  I hope everyone finds it enjoyable.  I often wonder about the families he teaches and how they are doing today.

 July 4, 1971

It has sure been a wonderful fast day. It is very uplifting when you can have the Lord's spirit to  help and guide you in your work. Last night I had the feeling that my prayers would be answered and they were today at Sunday School during class. It was just fantastic.  I feel so much at ease because I have found out just how I should preach the gospel.  That inner feeling was there.  Something I haven't had for some time.  It was a wonderful feeling.  

July 5, 1971

What a long day.  I have never felt so tired in my life.  It seems like we walked forever.  I sometimes wonder if it is all worth it.  I guess it really is.  I can remember what I said after baptizing the Foss family. It was worth every minute of it.  

July 13, 1971

I received some real cool letters to help me in my work. I guess you would say it was the best letter I have had in a long time.  They were geared to the work.   It was fantastic.  My dad challenged me to beat him in baptisms.  I'm going to try my hardest.    

July 30, 1971

. . . . . Now comes the testimony meeting.  I sure did enjoy this testimony meeting.  I really felt the witness of the spirit.  i will never forget how much I lost my strength as I bore testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel and to the fact that I had been converted.  Tears streamed down my eyes as I said with a voice of a trumpet. "I am converted.  Strengthen your brethren."

August 12, 1971

Tracted all morning long with little results.  Few people home and not many wanting to hear the truth.   

August 17, 1971

I picked up my sweater sent me from the Clistad's in Moss.  It sure was a pretty sweater.  The price was just outrageous.  


August 30, 1971

It seems like I am always having a hard time staying asleep at nights.  I guess it is worth it as long as the Lord keeps blessing us.  I am sure that this days activities will be remembered.  

September 8, 1971

We had a open house. It was for the Relief Society.  It wasn't really bad.  We received many referrals from Oge Lerdahl, a new member.  We just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  It was cool.  

September 13, 1971

We had a day of placing Books of Mormons and giving discussions.  We gave one first and placed three.  We also had a fast day for an investigator boy.  They wanted us to bless him. It was sure something to lay our hands upon that boy's head and have the feeling come over me that he was to remain as he was.  The Lord had a purpose that Ole Peter should be crippled.  His father was sure happy and his mother smiled continuously.  I have never seen the love they had for that child. I hope I can always be remindful of their love.  They gave us Smorrebrod (bread and butter)  and we stayed with them a little while.  His mother left and we invited them out to church.  He, the boys father, was just so thankful that we could give their son a blessing.  When we left he gave us both a large hug.  I'll never forget it.  

September 16, 1971

Our morning just seemed to hit the spot.  We worked all morning long but not much action.  Then about 1:00 we began teaching discussions. Two firsts, one right after another.  We never even placed any Books of Mormon.  But we did get some nice commitments. 

September 25, 1971

What a day to remember! I must say that I'm completely out of gas.  My poor body just won't go much more.  We began early this morning with study class.  Cleaning the hybel (dorm) and then seeing the Evan's family.  We had two baptisms planned with Sister Solbakken and her daughter and a Mr. Herr Hash. It was really cool. Afterwards we left on the train and I and my companion were just completely dead. 

September  26, 1971

We are always the busiest on the Sabbath. Why I don't know.  I guess it is always the best day to do the Lord's work.  We had an investigator come to church.   (The interesting thing is that this is Brent's birthday and he made no comment on remembering that it was his birthday or doing anything special to celebrate)  





 



Monday, November 28, 2022

Mission to Norway 1970-1972 Brent Grigg Section 10



The next two months in his mission journal are filled with lots of tracting.  There are examples of lots of placing Book of Mormon's, lots of great examples of missionary work,  lots of disappointments as new investigators become uninterested, and lots of closed doors.  I am including just a few of them. 

October 4, 1971

The evening was a thrill. Our 2:30 appointment fell through but we met a real cool family that had just lost their oldest boy because of a motorcycle wreck.  They are going to be golden.  We'll be seeing them Sunday afternoon for a first.

October 11, 1971

Our evening was just fantastic. We were able to spend almost the whole night teaching.  The Hansen family had their boy visiting.  We kindly talked with him to gain his interest.  We finally got him interested through the Book of Mormon. We then went to see another lady and she was hard to teach.  She was very religious so we presented a Book of Mormon to her and she accepted it very readily.  it was so nice.  We came home and prepared for tomorrow.  

October 17, 1971

What a new Sunday for me.  I had to be the leading Elder in Church while President Erikson and Elder Johnson went to Moos and visited them.  It was fun.  

October 21, 1971

It was sure fun working with Elder Cook and Hill today.  I seemed to learn a lot and have many of my questions answered concerning my calling as District Leader.  

October 23, 1971

A full day! study, buying Christmas gifts and planning.  We tracted and placed. Book of Mormon.  We did some call backs and got. n appointment with a cool young family.

October 24, 1971

We had a full house at church today. It was sure cool.  I must also say that I seem to be learning more and more each day.  My companion tried cooking spoiled fish so my appetite wasn't there when we went to eat.  

November 5, 1971

That evening it began raining and we were seeing our precious call backs! It was nice.  We placed Book of Mormons in all the places we were able to visit.  It even started snowing. 

November 15, 1971

It was sure fun teaching Sister Mokshum and to be able to interview her.  My first baptism as a district leader.  What a joy that was.  She offered on the most beautiful prayers.  She is going to be a great member.   

November 22, 1971

During the evening we found a cool family.  Hera Forsberg.  He even prayed for help.  I only pray the Lord will help us when teaching them on Friday.  

November 26, 1971

That evening we tracted and saw our call backs.  We taught a first discussion to the Forsberg family.  They really are golden.  They said they would pray and read.  

November 28, 1971

We felt a change while with the Forsberg family. They accepted the first discussion and wanted more.  We set the baptismal date for the 25th of December.  That is going to be so cool.  They sure can answer questions easily.  I pray the Lord will answer their prayers.  


Sunday, November 27, 2022

Mission to Norway 1970-1972 Brent Grigg Section 11



                                                                                                                         

December 5,  1971

It was sure a nice fast.  I've really grown to enjoy the purpose of fasting.  I get so much strength from it.  The Forsberg family showed up for church.  That was cool. I only hope they really enjoyed the meeting.  

December 6, 1971

We did some new tracting in the blocks over the bridge and did some retracting.  We placed two Book of Mormons.  Then to Moss and visit the Elders and back home made an appointment with the L'smo family and went to Gluppe and placed a Book of Mormon and spent the rest of the evening with Sister Solbaakken. There were sure a lot of kids there.  I thought I was going to die.  But everything went just fine.

                                              

December 11,1971

We traveled to Holden for team meeting. It sure was a nice team meeting.  We enjoyed seeing the castle and talking with each other.  We came home.  I filled out Christmas cards and did that which was necessary.  By then it was time for bed.  

December 18, 1971

December 18 was sure a build up.  We went to Oslo and were able to be helped with our duties.  We came home and then prepared this and that and then went out to see the Forsbergs.  We taught them the 3rd discussion and convinced them the need of a prophet.  We received a return appointment for Sunday. That ended our day. 

December 19

We went and taught the Forsberg family. They agreed to a have a fast and to pray about church and its truthfulness.  I'll never forget his prayer he offered and his remarks afterwards.  "Du ma be!" (You must pray)

December 22, 1971

I worked all day with Elder Gesster and we had a hay day.  We placed 5 Book of Mormons and we gave a first discussion which was really cool.  I hope they will come into the church. it sure is fun working with new Elders.  You just seem to be lifted up.  

December 25, 1971

This was sure a different Christmas.  We decide to visit the State Church to hear their message.  This was how it went.  There was a choir that sang and a few talks given. Before and after each talk there was a prayer.  The main talk by Bishop Per Lonning concerned the word, fear not.  He used it in the world today and tried to bring people to understand the importance of the living of the gospel.  I received a Christmas card from the Forsberg family. It was so cool.  I am so confident that they will be baptised.  

                                                                       

December 29, 1971

. . . . . That evening there was a very cool experience.  Elder Cook and I after 3 hours had very little luck. We went out and prayed.  When we were through praying we both felt that we had better visit this certain house.  We were rejected downstairs. But we both knew there was something three. So we went upstairs and knocked a woman came to the door and we were invited in at once.  We sat down and explained the gospel. She was interested.  We will return and teach her this coming New Years Eve. It is so cool.  

January 2, 1971

We spent the evening teaching the Forsberg family the 4th discussion.  We sure did try to commit them to a baptismal commitment.  After teaching the 4th discussion they wouldn't decide.  I was really impressed by the prayer that was offered by Sister Forsberg.  I must really say I was really humbled.  

January 12, 1971

There are many changes that have been made.  We called the president and were told that I would be moving to Oslo as Zone leader. What a surprise.  So the days activities were that of getting prepared to move. We taught as old lady and Elder Frylant and I were able to make a return appointment to teach the Forsberg family. 


January 13, 1971

At 2:30 we began to teach the Forsberg family. It was so cool.  The spirit was there too. I'm confident they will be baptized in time. 

   



Saturday, November 26, 2022

Mission to Norway 1970-1972 Brent Grigg Section 12





 January 16, 1971

We had many things to do to be prepared for Sunday and our Zone Conference coming up.  It was a real shock but we were able to do all these things. I taught. Sunday school class in English It was very difficult, but we made it.  We had team meetings and sacrament meeting and you just name it.  A hundred things to do. But they were all taken care of.   

January 17, 1971

We continued our Zone Conference assign and the then started procelyting During the day we taught 3 first discussions and placed 4 Book of Mormons.  It was really cool. We taught a cool family by the name of Benestad. This is a cool area. The people are all open and are willing to hear the Gospel.  The Lord is really blessing us.  



                                                                              The Forsberg family


This is the end of Brent's journal.  I think some of the pages fell out at some time so the last 2-3 months entries are missing.   He returned from his mission in March but was granted the opportunity to go home by way of Germany where his brother, Leslie was serving.  He spent a few days with Leslie and then returned home. After we were married he told me that he was able to baptise the Forsberg family on his last day in Norway. They came to our home in Provo after we were married to visit with us and thanked him for sharing the gospel with he and his family.  We heard later that he eventually was a  bishop and Stake President in Oslo.  We once were on Temple Square in Salt Lake City and ran into a young sister missionary serving from Norway who told us she was wonderful friends with the Forsgren family and told us that he was the reason she was on her mission. We never know what our service does for those we serve and those they serve. 

I hope this compilation of some of the excerpts from Brent's Mission Journal has helped our family love their father and grandfather and strengthen personal testimonies of mission service.  


                                                                                                 Brent and Leslie Grigg


                                                                                                A few of the souvenirs from Norway

Mission to Norway 1970-1972 Brent Grigg Section 1

Mission to Norway 1970-1972 Brent Leland Grigg Section 1 This is a blog created to share mission experiences and thoughts from Brent Grigg...