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My Distribution of the Swedish Great Controversy - Testimony No. 1 - 2012

By Lennart Wiberg

“The Great Controversy… I am more anxious to see a wide circulation for this book than for any others I have written; for in The Great Controversy, the last message of warning to the world is given more distinctly than in any of my other books.” (Ellen White, Colporteur Ministry, p 127.)

“In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world… They have been given a work of the most solemn import--the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.

The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals have been given us to proclaim to the world. The proclamation of these truths is to be our work. The world is to be warned, and God's people are to be true to the trust committed to them.” (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol 9, p 19.)

About three years ago, I received an order for The Great Controversy (GC) from Susanne at Växjö, who had got my flyer, Hope For the Future – After All!, where readers are offered a free copy of this book on the back cover (someone must have posted the flyer to her, since, as far as I know, it has never been circulated at Växjö). When in possession of the book, Susanne showed it to her girlfriends, who became so interested that they decided to launch a GC book-club or study circle. She asked me to send 3 more books (which I did). Susanne was not a Christian. She wrote telling me that she neither believed in the inspiration of the Bible, nor the divinity of Christ. However, she added: “Now I am greatly occupied with the book. It is fantastic. It portrays a vivid picture of how things are… I would love to have many books to pass on. Indeed, people are queuing up already!!! I could also spread the book via the net, if you wish. My Dad (at Arboga) is also greatly interested. He would very much like to read this book.” It took her circa one year to read the book. Then I received another letter: “Your book became part of my life. Thank you for your efforts at spreading it. This book was the clinching factor for me starting a social enterprise (in another place than Växjö)… I am trying to ensure that those on long-term sick leave and the unemployed get a chance to begin anew. Here are people from all over the world and God is always a topic. That is why I am asking you for more copies of the book. Those I had are gone. 5-10 copies would be fine.” In total, Susanne now has got some 20 books – at her own request. In her most recent letter she confirms that The Great Controversy (GC) “became an important factor in puzzling my life together… The business I am currently running (i.e. my social enterprise) is, in fact, a fruit of my conclusions…”

On two previous occasions I have experienced about the same. In both instances two individuals had read a flyer containing the Advent message and ordered GC, which had been offered on the back cover. Both these persons were so moved by GC that they ordered 10-15 copies for personal distribution, after reading the book. Those two were not Seventh-day Adventists, either.

In this connection let me tell you about a woman, a non-Seventh-day Adventist, who also had sent for GC after reading the same flyer as the two mentioned above, whereupon she commenced studying the book. She could not quit reading it. The contents touched her so deeply that she read it at a stretch in three days.

Ingvar Ljung and myself once were on business in Malmö, and then we decided to approach people in the streets to offer them each a free copy of GC (as well as The Power of His Passion, which is a 35-page digest of The Desire of Ages, and a flyer giving the Advent message to those preferring a shorter publication than a book of 600+ pages). This was in 2008. We decided to hand GC only to those who were genuinely interested. Almost immediately God showed us that He wanted us to do this. We met a woman who was so happy when she was offered the book that one could have thought she had won a lottery jackpot. She, too, had been looking for the truth, and now that it was given her (having been informed of the contents of the book), her happiness knew no bounds. Both Ingvar and I considered this a calling from God to continue distributing The Great Controversy in Sweden. Together we made three trips to Malmö, where we went out offering the book personally to people in the streets (chiefly by the Triangeln and Mobilia) and by the grace of God we handed out ca 370 books to interested persons in Malmö. We were at it for nine whole days. I remember, for instance, a gentleman who was given the book. The following day he went up to us again, after having read half of the book, and gave us a “bear hug” because of his thankfulness.

Thereafter Ingvar and I travelled to Örebro, where an equal blessing awaited us for spreading GC in the streets, like in Malmö. I recall in particular one experience there. I encountered a young man who just a day or so previously had finished reading the New Testament and was wondering what to do next. And then he was presented with GC. Both of us saw this as the leading of God – that he got this book at that precise moment in time. Moreover, we went to Stockholm where we worked in the same manner at the Central Railway Station. God having sent the right persons to us and preparing their hearts, we handed out lots of books in the highly de-Christianised Stockholm. Interest in Stockholm perhaps is less than, for example, in Örebro, but since so many people pass the Central Railway Station, the consumption of books was roughly the same there. Ingvar and I together made three “missionary journeys” to Stockholm, before Ingvar unfortunately died quickly of lung cancer. Since then I have conducted four “missionary journeys” there. In total, we have passed out ca 1,200 copies of GC in Stockholm. I had many interesting experiences in Stockholm, but I will limit my recount to three of them. I remember that girl who for a long time hade wished to begin reading the Bible, and now received the necessary impulse to start, when given the book. I also remember meeting a man who was a high-ranking officer of the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden. He said he intended to read the book with much interest. David Lega, newly elected vice chairman of the Swedish Christian Democrats, having been told of the contents of the book, was very grateful when handed GC.

In Skene (in the Municipality of Mark) they have a market in September of every year, and a year or two ago I went there and offered the book, seeing there are always so much people at these markets. I recall presenting the book to, among others, a politician, who exclaimed: “The Great Controversy, by Ellen White. That book I have at home. It is very good. I wish you every success in distributing this book”. Astounded, I later on tried to figure out how he had got hold of the book. Of course, I cannot be certain, but six months earlier I had handed out the book among a number of students at the Skene Upper Secondary School, and reckoning by the gentleman’s age, he could very well have had a son or a daughter who received the book there.

At the market in Skene I gave the book to a person selling and marketing flowers there. A week later something remarkable occurred. I was using a pedestrian crossing at Kinna (five kilometres from Skene). Suddenly, somebody in the car that had halted at the red lights sounded his horn at me. He lowered his side window and addressed me. Then I recognised him. It was the flower salesman from Skene, who had been given GC a week earlier. He called me in a loud voice: “Excellent, excellent! I am reading some in that book every night (that is to say, when he had the time). Continue circulating it!”

I have completed three blessed “missionary trips” to Uppsala, gaining several interesting experiences. I remember meeting a man who told me he had relatives in the USA who were Seventh-day Adventists, and so he was going to read GC with great interest. But above all I recall the marvellous experiences I had at the entrance to the Uppsala Town Library. There I found a spiritual interest which surprised me greatly. And it was especially the younger people who were keen. I computed that I had given out more than 200 copies of GC just in front of the library. I wondered what had caused this great spiritual interest. Then I recalled that there is a faculty of theology in Uppsala, and that Uppsala is the headquarters of the Word of Life, where they have many youth. As concerning the library, I remember, among others, a woman in her fifties who exited the place and who, after I had presented the book to her, said she was the headmaster of a school in Uppsala. She looked me straight in the face and enquired about my reasons for believing that Jesus will return soon: The prophecies or our way of living. I remember giving her a short reply and that she accepted a copy of the book with interest. I also recall the irate man who, following my presentation of GC to him, asked why it is that Christians must fight. He went on, equally heatedly, to ask why the Salvation Army wears battle uniforms. Christians, after all, are to show love, he said. After going on for a while, still very much agitated, he all of a sudden became calm, telling me: “It is a good thing that you stand here passing out this book”. Then he took a copy and went. The Spirit of God had been working on his heart. I remember, too, the unhappy man who needed to speak his mind. He told me his mother had committed suicide and that he had had a conflict with his father, who had died before they had been able to reconcile. At times like this it feels especially heart-warming to give out that book which contains “The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals” (9T, p 19).

In Uppsala I also experienced my hardest test so far. I offered GC to a man who was very angry indeed with God. He said that the Old Testament clearly shows God to be a murderer of entire peoples and, therefore, should be put in front of an international tribunal just like all other war criminals. He dismissed Christianity as a bluff. I answered him by saying that the God we find in the Old Testament must be the same God as in the New Testament, and that the God of the New Testament became a man and showed what God is like in a clearer way than in the Old Testament. In the life and teaching of Jesus we can find nothing that even vaguely would indicate that God is a murderer of whole nations or just a common murderer. I told him that the problem in this connection is that the Israel of the Old Testament fell away from God and took up arms to defeat their enemies when about to settle the land of Canaan, although God had informed Israel that He would expel the peoples who were the enemies of Israel by sending wasps in front of the Israelites, and consequently did not wish to exterminate them with weapons (see Exodus 23:28). Furthermore, I told him that it nowhere says that God ordered Israel to procure arms to kill off nations that hindered them, until they had settled in the land of Canaan. Perhaps this calmed him down a bit.

One day I was standing in front of the Helsingborg Municipal Library offering GC. One of the individuals I had offered the book to, placed himself in front of me and “stared” at me, after I had presented it and asked within a few seconds: “Can I buy it from you for 100 crowns?” {In the forenoon of December 17, 2012 one U.S. dollar corresponded to 6.67 Swedish crowns. Translator’s note.} I had already said it was gratis, and yet he offered me that sum of money. I repeated that it was free. Once more, however, he told me he wanted to give me 100 crowns in order for the book to be his. As far as I know, I did not accept any money, but this afforded me the great privilege of conveying the truth to a person hungering and thirsting for it.

As I have travelled about in different towns and cities in Sweden, I have met many Christians from various denominations in streets and in town squares, and I shall never forget how many of them have shined like the sun when offered GC. This has made me realise their hunger for something more than the usual fare in their own congregations, and upon understanding that they have got what they were looking for, they have become very happy. I have sometimes stood outside churches handing the book out, and when services have been completed, I have tried reaching those streaming out. Since those leaving the churches are Christians, there is all the reason to try to reach as many as possible of them, and normally this has been no problem. However, one does have to be somewhat discreet. There is a risk that some member of the congregation will warn the others about the book, since it has been published by another denomination. As regards church leaders, I can only report good experiences from handing out the book. Most have accepted it with interest. But these are, of course, people whom God has sent in my path.

As I am running out of space, I will limit my testimony to encounters with individuals in streets and in town squares and instead tell of my experiences gained when distributing GC at upper secondary schools around Sweden. {Upper secondary schools correspond roughly to U.S. senior high schools. Translator’s note.}

As my efforts at spreading this book have progressed in streets and in town squares, it has become increasingly obvious that there is one category of people who are more interested in the book than others – in general, that is – namely young people of the ages 17-20 years old. Hence, for the past two years I have chiefly concentrated on upper secondary schools in Sweden. I have noticed that already when individuals are 25, they are more difficult to reach with the gospel, and that is because by then they will have been embraced by some ideology or other.

It all started in Kinna, in the Municipality of Mark. I attempted getting the book out at the upper secondary school at Mark. This I did several times, discovering that interest there was about 3 times greater than that experienced in streets and in town squares in the same municipality (even if you expect to meet more people at upper secondary schools). It was then I started systematically “working” the upper secondary schools around Sweden. I have, of course, also “worked” pedestrian streets {no-go streets for cars in towns and cities, often lined by shops; some are covered. Translator’s note}, railway stations, etc. in those places where there are upper secondary schools. As regards upper secondary schools, you should ensure beforehand to find out which ones primarily teach theoretical subjects and which ones primarily teach practical subjects. I have found that not many students at practically orientated upper secondary schools will read books of 600+ pages; hence you should concentrate on theoretically orientated upper secondary schools. In Borås, there are 2 major theoretically orientated upper secondary schools and, through the grace of God, I have distributed some 60 copies of GC at each of these upper secondary schools. At one of the upper secondary schools, the Bäckängsgymnasiet, I learned how to work at a major upper secondary school. At the Bäckängsskolan, which is situated in the middle of Borås, I tried, at the end of school days, to place myself at the exit, where most students leave the school. The Bäckängsskolan has several exits. At a major upper secondary school like Bäckäng most often many students are outside in the school yard during breaks, and this I tried to utilise. Students will often gather in groups to chat during breaks, and that is an opportune moment to approach them and to try a little discretely to present the book for them (i.e. to ask if they would like your favourite book for nothing). That way you will be able to reach several students at one and the same time. At the smaller upper secondary school at Kinna, with a big exit (the school is situated a short distance outside the community), I concentrated on meeting the students at the bus stops and the bicycle stands between 2 and 4 o’clock in the afternoons when school was over, since most students came there.

To my surprise, in Sweden I have generally found that students at upper secondary schools are not ashamed of showing an interest in the Bible and its contents, even if they happen to be in a group. That is why I normally ask the students who have accepted GC whether they have a Bible at home, since this book is designed to stimulate your own Bible study. Although they may be found in group, they still do not shy away from answering this question. When you are handing out the book in school yards – after presenting its contents in a suitable manner and really making sure that their interest is genuine – it sometimes happens that those who have received the book will show it to other students, who in turn will come up to you asking for a copy themselves (provided they are interested). Efforts at school yards can, thus, have a domino effect.

I would hasten to add that it is against school law to hand out materials (including those that are free) in school yards. But since what I am doing concerns the gospel, and moreover does not generate any economic gain for me, I have no moral qualms. I keep outside the school properties as such, except when I spot one or more students inside the grounds, and I wish to approach those students. Then I enter the premises. After that I try to quickly exit the school grounds. In many places in Sweden, the grounds of upper secondary schools harbour various buildings, between which one may bicycle. In such cases I endeavour to use my bike inside the grounds as discretely as possible, because one can both reach the students and leave the school premises quickly that way. Difficulty will arise when a teacher appears, forbidding you to circulate GC in their school yard. Then you cannot likely walk or bicycle any more on the school grounds. In that case you will be obliged to wait for the students outside the school premises, for example when they leave for home in the afternoon. My personal experience shows that at some schools you can walk about unhindered, despite this being against the rules. At several different upper secondary schools in Sweden I have been able to walk about in the school yard, offering the book. Teachers have indeed come outside, asking me what I have been up to, but after explaining what my business is; they have let me continue my activity without any objections. Sometimes I have even been shown off school yards by teachers, but in various ways I have still managed to get the book out to upper secondary school students. In Varberg, for instance, I was able to walk about and present the book to upper secondary school students for an hour, before teachers and headmasters stopped me, as I was breaking the rules. However, in that hour I think I handed out books to those, whom God knew ought to have the book. In more than one upper secondary school I have been able to walk about freely without teacher interference, despite their being aware of my actions. Then sometimes students have asked me, whether I can stand there conducting propaganda. That has, of course, not halted me. In upper secondary schools like these there have been a number of students who have been interested in GC, and then God has ensured that no teachers have obstructed my missionary work.

Space is much too limited to report on all the interesting experiences I have had at upper secondary schools, but the following are some. First I wish to state that I would never have dreamed I would be able to distribute this many copies of GC to upper secondary school students – and teachers – at the various schools I have visited across Sweden. God has been with me all of the time. Since students in a school yard often are together with other students, and often are in a hurry, striking up a lengthy conversation with the students is not very easy. You must be to the point and give a lot of details. The following are some experiences from various upper secondary schools across Sweden. In my mind is, for instance, the student at Södra Latin, one of the largest upper secondary schools in Stockholm, whom I gave a copy of GC in the spring of 2011. When I returned to the same school in the autumn of that same year, I encountered the same student who told me he had read some of the book and then passed it on to the school library – where it is now standing on a shelf and may be borrowed by everyone at the school. Thanks to the grace of God, I also succeeded in getting a copy of GC into the school library at the Andreasgymnasiet in Stockholm. In my mind is also that student at an upper secondary school in Göteborg {“Gothenburg”, which is a precise translation of this Swedish place name. Translator’s note} who was given the book one week before winter break and who one week after winter break (when I revisited the school) told me he had read parts of the book during the school holidays and thought it was very good. However, in my mind are also all those teachers at upper secondary schools who have accepted the book with thanks. At Lindholmen in Göteborg I introduced GC to an upper secondary school teacher of a science subject. He hurried off to class with a giggle, telling me it was scientists like him whom the Christian church used to burn at the stake one time in history. I responded to him (I believe God inspired my words) by saying that it was the fallen church that did those things. He stopped on the spot, went back to me in all earnest and asked to have the book, while at the same time promising he would read it. In my mind is that teacher at the Hvitfeldska Gymnasiet in Göteborg, who wished me every success in spreading the book among the students there, after I had presented it to her. I was completely taken aback. In my mind is also that teacher (or perhaps it was the janitor or possibly even the headmaster) who watched me repeatedly from his school during the day, when I was standing outside the main entrance to Norra Real in Stockholm, another of the main upper secondary schools in Stockholm. Eventually he stepped outside and asked me what I was doing. I thought he was going to ask me to leave, but instead he wished to have a copy of GC, when I had presented the book to him. He even showed me where I should be standing to reach as many students as possible after classes, when the students would head for home (the school had several exits).

In Västerås I had been standing handing out GC outside an upper secondary school for a while, when suddenly a teacher stepped outside and asked, if he might buy the book. Some student who had got the book earlier must have presented it to him. He was very anxious to have the book, and I could tell that the price was of secondary importance (he received it free of charge). That teacher had been longing for the truth and being allowed to convey it to him, was worth the whole trip to Västerås. There were, though, quite a number of other persons in Västerås who were also hungering and thirsting for the truth and who got the book (in among other places at other upper secondary schools in that city).

Despite the fact that I – through the grace of God – have handed out more copies of GC at the 69 upper secondary schools that I have visited than I had ever imagined possible before launching my activities, I still feel downcast when I consider that not one among all the thousands of students, whom I have met (apart from one Seventh-day Adventist), had read GC or knew about Ellen White (and undoubtedly neither knew of the three angels’ messages) when I spoke to them. And things have been about as equally bad gauging by people’s reactions in streets and in town squares across Sweden, when I have offered them GC. And I suppose I have spent about twice the amount of time talking to people in streets and in town squares than I have done visiting upper secondary schools. Because God sent the right persons in my path and worked on their hearts, I managed to distribute circa 1,300 copies of GC in 2011 far and wide in Sweden, and I thank Him heartily for this. And what a blessing it is to proclaim our message in liberty. Let us make good use of our freedom. Soon they will take it away from us. Let me, in this connection, mention that it has been equally easy to hand out GC at colleges and universities in Göteborg, Stockholm and Uppsala as at upper secondary schools. However, in those cases I have tried reaching young people around the age of 20, rather than around the age of 25.

Now, how do you present The Great Controversy? If you approach stressed individuals in streets or in town squares or attempt to talk to school youths at some upper secondary school during a short break, one single mistake may “derail the entire train”. Having spoken to thousands of people around Sweden, I have drawn the following conclusions: Number one, it is, of course, easier to strike up a conversation with people sitting and waiting for, say, a bus – these can spare a moment or two for a chat – than with some stressed person jogging down the street. That is why I normally try to approach the first mentioned category. But how do you halt individuals who “are on the go”? Most people you meet in town are, of course, heading somewhere. It is my understanding that in a heavily de-Christianised land like Sweden, where the pace of life is extremely fast and most people do not want to talk to “salesmen” they may come upon in the street, you must be radical. I have discovered that the following “concept” is successful. I will approach the people and ask them if they would like a copy of my favourite book for free (I do not consider the Bible as one book only. Should you have several favourite books, including GC, you can always ask if they would like one of your favourite titles gratis). Then many will halt their step and accept the book. However, at that moment I will immediately add: “that is to say, if you are interested in its contents”. Then they will, naturally enough, wonder what the book is about. My regular response is to say that the book is a gist of the history of Christendom from the time of the Apostles through the Middle Ages and the Reformation up until the last prophecies of the Bible concerning the end of time (you have to be concise and quick). Supposing they are still showing an interest, I will go on like this: “If you can spare the time, I will mention the contents in half a minute”. Then I will turn to the table of contents and read aloud those main headings that experience has taught me will produce the greatest interest. Since the interest in history is fairly marked in Sweden, especially among young people, I will mention the first chapters, as well as the Reformation in Europe, in GC. When doing this, I will mention, among others, Martin Luther (chapters 7 and 8) and Olaus Petri (chapter 13) to underline that the book rests on a firm Protestant foundation and is not any odd kind of book that you can ignore. After that I will mention that this gives a historic background to the rest of the book which is about our own time. The chapters, however, which attract the most attention, are “Why Were Sin and Suffering Permitted?” (chapter 29), “The Impending Conflict” (chapter 36) and “God’s Final Warning” (chapter 38). All are anxious to know, how evil came about. The prophecies about the future are also something that many are interested in. This is particularly the case now, when the future looks so bleak. In this connection I will also include “Our Only Safeguard” (chapter 37) to encourage them to study the Bible.

This presentation does not take more than half a minute. To determine whether there is a true interest in the book, it is vital to put some follow-up question in those instances when the person himself does not say anything and, hence, does not reveal any interest in the book. You can, for instance, enquire whether the individual is interested in the matter of the Bible or its prophecies. This usually separates the tares from the wheat. Everybody wants a free book, if offered one. You often will find out whether an individual is interested, when you put a follow-up question like that. Frequently they have seemed to be interested, but follow-up questions like the one above have often resulted in an answer like: “Perhaps you had better give the book to somebody more interested”. If the person indeed is keen on spiritual things, but not keen enough to consume a book of 600+ pages, I will offer the free “The Power of His Passion” (together with the flyer detailing the Advent message, which I have put inside).

In this connection it is very important to stress that I have been able to hand out plenty of books using a presentation like this, despite the person approached not being keen him- or herself. Oftentimes the individual I have spoken to has known somebody else interested and promised to pass the book on to that individual. You need, at all times, to be open to the leading of God.

Compiled by: Lennart Wiberg
Kyrkogatan 21 A, 3 Tr.
S-511 54 KINNA
SWEDEN

Translated (with the kind permission of the compiler) by: Lennart Sundstad
Norrgaardsvaegen 7 D
S-836 31 LIT

SWEDEN

Please feel free to circulate this remarkable testimony to further encourage the distribution of The Great Controversy!