Healing and Temporal Provision of Brother and Sister Olsen

“During the second year of my missionary labors in Norway, I became acquainted with an aged couple by the name of Olsen, who had but a short time previously joined the Church. They were living in the poor-house, and supported by the town. They were very poor, and were looked upon with contempt by their neighbors, because they had embraced the unpopular religion of the 'Mormons.' When I first visited them, I found them in a very destitute condition. They were, however, full of faith, and were very anxious to do their duty. I explained to them the law of tithing, and told them that if they would observe it, the Lord would bless them. They complied with the law fully and faithfully. They had full confidence in the promise of the Lord, that He would open the way for them. Brother Olsen's eyesight, through faith and the administration of the Elders, became stronger, and he was able to work. Sister Olsen had all the carding and spinning she could do, and they were soon able to pay their tithing, and also to provide for themselves. One Sunday after meeting, Sister Olsen invited us to come and visit them, and to bring our hymn books. We did so, and you may imagine our astonishment to find them no longer in the poor-house, but living in a comfortable home, where they had moved, and were paying their own rent. They were happy and contented, and bore a strong testimony to the truth of the Gospel. The Lord had kept His promise, and had blessed them in their basket and in their store, and had given them their liberty, which they prized more than anything else.”

— J. M. Lauritzen, The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star