Aksel Smith

My and our dearly beloved brother and co-worker

Aksel Smith

Passed away believing in his precious Savior Jesus Christ, on Saturday the 19th of this month, 38 years old.

What I and many others with me feel at our dear, faithful brother’s passing cannot and will not be described here. We will only say a few words about the outcome of his conduct so we can follow his faith. After Christmas I was in Drøbak three times, and during this time, he became increasingly weaker. We thought he had passed away on January 16th, his 38th birthday. Young men and women, as well as elderly people whom he by God’s grace and power had led to Christ, were on their knees, praying and weeping in the different rooms. We prayed that we might keep him, but it pleased God to take him to Himself.

In the morning of the 16th of this month, the friends stood around his bed. His eyes were partly closed and partly dimmed from constant sleeplessness; his facial features were accentuated; his voice was weak. In the midst of this overwhelming grief, he asked one of the sisters to play “All around Jerusalem, there are lofty mountains.” At this moment an unconverted woman was on her knees by his bedside, seeking salvation in Jesus Christ, with the friends weeping. Then he pointed to each one individually and gave them all a loving and fitting exhortation, so that we were all struck with amazement at how intimately he knew each individual and dhow clear his thoughts were even as he was close to death. When his wife asked him, “What do you want me to do after this?” he said, “Take up your cross.” A sister asked, “How can I best thank you for what you have meant to me?” he answered, “By doing good everywhere, wherever it is needed.”

To one person he said, “Never depart from the Lord’s temple.” To another he said, “Pray without ceasing.” And to a third person he said, “He who is faithful in the least is also faithful in great things; tend the lambs.” Even small boys and girls were led to his bedside; he had an exhortation and a comforting word to them all, and they all went away from him weeping.

The doctor came around noon on the same day. Again there was an entire flock of us standing around him. Aksel asked, “How long can this last, a few hours?” The physician said that there was little hope, but he could not determine the time. Then Aksel pointed to his chest and said, “Within I have eternal life; I believe in Jesus Christ.” Then he asked a sister to play, “As the streams in the south, homeward I go.” The doctor wept together with all of us. Aksel said, “Jesus is here, and the angels are all around me.” When I asked him if he had anything to tell the friends by way of Skjulte Skatter, he said, “Yes, receive the doctrines which are according to godliness; they work.” “Shall I greet the friends in the paper?” “Yes.”

Because of my work, I had to leave Drøbak on the afternoon of the 17th. We still had a flicker of hope that God would once more turn things around so he could live. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

Today, on the 20th of January, I received a letter from Mrs. Kjærnet, who wrote as follows: “Our dearly beloved brother Aksel Smith was meant to leave us after all and be with Christ. This morning on the 18th of January at 5:00 o’clock, he entered into eternity, victorious and triumphant. He was clear and alive in his spirit until he drew his last breath. He was just as sensitive and graceful until the very last as he had been during his entire life. He did not think for one moment to please himself; on the contrary, he lived for us.

“Once in a while he was lively and alert. Last night most of the young people were also present. He asked little Ingrid to sing, “The baby rests in the Lord’s embrace, safe in His loving arms.” Then he asked me to play, “All around Jerusalem, there are lofty mountains.”

All of us stood around his bed while he fell asleep. Helga (his wife), was all this time faithfully by his side. The last thing I heard him say coherently was: “Jesus say, ‘I am the living bread; he who eats of this bread shall live forever.’” Then he whispered very weakly, “You follow Me!”

The entire house was filled by an amazing peace and glory. In the midst of this profound grief we experienced great strength. Helga was much blessed by God and had to praise and thank God in spite of everything. She saw herself forsaken and alone for one moment, but then she fell into the arms of the church. She was courage, praying for the church and for individual people. We prayed together and then we sang #30 from The Ways of the Lord: “Zion, thou place of peace . . . .” We were together until 9:00 o’clock.

“May God strengthen you and give you much power. God help all of us to advance with strength and courage and give us energy and the power to act.

“Approximately five minutes before Aksel fell asleep, he called Helga and put his arm around her as if it was a last sign of endearment. He said good words to those who were present; he recognized all of us.”

With these words my dearly beloved brother’s life has come to an end. In Drøbak, where he lived during the lasts four to five years, an entire flock of young people is grieving over his passing. Nevertheless, we do not sorrow as those who have no hope. He has gone home to his Father and our Father. We shall see him again. He repeatedly spoke about the lambs in Drøbak and laid it on our hearts to tend them, “Because I love them,” he said. You will find what he taught and wrote and fought for in the bound volumes of Skjulte Skatter from the year 1912 until now. It was through his arduous work that we were able to publish tis little paper. Even though he had a weak body throughout all these years, he nevertheless received grace from God to leave a rich legacy behind. Much could be written about his life and work, but we shall only mention these necessary things to illuminate the passing of this faithful servant of the Lord, so that we can follow his faith. Blessed be his memory and blessed be the fruits of his work; they will last, as he so often attested. One of the last things he testified about to the friends is that they should be diligent to enter into the obedience of the faith.

Loving greetings to all the friends.