Pulpit

Conference Address

Fritz Johanneson, Former Acting President of the Swedish Mission

1947 October General Conference·Second Day Morning Session·1947-10-04

It is a very humble man who is now standing before you. My family and I just came from Sweden, and I cannot speak good English, but I trust in God that you can understand what I shall say.

When the world war was breaking out it was an experience of great importance in the history of the Church. In the Swedish Mission we had 70 missionaries, and, as you know, they were called home. The local brethren were asked to take charge of the missionary work, which they did with great willingness and humility; and I can say that the Lord was good to us and blessed us and the saints.

In Sweden we did not have to suffer from lack of foodstuffs. We could help the saints in Norway and Finland. Finland also had belonged to the Swedish Mission since it was organized, but now it is a separate mission with President Henry A. Matis as its first president. When President Matis arrived in Finland there were two newly organized branches, one in Helsinki and one in Oboe. I had the

opportunity to be a missionary in Finland after I was released from my work as acting president in Sweden. When President Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve came to the Swedish and Finnish Missions it was a great event. All of this time Finland was being prepared for the preaching of the gospel, and I saw at that time how 'much better the work was going forward. The newspapers were very friendly, and they had fine articles on the front pages of their papers. Finland was the first land in the northern countries to which our message could be sent over the radio.

I am very thankful for the opportunity which I have to bear my testimony, which I do now, that I know that God lives; I know that Jesus Christ is His Son. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that President George Albert Smith is also a prophet of God. It is not very long ago that I was standing in Hamburg and a missionary was giving that message, and from that time I have read the scriptures. I recognized that the message that missionary gave was true, and the time came when I had to repent. I know that we cannot baptize a man .or a woman who has not faith and who has not repented. We must always have repentance. I thank my Heavenly Father for the wonderful feeling that I have and for the beautiful messages we have heard at this conference and that we shall hear. I pray that we may accept of these things and so live that our Heavenly Father can accept of us. I do this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Cite this talkFritz Johanneson, "Conference Address," 1947 October General Conference, Second Day Morning Session (1947-10-04). Pulpit Vault, 1947-10-fritz-johanneson-conference-address. Authoritative print text from catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org.Pulpit Vault, edition of 23 September 2026 (commit 4bdc6ac627).
Elsewhere in the corpus
  1. 1935Testimony of the Swedish MissionGustave W. Forsberg¶ 5
  2. 1904Sustaining AuthorityChristian N. Lund¶ 5
  3. 1960Patriarchal BlessingsEldred G. Smith¶ 5
  4. 1964My Brothers And Sisters This Is Indeed...Paul H. Dunn¶ 5
  5. 1884Missionary Labors Reviewed—Testimony Gained—Predictions Fulfilled—Condition of the World—Prospects of the Swiss and German Mission—Class of Men Selected by the Lord for His Work—Restoration of the Gospel—The Priesthood Necessary—How It Was Restored—Ancient Prophecies Concerning the Latter-Day Work—Why the Saints Are Hated—Persecution Predicted—Political Aspect—Revelation Necessary—Distinction Between the Holy Ghost and the Spirit Given to Every Man—True Education—How Joseph Smith and Orson Pratt Obtained Theirs—How Abraham and Moses Were Taught—Action of Congress ConsideredJohn Q. Cannon¶ 5

Passages elsewhere in the record that speak where this talk speaks — nearest first, found by comparing paragraph texts. Each opens at the cited paragraph.