February, 2009 The

HARVESTER
Den Norske Misjon
D&C 101:63-4 . . . I say unto you, I will show unto you wisdom in me concerning all the churches, in as much
as they are willing to be guided in a right and proper way for their salvation--- that the work of the gathering
together of my saints may continue . . . for the time of harvest is come, and my word must needs be fulfilled.

Message from the President

Dear Elders and Sisters,

We hope you enjoyed and were uplifted, as we were, by our zone conferences in January. Our
zone leaders did a wonderful job teaching us about the Book of Mormon. It was great to be with
you and feel of your strength and testimony. Thanks for being the great missionaries you are.

We have talked a lot about developing Christlike attributes. We know that Christ is perfect and
we are told in 3 Nephi 27:27 that we are to be like him. This may seem overwhelming to you as it
does to us. Preach My Gospel tells us that Christlike attributes are gifts from God and that we
cannot develop them without His help. Sometimes we forget this part.

Elder Hafen in his article ―The Restored Doctrine of the Atonement‖ gives us hope and
encouragement as we strive to become more like the Savior.

―We clearly lack the capacity to develop a Christlike nature by our own effort alone. Thus, the
perfecting attributes, which include hope, charity, and finally the divine nature that is inherently
part of eternal life, are ultimately ―bestowed upon all who are true followers of Jesus Christ‖
(Moro. 7:48) by the grace that was made possible by the Savior’s atonement.

God bestows these additional, perfecting expressions of grace conditionally, as he does the grace
that allows forgiveness of sin. They are given ―after all we can do‖ (2 Ne. 25:23)—that is, they are
given as an essential supplement to our best efforts. We prove worthy and capable of receiving
these gifts not only by obeying particular commandments but also by demonstrating certain
personal attitudes and attributes, such as ―meekness and lowliness of heart‖ (Moro. 8:26) and ―a
broken heart and a contrite spirit‖ (3 Ne. 9:20)‖

We can go forward with hope, trust and faith that as we try, as we improve each day, and as we
focus on the Savior, we can become more like Him.

Keep up the good work. You are doing great!

Love,
President and Sister Poulsen
 February 2009

Dear fellow missionaries,

I know that if we don’t gain a stronger testimony of obedience every day our desire to share the
gospel will slow down. We are not asked by our Heavenly Father to be obedient to a set of rules
just to see if we could do it. Instead we are asked to sacrifice everything in the cause of Christ – to
do our very best always. Christ understood that if He did not do His very best He would not
complete His work on the earth. It was this same obedience that gave him to power to overcome
death. He knew that just being obedient wouldn’t be enough, and he understood perfectly that he
had to consecrate his whole heart to the Father’s will. Five years ago, in our mission, Elder D. Lee
Tobler said, ―Being obedient is putting in an average effort measured by rules. Are you ready to
move from obedience to being consecrated?‖

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which ALL
blessings are predicated - and when we obtain ANY blessing from God, it is by obedience to that
law upon which it is predicated. (D&C 130:20-21) Think about the blessings you really want in
your mission. What you really want. For me right now it’s a baptism in March, or two. For you it
may be different. But whatever it is, the Lord has already promised it to us. All we need to do is to
obey the law upon which that specific blessing is predicated.

Take the example of a new investigator. Each one is different. There are some of God’s children
that will only agree to meet with the missionary who looks like he really loves what he is doing.
There are some that will only listen to the missionary who speaks good Norwegian. And there are
some that will only listen to the missionaries once they are out knocking in the rain, wet and
miserable. It is up to us to be obedient enough to these kinds of requirements to qualify ourselves
for the blessings. This is not just the white handbook we’re talking about. This is something more
important. Just as diligence is more than just being out, true obedience is more than a set of rules.

We have been promised a thousand times. We’ve been promised success, we’ve been promised
revelation. He’s waiting to bless us, the elect are already there. The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley
said: ―The field is white [and] ready to harvest‖ (D&C 4:4). The Lord has repeatedly declared this.
Shall we not take Him at His word?‖(Find the Lambs Feed the Sheep, Ensign 1999)

When we are not only obedient but consecrated, our hearts will change. We will not only want to
do better but we will do better. We’ll do the things we have to in order to qualify for the blessings
He has for us. We love you and hope that we can all gain a stronger testimony of our Heavenly
Father and the true obedience He expects of us.
Mvh,
Eldste Cramer & Eldste Leatham

Obedience is the price we pay for power and protection

 February 2009

Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to change are like the
man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land.
Joseph B. Wirthlin, ―Three Choices,‖ Liahona, Nov 2003, 78–81

―Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out
of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds,
strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities,
comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service
of God will find eternal life.
President Ezra Taft Benson

From the Office Mail Room

Dear Elders and Sisters,

Pamphlets (Hefter) are now available in most languages in the Mission Office.
Last week, after we had run completely out of the Book of Mormon in Norwegian, we
finally received our shipment, including most of the pamphlets we had ordered in languages other
than English and Norwegian. We could include a list of languages for which we now have
pamphlets but it would be too long!! It is easier to mention the languages in which the standard
missionary pamphlets, namely The Restoration, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, and The Plan of
Salvation, are currently not available. These languages are: Afrikaans, Amharic, Burmese,
Cambodian (Khmer), Fante, Hilgaynon (Ilongo), Hindi, Hmong, Igbo, Ilokano, Kirbati
(Gilbertese), Malagsy, Tahitian, Tamil, Telugu, Tongan, Turkish and Urdu.

We also received Books of Mormon in many languages. So if you need something please
call the office and we will probably say: ―Yes, we have it! It will go out in today’s mail.‖

We are still waiting for copies of the new Swedish translation of the Book of Mormon.

Finally, the New Liahona mentions that a new triple combination in Chinese Simplified
was released in October 2008 but we have no stock number for it yet.

As usual, we are anxious to send you whatever you need to help you bring souls unto
Christ.
One Last Note!
Here is a question we have both wondered about: “When is Priority not PRIORITY???”
Answer: When it’s a package to a missionary which has been sent to the Mission Office
Postboks 94 address. Posten Norge refuses to forward them without paying a significant
additional charge. PLEASE HAVE PARENTS ETC. SEND ALL PRIORITY MAIL
PACKAGES DIRECTLY TO YOUR HYBEL ADDRESS!!

Elder and Sister Arnesen

 February 2009
Our Miracle Column
One woman that we taught told us that she was thinking about us and what we were saying the other
night when we knocked on her door. Then ten minutes later we came by and she let us right in. I know
that the lord communicates in special ways. My companion and I taught them the message of the
Restoration and both her and her husband were very receptive to our message and both had several
questions about the Book of Mormon.
---
We had a marvelous Sunday - specifically fast and testimony meeting. It was a very up lifting meeting.
Our investigator asked me if it was all right for her to bear her testimony even though she wasn't a
member. I said of course it was. She asked me to translate for her so we went up to the pulpit and she
bore her testimony. It was great. In her testimony, she told about a dream she had, in which she had
seen the three degrees of glory. She explain that the people in the lower two kingdoms were unhappy
and sad that they had not done better and they all looked towards the extremely bright light coming
from the celestial kingdom. And she had a very good understanding of the types of people that would
be placed in the different kingdoms. She said that she knows the church is true and has a desire to be
baptized. She was nervous but she was brave and went and did it. One of the members said that she set
the spirit of the meeting.
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What an amazing week it has been! My companion and I have decided to call it "Miracle Week"! Things
have been rather rough for quite a while. There were days where we would be out in -15 degree weather
for 4-5 hours, and not find a single person who would talk to us. To be completely honest, I felt like the
worlds worst missionary. Last Sunday, we sat down together and talked about what was missing. I had
felt the Spirit in our work, but I realized that we needed to FOCUS on the Spirit, 100% of the time. Our
prayers became more fervent, and our spirits became more attuned. We tried harder to be as obedient as
we could, and we started going the extra mile in everything we did. The results have been astounding.
Last week, we didn't teach much at all, and did not have immediate success. This week, we found over a
dozen new people, and nine of them have already become investigators, with more on the way! We've
had to tell people that we don't have TIME to meet with them for several days! We didn't even have
time to eat on Saturday because we were running from appointment to appointment! It's been amazing!
People have stopped US on the street and said that they need to learn more about Christ. A lady (whom
I have never met) called us and said that she needed Jesus in her life, and wanted to make us dinner and
be taught! A man stopped us on the street and said that he has a Book of Mormon and that he uses it
with the Bible and gets a greater understanding of the gospel. He said he knows it's true, and that he
wants us to come visit him! SO MUCH stuff like that has happened! My companion and I just look at
each other and say, "This is ridiculous! We're not even doing anything!" All I know is that when times
are the hardest, it is THEN that it is most important to keep going. Everything before leads up to
THAT point, and that is the make or break, the "Trial of our Faith". I know that if we had begun to
slack off when things got rough; we would NOT have received the blessings we have. Be of good cheer;
it was in the forth watch of the night in which the Savior came.

Baptisms Reported in January

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Baptism Confirmation- - -
Name Date Date Location Missionaries
Håseth, Stewart 9 Jan 2009 11 Jan 2009 Tromsø-Mission Elders Wallace/Eagar
Meygananamurugan,
Ketheswaran 10 Jan 2009 11 Jan 2009 Trondheim–Mission Sisters Silvennoinen/Lewis
Eze, Pascal Okey 18 Jan 2009 18 Jan 2009 Narvik-Mission Elders Swan/Olsson

Elders Leatham/Cramer