Aksel J. Smith

This greatly beloved brother was an outstanding shepherd and prophet. He revealed the “face of a man” in the Godhead as we read in Ezekiel 1:5-10: “Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appear­ance: they had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. Their wings touched one an­other. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.”

With respect to the development of the church, in many ways it was Aksel J. Smith who led the way with a divine vi­sion. He grew up with his father, and that gave him an intui­tive compass by which he saw the way ahead for the church. Seeing his father’s wisdom in many matters gave him insight, and he followed him into the same life of a disciple. When he was young, his father said of him that he was called to be a shepherd and a prophet. In the last year of his life, J. O. Smith handed over the responsibility for editing Skjulte Skatter to Aksel. He performed this ministry with great zeal for 55 years. He has also recorded the history of the church by writing ar­ticles summarizing the conferences through all those years.

He was pure from envy, and he highly esteemed those God had placed in the church. Because of this, he understood where the green pastures were. Why should we drive the sheep up on the cliffs when there is a smooth path down to the valley? It might seem daring and courageous to drive the flock to do extreme things, but that is not wisdom. Even though certain individuals could be quite extreme, he watched over the publication so that only what was edifying was printed. He had the Spirit of wisdom in his heart right from his youth. Wisdom walks in the midst of the path of jus­tice. He was not an extremist, leaning to the right or to the left, but was a guide in what was good. Many people found the way to life and to the good through the good words he spoke in the meekness of wisdom. He revealed the human face of the Godhead in many ways. He had a very special care for those who lived in isolated spots. He visited them and corresponded with them, and he kept contact with many individuals. Fur­thermore, the songs he wrote have some of the greatest con­tent of any songs we have. He knew how to chase away people’s darkness and despair, and many experienced God through his ministry.

If difficulties had arisen between the leading brothers at that time, I think the church in Norway would have followed Aksel J. Smith. No such situation ever occurred, but Aksel J. Smith was a master at finding the way so that each individual felt secure and could make progress on the way of life with joy.

We have had extremists among us who have wanted to drive people up the precipice where they could fall to their death. The good shepherd finds a way where the sheep can gladly follow. By taking a slightly longer road that is not nearly as dangerous, you still reach the same goal. This is the way he preached too. In him the church sensed the heart of a shepherd and a prophet whom they could safely follow. God placed this testimony in the hearts of those who heard him.

He also saved the church from interminably long meetings when Elias Aslaksen forgot the time. Once during a meeting at one of our conferences, Elias Aslaksen went out to the bath­room. When he returned, he wanted to continue the meeting for another two hours. So Aksel Smith said to him: “Think about all the friends who also want to do what you have just done.” Then Aslaksen immediately yielded. Before Johan O. Smith died, he exhorted Aksel to help Aslaksen with the clock. Aslaksen always yielded in great humility to what Aksel J. Smith said. With respect to the church’s development today, we see that it has progressed in many ways exactly the way Aksel J. Smith would have wanted it to.

Brunstad

One of the last things that Johan O. Smith recounted be­fore he died was a dream. When he awoke one morning, he said: “Last night I had a very clear dream. I was standing at the station in Hokksund with two large suitcases. I dragged and pulled them with me all the way down to Vestfold.”

When the brothers began thinking about a conference cen­ter, Hokksund was very much at the front of their minds. It was a major railway junction in Norway, and no one was thinking further than the work in Norway at that time. Never­theless, Pinehas Nilsen informed Aksel J. Smith about an ad­vertisement he had seen in the newspaper Aftenposten for a farm called Brunstad. Aksel J. Smith went down to Brunstad to take a look around. Even though it lay under deep snow, he sensed a prophetic enthusiasm awake in his heart. He imag­ined the friends owning this fantastic farm, right on the fjord, and realized that this was what God wanted to give us. Brother Bratlie was in Germany at the time, so Aksel J. Smith sent him a message via express mail regarding the purchase of Brunstad. “It’s not Hokksund; it’s Brunstad in Vestfold we should buy!” he wrote, with such prophetic enthusiasm that Bratlie immediately called home and said: “Aksel J. Smith is right—we must buy Brunstad!” Brother Aslaksen agreed.

Unfortunately, the brothers had already signed a contract for the property in Hokksund. Aslaksen thought they should go and speak to the seller. Some brothers tried to push for the Hokksund property and influenced others toward that end. When they arrived in Hokksund, the seller came out to meet them. He said, “I regret that I have agreed to this contract with you. I have sold it for too little.” He was hoping we would pay more for the property.

“That’s no problem at all! You are hereby released from the contract. We are going to buy a completely different property. Goodbye!” said Aksel J. Smith. Aslaksen agreed with Smith and Bratlie, and that was the end of the matter.

Today it is clear that God wanted to give us Brunstad. There is an airport close by, and it has proved to be one of the best places in all of Norway for the friends. Since that time, God has also opened avenues for us to purchase more land. Today, Brunstad is twice the size of the parcel we purchased in 1956.

After the war, if you wanted to build a meeting hall, you had to make a request to the government, because building material was scarce in the country. At one point, when we were feeling the pinch and needed to expand, the local coun­cilman in Tønsberg said to Aksel Smith:

“That’s it, Smith: you’re not allowed to expand any fur­ther.”

“Is there no one else I can speak with?” asked Smith.

“Well, of course, you can ask the department to re-examine the case,” said the manager, “but that won’t be of any use.”

So Smith went to Oslo and arranged a meeting with the departmental secretary.

“What is it you are trying to do there? Does it have any­thing to do with schools?” asked the secretary.

“Why, of course, we have something to do with schools—this is Bible instruction at the highest level,” answered Smith.

“Well, that’s fine then,” said the departmental secretary and stamped the papers.

Aksel J. Smith then went back to the councilman in Tønsberg.

“Now everything is in order,” said Smith. “The department has approved our case.”

“What? That’s impossible. Was it approved as a school?”

“Yes, after all, this is education at the highest level.”

“Well, alright, then. I suppose you get my stamp of approval as well. A beloved child has many pet names!”

A Daring and Courageous Man

During the war, very little printing paper was available, so all local papers were shut down to enable the major papers to continue. Aksel J. Smith was determined that Skjulte Skatter must continue—it came to him in a dream. He went to the department in Oslo and spoke with them to find out if it was possible to continue publishing the paper.

“No, every local publication must cease now,” was the an­swer he received.

“Skjulte Skatter isn’t a local publication,” said Smith.

“Is Skjulte Skatter a major paper for your activity?” asked the departmental manager.

“Yes, most definitely! It is a major paper for the entire country and for all our work,” answered Smith.

“Do you have your own printing paper?” asked the man­ager.

“Yes, we have enough paper to last for years,” replied Smith.

“Well, if that’s the case, you may continue,” said the de­partmental manager.

Aksel J. Smith was a man of faith who fought the good fight of faith so the friends could thrive. Once, before we bought Brunstad, he went out there to survey it. “This is the place for the friends,” he thought to himself. “We must make it good for the friends.” Another time, he was speaking about the friends, and he said to me: “They are the worst according to the flesh, but the most noble in God’s creation according to the Spirit. Remember that, Kåre!” That caused me to esteem the friends very highly. He esteemed everyone highly—even the very least of people. We never sensed that he sought his own through his ministry, something he could have easily done, being the son of Johan O. Smith. He served in humility and goodness and was thus extremely beloved by the friends.

He was an excellent husband and a very good father, and some of his gentleness and goodness is also visible in his chil­dren. Even his children who don’t consider themselves to be in the church today have a very positive attitude and a deep thankfulness for the church.

He was no creature of habit. If there was nice summer weather, he called off the meeting and instead went down to the beach at Borrestrand (outside Horten)—with the whole church. “Here in Horten we learn the curriculum so quickly that we start our holidays in May already, and we don’t need to start up again before the autumn. In Oslo they have to have meetings even during the conference at Brunstad,” he once said. And on another occasion: “When the sheep and the goats were being chased up the Oslo fjord, the sheep got so tired they stopped off here at Horten, but the goats carried on to Oslo.” Of course, it was all said in jest, but I wonder if there was something prophetic about it anyway.

When we think about what it means to be a shepherd and a prophet in the church, we cannot help but think about Aksel J. Smith. He was, in many ways, the glue that bound the respon­sible brothers together. It was so easy to receive his words and advice. His fullness of goodness gave him easy access to people’s hearts. That is why he could help so many. As evan­gelists, Aksel J. Smith and Elihu Pedersen were a great bless­ing all across Norway. They spoke and sang the glorious truths of the gospel into people’s hearts.

Once he said to me, “It would be fun to implement more of the things God has been working in me in the church, Kåre, but I guess you can do that.”