LIVERPOOL, England — Five Swedish Church members and friends were among the 45 Sea Trek participants on board the Sorlandet. Bishop Thomas Wiklf and his first counselor, Per Barkfors, joined the expedition with their friend, Per Nilsson, and his children Alexandra, 15, and Anna Maria, 17, on the leg between Gothenburg, Sweden, and Liverpool, England.
Each of the three men were noted on the voyage as always willing to volunteer to help the crew in rigging sails, adjusting the many miles of rope that secures mast and sail alike, and often climbing high up the masts, sometimes in darkness and wet weather. They became expert at this and all other aspects of the sailing duties entrusted to Sea Trek participants. Apparently fearless, they won the respect of passengers and crew alike.
Although they may not be direct descendants of those who immigrated to America, they follow a strong pioneering tradition within their nation and families.
Thomas Wiklf has been the bishop of the Lund Ward, Malmo Sweden Stake, for a year and a half. He joined Sea Trek primarily for the adventure. "Although I have no known emigrant ancestors, I like the idea of trying to recreate the emigration experience," he said.
Born into the Church to a German mother and a Swedish father, Bishop Wiklf has within his own family pioneers who helped build the Church in Sweden. His father had grown up in another faith but, by studying the Bible, came to the conclusion that it was not the Church of God. He began a search for that church, looking in particular for a church with a prophet and apostles. He was on the point of giving up.
"He prayed hard, 'If there is a true church, please let me know.' Missionaries knocked on his door the following day," said Bishop Wiklf.
"I have never met anyone so strongly committed as my father. There was never a time when he said, 'I don't feel like praying,' or, 'Let's skip family home evening,' or 'I don't want to go to Church today,' or, 'We can't afford to pay tithing.' Although we were not poor, there was never much money. There was no temple in Sweden then; to go to the temple in London or Switzerland took a lot of money. I never heard him say that they could not afford to go. Every year they traveled to the temple for a week," he said.
Bishop Wiklf's father served a three-year mission in Sweden. Now public affairs missionaries in Sweden, Bishop Wiklf's parents, Elder Torsten Wiklf and Sister Edith Wiklf, served a mission to Germany and three missions to Chile. Bishop Wiklf served in what was then the England Coventry Mission 1983-1984. His son was asked recently whether he would be serving a mission. "Do I have any choice?" replied his son. "My grandparents have served a mission, my father served a mission, my mother served a mission."
Per Nilsson, serving with his wife, Martalena, is national director for public affairs in Sweden. He has been involved for the past year with preparations for Sea Trek 2001 events in Sweden, correlating local Church member volunteer efforts. He is also the 2002 Winter Olympics national coordinator.
He has been a Church member since 1961 when he was baptized at age 9, along with his mother, Phyllis. When his mother told Per's grandmother that she was going to be baptized, the grandmother replied, "Oh, my father and mother joined that Church in 1905." Only then did Per's mother recollect that when she was a young child her grandmother told her bedside stories about the Church. Those grandparents having died, she had forgotten about the stories as she grew up. "I recall my mother saying that there was something familiar about this religion."
He served a mission to the England South mission 1972-1974. He has served in bishoprics and on the stake high council, and most recently as a counselor in the mission presidency.
Per Barkfors, 35, said he had been sailing only once before he signed up for the Sea Trek voyage. "I'm so very glad I came. It's been a positive experience. I hadn't planned to be going up the mast in the middle of the night and in the rain and wind. It just turned out that way. It's good to have done it."
Of his experience meeting other members on the voyage, he said, "I get a feeling that the Church is the same around the world. You can drop me any place in the world and if I need help, I know I will find someone who will offer that help. To hear about the emigrants who suffered a lot strengthens my life and my desire to make the right choices to do what I can to help members in my ward."
Brother Barkfors said he had a lot of ancestors, who emigrated from Smaland, a poor farming community, "but I don't know yet whether any were Church members."
A first-generation member, Per Barkfors was converted in 1985 at the age of 18, after his then-fianc took him along as she received missionary discussions.
"I miss having the experience of growing up in the Church, going through the Church programs as a young man. I didn't know how to dance or sing until I joined the Church. That's something I would like to have, with a family to back you up and, for example, to be able to have a blessing from my father. I hope that I can give those experiences to my own children."
E-mail: David@pickups.fslife.co.uk