My Scandinavian Roots Appreciated

In 1980 I was a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, serving in Denmark. I was 19 years old. This was a landmark period in my life where I was able to learn three important things. I learned to look beyond myself and for the first time in my life how to serve others. I learned to be on my own without the protective umbrella of my family, and I learned to appreciate my Scandinavian roots which I'd like to speak to today.

My name is Gustav "Gus" Koerner. I was named after my grandpa "Papa Gus" a Swedish immigrant. The name also belongs to the King of Sweden, Gustaf V (the 5th) (Oscar Gustaf Adolf 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) who was King of Sweden from 1907 to 1950.

On my mission I had two name tags, one read Elder Koerner - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the other one I had made was Ælste Kørner - Jesu Kristi Kirke af Sidste Dages Hellige.  When I wore the first name tag, people would say "What??" and when I wore the Danish version, they'd say "Hello" and never ever mispronounce my name - so I mostly wore the second. By the way, the Danish pronunciation of  Kørner in English is Kerner, which is correct.

Today is Summer Solstice (June 20, 18:34 hours ET), the longest day of sunlight during the year and appreciated at northern latitudes which takes me back to my Scandinavian roots and my mission in Denmark. While there, I learned this song and still know and sing it to this day.  It is one of my favorites of all time.  I hope my children can hear and learn it. –  I'll share it with you now, first in English and then Danish, with  YouTube performance link.
 
It was Written by Ove "Bager" Wulff (1917-2004) - Trained as a baker at the patisserie Bryggergården in Odense, Denmark. He was hired as a ship's baker at the East Asiatic Company. Known as entertainer, musician, show author and composer, especially for the song of Lundeborg the Lundeborg Hymn. Warning, the song is not impressive in English.  One needs to hear the Danish version in song.

Lundeborg Hymn
Are you sad, and depressed?
So go with me down to Lundeborg,
for it is the best place on Earth,
there I believe is the end of the world.
there is forest and beach,
there's port and water
there’s fisher girls there's fisher men.
Are you sad, and depressed?
So go with me down to Lundeborg.

Lundeborg, Denmark is a coastal town approximately 55°N 11°E, about 12 miles South of Nyborg. The song is performed on YouTube by Fynsk Harmoniforvirring, 2011. Link here.

Lundeborghymnen
Er du trist og har du sorg i sinde?
Så tag med mig ned til Lundeborg.
For det er det bedste sted på jorden,
Der jeg tror at verdens enden går.
Der er skov og strand.
Der er havn og vand.
Der er fiskerpige,
Der er fiskermand.
Er du trist og har du sorg i sinde?
Så tag med mig ned til Lundeborg.

I Used To Hate Christian Music

There was a time in my life that Christian music turned me off.  If it came on the radio, it would immediately get changed, to more than likely country or NPR.  Then one day, one of my best friends Gayle, a University of Florida County Extension Agent was going on and on about this group Avalon, and how they were playing in Orlando.  As I recall, it was about October 2005, and I think she even got out of a work detail to go see them.  Because of that interaction with Gayle, it made an impression causing me to to think, "hey, if she thinks they're this good, I'll give it a listen."

When I finally heard the song Testify to Love, it made such a deep impression that I'll never forget.  The song means to me, the very crutch of what it means to be a Christian.  For Mr. Gus, being a minister of the Lord, a Christian, an evangelist, a pastor or chaplain or a good neighbor (in the biblical sense) means simply that I testify to love, showing Christ's example in everything I do.  It's not about living within the confines and structure or a particular religion, but following the example of the world's ultimate example of love. Since that time I have grown to love Christian music for what it represents, namely nurturing a relationship with God, showing gratitude for all things including challenges and taking care of what matters most which is our relationships with others, especially family.

Thank you Gayle for your witness to Christ by publicly sharing your passion for music with your colleagues at work.  I'm forever grateful that you testified to love.  Below are the lyrics, credits and how you can buy the song.

Testify to Love

by Avalon

All the colors of the rainbow
All the voices of the wind
Every dream that reaches out
That reaches out to find where love begins
Every word of every story
Every star in every sky
Every corner of creation
Lives to testify

Chorus
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences
When words are not enough
With every breath I take
I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love

From the mountains to the valleys
From the rivers to the sea
Every hand that reaches out
Every hand that reaches out to offer peace
Every simple act of mercy
Every step to kingdom come
All the hope in every heart will
Speak what love has done

Chorus 3 times

Writer(s): Henk Pool, Ralph van Manen, Robert T. Riekerk
Copyright: Universal/Mca Music Holland B.V.

Album: A Maze Of Grace, available on iTunes, Play Store or your favorite music vendor.  Google the song, and it will pop up on YouTube to hear it for free.  Like this link.

My Spiritual Journey - My Missionary Years, Part 5

At the age of 19, March 1979-1981, I went on a two year mission for the Latter-Day Saint church. My dad encouraged me too, but I think it was more for the adventure and life experience. My siblings were very supportive of course, but my Christian friends back home gave me the cold shoulder, expressing feelings that Mormons were a cult, and I should stay away from them. The only people who did not were the Perkins family. I knew them from Ridglea Presbyterian Church, and the daughter Marianne and I were friends from Young Life. They told me they loved me, no matter what. To this day, I am grateful for that. I never asked my mom why she wanted me to go, but I think it was a source of pride for her, in "that's what nice, young Mormon men do". Did they pressure me to go? Not directly. The overall encouragement of the LDS church for all young men is to serve a mission when they're nineteen; so in that sense I did feel pressured. On the other hand, I wanted to go, or I wouldn't have. When I applied to go, my choices were to go to Germany, Sweden or anywhere in Europe. I was called to Denmark. When I left, I reported to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, which is like a boot camp for missionaries. There we were taught and coached in the core beliefs of the LDS church, how to interact with the public, and intense training in the language and culture of our final destination. From Day One we spoke Danish for all but a few minutes of each day the entire two months. My primary instructor was Sister Sonja DeSpain, a middle age Danish-American. The language came fairly easy; the memorization of the lessons did not. I was having fun, and learned a lot, but the "fire in the belly" of converting people to the Mormon church never came to me the entire two years. I did at this point however have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

When we arrived in Denmark, it was just as they told us, and I had a great first companion (partner) who was a veteran missionary trainer, Elder Raule I think was his name. Missionaries call each other Elder or Sister. He trained me well to work hard, read my scriptures daily, pray all the time and be kind to everyone we met. I enjoyed the work and flourished. I was able to travel and work in about ten different Danish cities including Copenhagen for a year, as well as Vejle, Fredercia and others I cannot remember. After my first companion of six months, I then became a trainer, which was very early for the typical missionary. Most of the time missionaries had a year or so under their belt before they trained others. I include this not to boast, but to point out that from an early age, God blessed me with the gift of being able to teach others, that I would continue to do in my career. I went on to train six missionaries, brand new from the states. Later on I served as a District and Zone Leader. I fit in very well to the mission mostly because I was friendly and loved speaking with people, the language went very well, and the culture fit me to a tee. I guess my Nordic ancestry came out in me. My daily goal was to meet people, become their friend and tell them about the blessings we receive from knowing Jesus Christ. That's what I did. Yes, I always told them about the revelations Joseph Smith received, and always (as instructed) told them not to take my word for it, but pray about it for confirmation. My logic as a nineteen year old figured if God wanted them to be Mormon, He’d tell them so and it wasn’t my job to convince them.

Question: Is it remotely possible, that God wants thousands of different religions? There’s something to think about.

Later I am going to include exactly what I believe in my Declaration of Faith, but let me say this now: I believe that God, through his Holy Spirit can reveal Himself to all people - period. Did he to Joseph Smith? I feel he did, but at some point in what LDS people call the Restoration, something went amiss. I need to say this to my friends and loved ones who think they know Mormons and the LDS faith - I was taught from an early age about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for all of us on the cross. He was and is the cornerstone of my family faith, so in most aspects I consider the LDS people to be as "Christian" as the main stream population by how I was raised. On the other hand they are very different in their fundamental beliefs, some of which I cannot hold as my own. It is my opinion that when any religion or person goes much deeper than the saving grace of Christ, and the two most important calls of Christianity, i.e. loving God and neighbor, that they tend to easily get wrapped around dogma that will quickly conflict with another and bring discord.