Saturday, February 10, 2018

Returnere med ære, Sister Aspen Honey Bair


Sister Aspen Honey Bair, 3rd of Bishop Mike and Lori Bair's 4 children - and their 2nd missionary - entered the Provo MTC on Wednesday, February 14 for the first 6 weeks of her 18 months of service in the Norway Oslo Mission.  This is also where she will begin to learn the language of her mission.  

Norwegian is a Germanic language but is closely related to Danish and Swedish. Written Norwegian is virtually identical to Danish. Swedes, Norwegians and the Danish understand each other easily. Norwegian is also related to Icelandic, German, Dutch, and English and is considered the easiest of the Scandinavian languages to learn.


Sister Bair states she requested a foreign mission when she submitted her missionary application, but was shocked to discover her assigned mission field when she opened her call letter just before Thanksgiving.  “I didn’t even know where Norway is,” she notes with a smile, “but those who have been there tell me 'it is beautiful, although the winters take some getting used to'.” 

The Book of Mormon was translated into Danish in 1850 - the first language other than English and only 20 years after the Church was organized – which was used in early proselytizing in Norway. The first missionaries came to Norway in 1851 and the first two congregations were organized in July 1852. By 1930 there were over 8,000 members. But, large numbers of Norwegian members emigrated to the United States beginning in the late 1800's although this out-migration virtually stopped after World War II.  This "seeking their Zion" limited expansion of the Church in Norway.  Post-war, Norway became in increasingly secular country.  Despite this secularization, there are now more than a few 2nd and 3rd generation faithful members and strong Church leadership in Norway.  Current membership in Norway's only mission is 4,633.

The members of the B7 Ward look forward to reading about your adventures and seeing the growth of your testimony.  May God be with you ... 

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