Resistance and Intervention in the Contact Zone: Mormon Missionaries as Organizational Migrants in Norway c. 1900

Missionary work has been a pivotal and obligatory undertaking within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since its inception in 1830, and Scandinavia emerged as a significant mission field in the 1850s. While the LDS Church came into existence in a U.S. context of religious pluralism, where the idea (though not necessarily the practice) of religious freedom was central, the Scandinavian religious context differed significantly as heterodoxy was opposed and only hesitantly tolerated on a limited scale. This was especially the case for Norway and Sweden where religious freedom was not formally codified until after World War II.The Church and its missionaries were not meekly submissive, but, rather, confronted the hegemonic position of the state religion, challenging Scandinavian religion, culture, and polity in a zealous manner. This assertiveness not only elicited opposition and resistance from individuals exposed to their proselytizing, but also counter-reactions from the majority religion and the state institutions that protected it, as well as from other actors connected with mainstream denominations. Although there were instances of missionary arrests and prosecutions from the outset, police interventions diminished, particularly after 1860. Despite being portrayed as a menace until the 1920s, the missionaries were generally tacitly tolerated, a strategy that stemmed more from calculated opportunism than an embrace of the concept of religious freedom. For key actors, maintaining silence on Mormonism seemed more effective than attempting to suppress it.1It was as envoys of both an organizational hierarchy and a distinct social and religious community that the missionaries engaged with non-Mormon local communities in Scandinavia and other mission fields worldwide. They were integral to both formalized non-personal organizational networks (the various bodies of the church hierarchy) and informal and personal networks among the missionaries, and between missionaries and family and friends back home. The missionaries also formed a community with local congregations—comprising converts and investigators participating in meetings, social events, and religious ceremonies alongside the missionaries.The missionaries embodied not only an organized form of migration but also a structured type of cultural encounter. The whole purpose of the migration was precisely to initiate cultural encounters and interaction and to facilitate a transcultural process in which individuals of the receiving society were introduced to and incorporated into the Mormon community. These encounters can be viewed as intentional cultural confrontations at both macro (society) and micro (individual) levels, potentially leading to transatlantic migration, given the pivotal role of gathering the “righteous” in Zion within the church until the late nineteenth century.Through the lens of Nils Evensen (1858–1939), a Norwegian-American Mormon missionary in the Trondheim conference, Norway, from 1904 to 1906, I will explore how an organizational migrant from the American religious community perceived and described his cultural encounters with Norwegian society in the early twentieth century. I will examine how the Church of Jesus Christ—both its hierarchy and the community it spawned—constituted a framework for his and his fellow missionaries’ activities and the cultural encounters they orchestrated. The inquiry investigates how such encounters, encompassing conflicts and interventions, were interpreted and mediated by Evensen and, to some extent, within the church hierarchy.Historical studies on Mormons in Norway have often focused on anti-Mormon sentiments in the broader society and attempts to counter the religion spiritually and politically.2 However, there is a lesser emphasis on how Mormons, both missionaries and converts, experienced and responded to strong resistance, and how they actively promoted and facilitated a transcultural process. While historians within the LDS Church have offered insights into the missionaries’ activities, these accounts often possess primarily descriptive and occasionally apologetic intentions.3In 1981, Gerald Haslam authored a significant doctoral thesis titled “The Norwegian Experience with Mormonism, 1842–1920,” later published as Clash of Cultures.4 While the title suggests a discussion of cultural collision or encounters, this aspect is not explicitly explored. In 2006, Johnnie Glad argued for “Clash of Religions” as a more fitting term, emphasizing the role of different religious doctrines over cultural differences.5 Like Haslam, Glad did not explicitly delve into the cultural encounters experienced by the missionaries.Andrew Jenson and William the cultural by missionaries the of the particularly as with limited to the also as mission from to over and the missionaries’ with local and their effective with the local how the of Mormonism cultural a is that and cultural or in a state of and to that cultural not only emerged within the Mormon community but that the Mormon to the of the broader cultural This was promoted by the within the Mormon community in from a on (the gathering in to This a broader as converts from to it, leading to an by both converts and their that cultural insights into a cultural from cultural encounters the of can be in a Norwegian context as cultural encounters, I on to organizational and The to individuals and on of an or encompassing such as of and and until organizational have been in migration to the of organizational in migration This often portrayed organizational as in migration such as the of their migration, limited into local social the of organizational as and their position to the limited they and that organizational have been perceived as by and They also that organizational a significant role in cultural both at their and their was by and as an for encounters between and local on the it was an concept the idea that individuals in to not in of emphasizing and often within of as a within the encompassing not only the of distinct but also the which or and they to from the Mormon missionaries from the of organizational as a in the interaction with the Norwegian especially the and with as an where the missionaries an This was particularly were However, in the missionaries’ with their individuals often from social to be more or in of the the missionaries to the that their embodied a of to the of the individuals they to This to the missionaries their with These encounters, by the missionaries, in such as on the and in organized by the missionaries, often the of the majority society and its The missionaries by and these to some extent, and to facilitate cultural among by Mormon This on missionaries were to and at to the of how the missionaries perceived and interpreted and interventions in these in cultural to the in which they particularly until the early century. of these missionaries from the or were the of from significant a Scandinavian and by the late nineteenth the LDS Church actively converts to in their for missionary the of missionary cultural a pivotal role in the of missionaries to various However, as Jenson and have in cultural and to be perceived as a precisely the Evensen in the Trondheim of the cultural among the missionaries, they embodied an cultural in their This did not from their with an American religion, which from in also from their to an American and cultural where they a and religious majority in as a and within the American their and the missionaries can be viewed as both and missionaries, Nils their missionary This an to as organizational Although maintaining mission was not the LDS Church it, from the concept of of in the The a purpose as were to their activities, such as the of and meetings, and on their work were The as a for of their While these did not have a the missionary and their they were not for church they in the of the The of such is to and by of missionaries to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a by a migration from the state of since This its the from to the in the is in its missionary and, until the late nineteenth in its of the outset, the LDS Church missionaries organized into a missionary with While participating in missionary work was of the church were by a and a strong to to this aspect of the missionaries to the of their work or from receiving or from the they often with and on from their In this missionaries in Scandinavia on a with the individuals they both and as individuals within Scandinavia a with Sweden later as a In the mission and the mission Norwegian in and the Trondheim conference, were in various from to the of were organized and by missionaries, were at the of the mission was a significant in after the of the by an of missionaries and This was not to Norway it was a as the LDS Church a of missionaries to and mission the early Norway between and missionaries However, by the the missionary to a to individuals to The of missionaries and after World War I to and the of and from a later in the to missionaries from the by a in to in the In 1906, the of Nils Norway a of missionaries from various In Trondheim that Evensen over fellow missionaries.The missionary into in the of Mormon the from in to an in a by In 1906, to church missionaries in the Trondheim engaged in and and were This formed the for significant between missionaries and These encounters were not only by the missionaries but often in with a the and of the of cultural and the of missionaries on religious is is the of to the LDS a between the in and the of missionaries from the early to However, it is to that a majority In missionaries in Norway to for a that a the missionary the religious in Norway the state as in the over a However, the of and from to The in a In 1906, their over with the being the to that In the Trondheim a with only This from significant primarily to to as well as of and an in individuals were converts and Mormons in In 1906, but of the missionaries were However, among the of in the Trondheim between and were The of converts of a the Church of in the and of in Norwegian-American Nils Evensen significant his missionary is a missionary his from his to in 1904 until his in The other is an from and a broader of his until The is in the in in Norway in from a family described as and they Mormonism his with local the family to the where Nils was as a in at the of as a missionary in the later to missionary work in on the of Norway and in the resistance his missionary were and was to and Evensen described an where a that his to as Evensen by the and In a to his back with a being with and in a the family to Zion as and a Nils from in They to an early the family to in In Evensen a from the LDS be to on a mission to This the of his mission Evensen was and of his as a a and of Norwegian and his This in his particularly his to his to in with and the where experienced a of the as the I was and This also of his religious and into the Mormon in his the back to the where the and where was the of his religious and cultural the being in it These with a of missionaries by a with cultural for the While have a Norwegian-American and been by the did not necessarily from the this have his in the LDS Church and its and informal networks significant over the missionaries’ and in within the church hierarchy not only be where they and for how but also and to various the missionary for the Church organized a in fellow missionaries, Evensen from to and the of and to in with church The missionaries were and by a of the of the in a Nils have been by the of the to a mission to and for that and that be to that mission to the and to Evensen was of his role as of the and the of maintaining and the was also to embrace the of not the with the that of the is not The will The and be and in LDS Church for transatlantic both for missionaries and after the Evensen a to at the church in also in with fellow missionaries from Zion to of the Trondheim conference, of his was to with the local of the in Evensen and his were by missionaries at the with The their or as in the mission The in a pivotal role for missionaries to and from mission fields in a for religious meetings, encounters with local and for the LDS Church also as for individuals and missionaries or this the was the of The missionaries in with where not only with and and but also to their and as by these meetings, the missionaries by to and by to their in they were by local This was were by their local at and in where the Church a they were missionaries, or after with missionaries and in other described a with Scandinavian in an Norwegian with mission in Evensen to the Trondheim this that at a was for a Evensen from a fellow missionary in to to for and his in the I for from to for at home. the I to the of the with to I to from to to The mission the Evensen to to the of the church in This was also in his the Church Evensen with leading a of converts to his in of a local missionary community where both religious and social activities were and In the his engaged in social activities, in and the alongside fellow his of missionary work his into the and and to the the of the the of was by the local to in the of missionary was to in the the and a was to on the of at various and They within their various and The mission in with local and to the the to activities and to and the missionaries to and zealous Evensen how the Scandinavian his to Trondheim in the of and and were from in the mission and opposition was it to were by within the hierarchy but at This that local with the being the among This as a for opposition and the to within the local organizational In this only but also the Trondheim in the of In his Evensen that for local were at the conference, for the Trondheim missionaries, Evensen and and to the to the of the the and to in at the However, Evensen not to in that especially I the they did not the of the have been personal different as organizational or how to encounters in the with such as in the of and other also have a missionaries were explicitly with to it emerged that missionaries the to but they and the of being a Evensen in his that the was was a which came over the whole an I a of the Evensen was as the of the Trondheim also at to Saints in that missionary the Saints in leading to a at of the to this not been particularly zealous in his interpreted a to be as a personal the mission missionaries and with both and the missionaries as organizational the and of their and with the of organizational in and his fellow missionaries did not to their but were into described how as of the in the with of the a of which were the to missionary was by the in In the early twentieth and for missionary work were to in and the as and which were and a more both the and for the of the these early and on how to converts and for different with of as where and more or and in of the The purpose of the is to that the encounters as The of Evensen to such encounters, as his missionary work to a structured on and within the LDS Evensen and other missionaries were into a of missionary activities which over the missionary work to in the The missionaries to to and actively an the that the in the in insights into their work and and for These as in missionaries, into a missionary and among primarily focused on and of religious with only in or within the local community. in the and, to some extent, by these for in with the missionaries, were not in individuals in other in the encounters in the These encounters on and in where missionaries and and were by the missionaries, and other religious with religious such as and The missionaries also to to in their religious they offered such as for converts to significant in the was the of to to the Mormons often these to and Saints for Evensen described how the local Mormon the Saints in a Norwegian of the as the with by the of to is that such of and within the Mormon community to a of the Mormons among in the potentially more to encounters as a missionary in the activities by missionaries in Norway and their the and to in the and into the where to the and the to the more and were to and While that Evensen in the of the The back in the with they to more of that a and missionary strategy of and the the both and from these the in with missionaries in different both as a of and Evensen from missionaries and his (the mission in and The that were to various of this an on of the the actively engaged with of the Evensen on the Saints and investigators and participating in by various church of his activities the at the of and can be from his The I the Saints as the on the of the and on the of I was with the other on the and the were there the was and the Saints were to Norway among the other were and with the to to In the the Saints a to the where the was and a was in the the were and as well as and the was in the the and I some of the Saints as well as other to a with the of the the I the to but in the and a the I the and meetings, at the and at and a in the which was well by the being and I also to on of the LDS Evensen engaged in of with family the and back home. the his in in 1904 to of the or from family and with his was In 1904 were with often his the of the church in this an from with a as not personal for an While from his it was not as as the by the the Church actively promoted a distinct missionary missionaries not only with a in the mission field but were also into a community that organized and their religious and social networks within this community a role in the of their of this organized missionaries were into effective or can be described as This and in the of the twentieth by key within the being in published activities of the missionaries in the elicited a of from and to and They also resistance and occasionally In family by or between the missionaries and such was described by Evensen a opposed a being from the by and the of the they were with to and the to a of to as they to local Although Evensen did not delve into such of missionaries in Scandinavia from the early twentieth of resistance and opposition in the These interventions the to or by in the mission and its and interventions in the and and particularly police and the were more significant than to Mormonism was in with for in the for to the of the there was a in and the missionaries in the of the published Mormon and an in Evensen in his that this a was in the the of the Latter-day the Mormons to Evensen the of an and an from in the anti-Mormon The organized anti-Mormon both in Trondheim and the such in the to a to the Norwegian of Church to that is to both individuals and the a Trondheim a a on Mormon missionary activities in in the Mormons, that the purpose of was of for the Mormon in the The portrayed the missionaries as in that were and to the and of the missionaries and this was not only viewed as a of the but was also as This by the and and Mormons especially within the particularly among the for missionaries significant to the Evensen in his how and sentiments the in with and it was to to to the other their were well there were to both of the of police the missionaries in Norway, as well as in other of early as the arrests and for in religious from the to the that religious was and religious interventions Although a in the for and the of from which other than However, with the of a Norwegian in religious were in While for the Church in the and there was a on the of religious freedom was at for the of that an into missionaries in In was by the Mormon missionary by the on of by Nils The missionaries the of local Mormons, and to the police that after the and did not than Mormon that Nils Evensen their and engaged in with his that to a In early Evensen the family and that been the of the to family by a fellow missionary was by and other in the this been to an to his Evensen was confronted by the police and to the police of and was but to the to a on how were and the of within the LDS that has after being by a on the to the the the and there also to that this was by the the Evensen at their home. In a police the that the been Mormon for a and that to that it his how were interpreted by actors within the and perceived to have significant In this case it by it insights into within the The to a social as a the that the missionaries some of over his an at and the missionaries’ and in their of police the of was In his to the the of and the of the or the of the of in the to the by the Norwegian that Mormons were the of police argued that these only be from the of on be The responded to the inquiry and in an the that they did not have to since the to be in to the of Church and local the of police and the of for In a to the of on the of police that Mormon have they were not in a or and there was for police that there was to the activities as a to However, both local and Mormon as and for were 1906, for Nils Evensen a in the Trondheim in late and at the of local the of at the Mormon in the the a Mormon in their by a with an to it of these these in the with local missionaries and were for the and of police a to the on the of such religious In the to on the a Evensen a of to a on and the local were Evensen to to the police for a by the a that a that the of that will In his Evensen a with the of to the to the that be more the of the to seemed to be an to a of the activities were or LDS Church was not Evensen and the local were as Evensen was an organizational and it was of his as a missionary that was for were at the LDS Church and the Mormon religion, not the missionaries as Church within the hierarchy were the in Trondheim and responded The Scandinavian mission the and offered to on The Scandinavian mission Evensen that his and and that the Mormons in Trondheim The the to the for the and the of the Church in this of the The Scandinavian mission both and Evensen the American in receiving that the a I the American in the as that I it the of the American in later his as from being a Norwegian to an American also that Evensen it to from a and the Church to his Church and and on the in In the Scandinavian mission of published an titled in it argued that the not be they were not as the is not as a how can by be a which to the of the The to the This with the of from a Despite the the that will to for the of which in of to the The on the with an from a in and by a and later the was In the case was described in the as in Evensen a both in the Norwegian and within the church given to the case within the LDS Church suggests that it was to be of only did the of to and within the Mormon community in Norway and from but there was also that the of the case a more framework for of the of the case as it the on the police the Mormons in this of both and the on the that Mormon not be a and, not be by the in the or the The that Mormons were not of religion in Norway, and that the case that they their religion However, they were not on of and they to be The that the be viewed as the that be for Mormons with However, the this to that only be The Norwegian of also on the that was a for interventions the was a In his how I for to the for the the of the and been in on and for and and I to the of the on mission to Norway, I was the in the of the to more freedom for the Saints to and his his to the for his in the that the than In the the were by the on the of the to the of the the viewed the as a significant The is an The of has been to the as it that the the Latter-day have by the of a been to the of the local that the missionaries more and and that the Mormons from police that the Mormon missionary activities The for Mormons were by the of Church which in a to Mormons from their religion, encompassing missionary Although the within the state church and among other the of it on both and it from being The in the the of was by the The Mormon were protected and their a church of organizational the LDS Church was in and the framework for the missionaries’ and as The missionaries’ interaction with in the was on organized and events, and within the The church also facilitated the of a missionary and a missionary The missionaries were not only into a of but were also to to a of church it was to be of the hierarchy and missionaries in the field to both and and only within the hierarchy and its bodies but also the Mormon of and informal networks a religious and social role the missionaries’ These networks social and religious as well as which was to missionaries from home. These networks were also in church and with missionaries in the the was of the missionaries were not They over where they were to and to work within the of a but a the of the social and also a on the encounters as or also of missionaries by local of Evensen and other that between missionaries and the society a individuals and This from instances of resistance and to of social and in the be of missionaries and of the to as of from and, in some While the of missionaries the was by the missionaries a of have their and assertiveness in the The organized encounters in potentially leading to and into the missionary to This how as a in the social and cultural in the of