The Great Second Advent Movement: Its Rise and Progress

The Boy Preacher at Karlskoga

A gentlemen at Orebro related to me an occurrence at Karlskoga, where he resided in 1843. He said:— GSAM 144.4

“A little boy eight years of age, who had never learned to read his letters, began to preach the message, quoting many scriptures. The people said, ‘That boy is just filled with Bible.’ This circumstance occurred after King Oscar had spoken in favor of the persecuted ones, so the priest of that place could not get the boy before the court to stop the work; but he told the people to bring the boy before him, and he would expose him, and show them his ignorance of the Bible. GSAM 144.5

“Before a crowd of people the priest opened his hymn book, and asked the boy to read for him. The boy replied, ‘I cannot read;’ but turning his back to the priest, he sang the hymn through correctly from first to last, the priest meanwhile looking on the book in astonishment. The priest said to the lad, ‘You seem to know everything.’ The boy replied, ‘No. We are not always permitted to tell all we do know.’ GSAM 144.6

“The priest then opened the New Testament and said to the boy, ‘Read for me in this.’ The boy replied, ‘I cannot read.’ The priest inquired, ‘What do you know about the Bible anyway?’ His reply was, ‘I know where there is a text that has the word and in it fourteen times.’ The priest said, ‘No! there is no such text in the Bible.’ The lad said, ‘Will you please read for me Revelation 18:13?’ ‘Yes,’ said the priest. As he read the people counted, and sure enough the word and was there just fourteen times, and among the fourteen times was the ‘binding of the souls of men.’ The people shouted, ‘There! there! the boy knows more about the Bible than the priest!’ Much chagrined, the priest dropped the subject, and left the people unmolested after that.” GSAM 145.1

So, out of the mouth of children the Lord confirmeth his word, and in this wonderful manner brought his truth to the ears of the people whose laws forbade the preaching of any doctrine but that of the “established religion.” GSAM 145.2