In Memory of C. D. Fjeldsted

In Memory of Christian D. Fjeldsted. BY DR. CHARLES L. OLSEN. [A native granite memorial shaft, some twenty feet in height, was unveiled and dedicated in the Logan cemetery on October 22, 1911. It was erected by friends, at a cost of about $700, in honor of the Scandinavian missionary and former Mission President Christian Daniel Fjeldsted, who was also a member of the First Council of Seventy. Memorial services were held in the Logan tabernacle at 10 a. m. and 2 p. in., attended by President Anthon H. Lund, of the First Presidency, and Dr. Seymour B. Young and J. Golden Kimball of the First Council of Seventy. Present were the family, leading Scan- dinavians from many parts of the state and from Idaho, and a large gathering of friends. The monument, erected over the grave in the Logan cemetery, was unveiled by Willard, the oldest son of President Fjeldsted, and the dedicatory prayer was offered by President Seymour B. Young, of the First Council of Seventy, under whose auspices the services were conducted. The stone work was done by P. O. Hansen, of Logan, and the chairman of the committee in charge of its erection was v C. A. F. Orlob. It stands as a conspicuous and <^^ft fi&: well-deserved' memorial to a good man whose ' remains rest in this delightful spot, on a H^gf Jfm beautiful elevation overlooking the rich V Cache Valley to the west, and shadowed by the snow-capped and pine-bedecked Wasatch mountains on the east. Someone suggested that an account of Elder Fjeldsted's life and labors, and the striking and often amusing stories which he was so apt in telling, printed in a book, would be not only a more enduring monument to his name than a granite shaft, but would also be of great value in promoting faith and good works among the Saints. The following anecdote, con- tributed to the ERA by Dr. Charles L. Olsen, of Murray, under date of October 25, is an example among hundreds that could be gathered. — Editors.] The recent unveiling of the late President Christian Daniel Fjelsted's monument in Logan, doubtless brought to the minds of his thousands of true and appreciative friends who are yet m the flesh, memories of sayings, anecdotes , and observations of this

102 IMPROVEMENT ERA truly great mortal, whose make-up was a happy blending of soul- ful sympathy, appreciation, sincerity, humor, wit and wisdom. One must indeed be truly great, who has the moral strength and manhood to acknowledge error when committed by him, and who, of his own choice, frankly, boldly, openly, makes restitution, as far as lies in his power. Our friend and brother, Christian Daniel Fjeldsted, possessed this rare and noble trait of character. Perhaps it is not amiss — for the good such an example of genuine Christian virtue doubtless will produce — to relate an incident of which I am personally cognizant, proving the truth of this statement. It was during the time Brother Fjelsted presided in Christi- PHOTO BY RABE. THE FJELDSTED MONUMENT, LOGAN CEMETERY. Inscription, east side: Christian Daniel Fjeldsted, born, Denmark, Pebruary 20, 1829; died, December 23, 1905. Erected by his friends and countrymen. On the south side: One of the First Seven Presidents of Seventy, ordained April 28, 1884. ania, Norway — in 1870 or 1871, perhaps. The writer's own broth- er, a young man of a very sober and thoughtful turn of mind, had previously emigrated to Zion — as had also his father and some other of the older members of the family. The mother, with five children, remained in Norway, awaiting means with which they also might emigrate. It required several years of patient waiting, however, before the fond expectations of all concerned could be realized, owing to the scarcity of money in Utah, at that time, or,

IN MEMORY OF CHRISTIAN D. FJELDSTED 163 rather of employment paid for "in money," — the only legal tender accepted then, as now, in payment for transportation. From some source or other, President Fjeldsted had obtained the information that the writer's brother referred to was on the road to apostacy. Without taking the trouble of first ascertaining the facts in the case, President Fjeldsted took occasion to publicly warn the local Saints against the evil influence that letters or state- ments coming from this young man possibly might have. On hearing this my mother's feelings can better be imagined than described. She naturally conveyed the information to her absent son, who, she had every reason to believe, was true and faithful to the gospel. PHOTO BY RABE ELDER SEYMOUR B. YOUNG DEDICATING THE FJELDSTED MONUMENT. Replying, my brother requested that mother take all the letters he had written home, and hand them to President Fjeldsted, asking him to carefully read them and judge of their contents and the spirit they manifested throughout. "Then," said he, in effect, "I demand that Brother Fjeldsted make a public confession of his error in accepting as facts false rumors, regarding my integrity, and giving it the "same publicity; and in case he fail, I shall most assuredly "see to it that he is dealt with according to the order existing in the Church." President Fjeldsted received the bundle of letters— scores,

164 IMPROVEMENT ERA perhaps. A week or two later, at the conclusion of the regular Sunday morning meeting, the president arose and stated that he desired every member of the Church, present, to remain after the close of the services, which they did. Then, before that large congregation of Saints, he carefully went over the points at issue, referring to the great danger of accepting evidence from irrespons- ible sources, of judging hastily, and of giving currency to rumors which might or might not be true, and then to the stack of letters he had perused, which threw light on the subject involved, etc. He described very feelingly the evident straightforwardness he had found in the young man thought to be off the track; of his unswerving integrity, his manly efforts, and his living faith ; of his intense sincerity, and absolute lack of frivolity, in any form. In a manner I can never forget, this noble soul then most gracefully confessed his error and wrong-doing publicly; and, speaking directly to mother, and to every one of the children separately, he pleaded for forgiveness, not forgetting the young man he had thus offended. Mother wept — we were all moved to tears, as were many oth- ers. The incident, devoid of animosity or revenge, was touching in the extreme, and left a most sublime impression on the minds of all — perhaps hundreds — who were present. Here indeed is a striking display of nobility — an example worthy of imitation. Murray, Utah. Stolypin, the Russian Premier, was shot at a gala performance of grand opera, at Kief, on September 14, by a Jew by birth, named Pershkevish, or Demitri Bogrof, a double-role detective who was in the service of both the secret police and the revolutionists. He was hanged September 25, being found guilty by a court martial. The Czar was present at the opera and had witnessed in the afternoon the army ma- neuvers, and reviewed 4,000 boy scouts in the hippodrome. Premier Stolypin died on Monday, 18th. He was appointed premier, in 1906, and was disliked by the court-clique, because he was a self-made man, and interfered with their corruption : and by the revolutionary party, because he crushed their movements and repressed all kinds of disorders. The laws against the Jews have lately been enforced by him with great severity. On September 23, Waldemar Kokovtself, a liberal, succeeded to the premiership. He was formerly in charge of the prisons, and made many reforms, and was made Minister of Finance in 1890, which office he will still hold .