Skjulte Skatter—76 Years

Skjulte Skatter—76 Years

Br. Johan O. Smith wrote to his brother Aksel Smith in 1909 that there was a need for a periodical about sanctification. He wrote that it was necessary to spread the knowledge concerning what follows after the resurrection power, namely the fellowship in the sufferings of Christ. He wrote the following words to his brother: “There is already a little flock on the way of sanctification, and we need a small publication called Sanctification. We need a paper that’s free from everything and everyone, an unbiased paper that won’t take any position that doesn’t have divine origins.”

The paper which they published in 1912 was given the name Skjulte Skatter [Hidden Treasures]. In 1915 he wrote to his brother: “It is very dangerous to assert as facts things which one has neither seen nor heard in the Spirit. Right from the beginning, God has taught me to be very cautious and never to teach anything to others which the Lord has not revealed to me by the Spirit. For that reason, I have had the great joy of seeing that all I have taught has stood the test of time. None of it has been overthrown. May God teach us faithfulness, so we never let our authority extend to things we have not seen.”

This has also been our experience until this very day. Therefore all the issues of Skjulte Skatter have been bound in annual volumes. It is always interesting to read again the old issues that become always more living for us.

In 1917 he wrote to his brother: “This little leaven which God has brought to life is already spreading far and wide. Without show and fanfare, without preachers, without anyone making a living from it, these truths are coming to life in all quietness among people from Nordkapp to Lindesnes, from Stadt to Kjølen. And who can stop this rolling snowball? Thanks be to God, who always causes us to triumph through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In 1918 Smith wrote to his brother: “What is written on paper can be read over and over again many years from now. Skjulte Skatter is now working like capital in a bank. Many people have told me they have received light from it. Your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Aksel Smith, who was the co-editor, went home to be with the Lord in January 1919. When J.O. Smith asked his brother if he had something to share with the brothers and sisters via Skjulte Skatter, he said, “Yes, receive the teachings that pertain to godliness; they work.” “Do you want me to greet the brothers and sisters in the paper?” “Yes.”

After Aksel Smith’s death Johan O. Smith edited the paper alone until and including December, 1942. Then he passed it on to his son, Aksel J. Smith. He has now edited the paper for 45 years. When his father saw the first four issues, he said to his son: “You can’t see any change in these issues.” He rejoiced that it continued on the same path. We who have read Skjulte Skatter throughout all these years also rejoice with the same joy. Not even the war could stop the paper from being published. There were not many Christian publications during that time. Until now the paper has been published without interruption.

It is quite common for a new editor to put his mark on the paper. A new editor means a new paper. We are glad that during all these forty-five years Aksel J. Smith has defined himself by keeping the same format and the same content it has had from the beginning. He did this in spite of the changing spirit of the times and lawlessness in the world at large, which has also characterized the entire religious world. We feel safe in observing that Skjulte Skatter has been a protection against the spirit of the times.

J. O. Smith wrote to his brother in 1917 that this little leaven which God has brought to life is already spreading far and wide. Without show and fanfare, without preachers, without anyone making a living off them, these truths are coming to life in all quietness in Norway. Now we can add: to all five continents, with the result that between five and six thousand people gather from more than twenty countries.

Now that Br. A. J. Smith is seventy-seven years old, he has decided that he wants to be relieved of this important work of being the publisher of the paper. He has now passed it on to Sigurd Johan Bratlie. However, he is still the editor-in-chief; thus we are assured that the paper will continue along the same lines as it has throughout all these years. Sigurd J. Bratlie is the grandchild of J. O. Smith, the son of his daughter Rakel and myself.

Based on the impression that we have, this little leaven which God has started, and which Johan O. Smith wrote about, is working powerfully throughout the entire world. The result is that we who have a heavenly calling grow together as one body in the same Spirit. Therefore there has never been a division among us during these eighty-seven years since Br. J.O. Smith began to work with the truths God had revealed to him. Heb. 3:1; John 17:11.

I greet you all in the heavenly calling, grace, and salvation.

Your happy brother,