Growing up on Stadlandet
Anna Kristendatter Belden was born on February 26, 1896. Her parents were Samuline Isaksdotter Hoddevik and Kristen Olsen Belden. They were Christians and ran a farm in northwestern Norway, way out on the North Sea, on a peninsula called Stadlandet. Anna grew up there with six siblings. The area is known for its stormy weather and constantly rough seas. Many sailors and fishermen have perished in this storm-tossed stretch of ocean.
Anna was musical and could sing and play the guitar. Ever since she was a young girl, she would often go out and sit on a rock close to the farm. There she sat, playing and singing her songs and hymns. Then the notes rang out through the narrow valley, and the wind from the sea carried the sound far away. The stone lies there to this day and is still called the “Anna Stone.”
A Young Person—Zealous for God
Already as a young girl, Anna was zealous for God. She attended Christian gatherings that were held from time to time in her hometown. When there were prayer meetings, she usually attended. She prayed with such need and in tears that the floor beneath her seat would become wet. Once, an itinerant preacher noticed this and thought it was going too far. He then walked over to her, patted her reassuringly on the shoulder, and told her that now she needed to calm down a bit. Then Anna rose resolutely from her chair and cried out: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Eph. 5:14). Then she knelt down and continued to pray fervently.
Anna contracted tuberculosis, a disease that was very widespread and claimed many lives in the early 1900s. Young people, in particular, were vulnerable to catching it. She died on November 25, 1919, at the age of only 23.
Anna Belden’s Songs
Anna Belden wrote two songs that have been published in the Norwegian songbook “Herrens Veier” (Ways of the Lord). The first song she wrote was “Onward by faith as a pilgrim and stranger.” This song was published in the songbook as early as 1916.
We do not know exactly when she wrote the second song, “O God’s kingdom consists not of word,” but the song was first published in “Herrens Veier” in 1929, years after her death.
The Letter in “Skjulte Skatter”
In 1916, Johan Oscar Smith—founder of the Norwegian paper “Skjulte Skatter” and of what would later become “Brunstad Christian Church”—also published a private letter written by Anna Belden in the paper. The letter provides an interesting and moving insight into this young woman’s devotion to God. She wrote about a recent conversation she had with a brother regarding what Paul writes in Romans, chapter 5, verse 10:
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Rom. 5:10 (NKJV).
“This brother believed that the greatest thing of all was to be reconciled to God through the death of His Son, to receive the forgiveness of sins and peace with God. But since it is written that we will be much more be saved by Christ’s life—I believe this is greater.
What Paul writes is true: ‘We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.’ We have boldness through the blood of Christ to enter the Holy Place, presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God.”
Anna Belden was living in Ålesund at this time, where she had met Johan Oscar Smith in 1915. Smith had made several contacts in Ålesund. Several of them later moved to Molde, including Anna Beldens’ sister Olufine and her husband Sivert Bolsønes.
Anna Beldens’ Grave in Ervik
Anna’s gravestone can be found in Ervik, at the very edge of the cemetery where the waves of the sea roll onto the beach. It’s as if they’re joining in on the chorus of her song “O God’s kingdom consists not of word”: “Can’t be moved! Can’t be moved. For this kingdom is tested an proved.” The inscription on the stone has likely also given those who have visited her grave something to think about. It says: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
This was Anna Belden’s personal testimony.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Anna Belden:
Who was Anna Belden?
Anna Belden was a young songwriter from Stadlandet in Vestland. She was born in 1896 and died in 1919. She wrote two songs that have been published in “Herrens Veier.”
Who wrote the song “O God’s kingdom consists not of word”?
“O God’s kingdom consists not of word” was written by Anna Belden. The song was published in the songbook “Herrens Veier” in 1929, ten years after her death.
What songs did Anna Belden write?
Anna Belden wrote the songs “O God’s kingdom consists not of word” and “Onward by faith as a pilgrim and stranger.”
When and how did Anna Belden die?
Anna Belden died on November 25, 1919. She died of tuberculosis.
Where is Anna Belden buried?
Anna Belden is buried in the cemetery in Ervik, on the outer edge of Stadlandet in Vestland County (Norway).
