Information regarding changes to the publication Hidden Treasures and other publications

Dear friends!

As you may know, the year 2024 has seen some changes at the Hidden Treasures Publishing Foundation (SSSF). Sigurd Johan Bratlie retired on September 1st, after leading the organization for 37 years. Throughout all these years, he has worked tirelessly and with a steady hand. Under his leadership, a tremendous effort has been put into the publications Hidden Treasures, Mandelblomsten, and the church’s other literature and intellectual property.

SSSF initiated a major restructuring of its operations in 2024. SSSF plays an important role in the church’s missions work, and today people are often reached through new channels and formats. Therefore, in order to reach seeking individuals with our message, SSSF has begun larger efforts by producing new formats, including film productions focused on the church’s message and teachings. SSSF has also initiated a project to make the church’s literature more accessible to both the public and BCC members.

To focus and use resources appropriately, SSSF has decided that from January 2025, the publication Hidden Treasures will be made freely available and will only be published in a digital format. The paid subscription model will be discontinued, and Hidden Treasures will no longer be printed and distributed by mail. Further information about the digital formats and distribution channels to be used will be provided later.

Naturally, SSSF has also reviewed what to do with the publication Mandelblomsten. Many people have greatly enjoyed the content of this publication, and it has contributed to providing the friends with greater insight into the history of and various developments within the church. A large team of volunteers, led by Helén Itland, has over many years put in a tremendous amount of work that deserves to be acknowledged. However, SSSF’s primary task and purpose are to be a steward of the church’s doctrinal content for the friends and to communicate these teachings to seeking individuals outside the church. This increased focus on reaching more people through new channels and formats means that we must cut back on some activities that are not naturally a part of this work. On this basis, we have decided to discontinue Mandelblomsten as of the new year. This means that the December issue will be the last edition of Mandelblomsten.

The church’s songbooks, Ways of the Lord and the family songbook Mandelblomsten, have in recent years been available digitally through a paid subscription in the SongTreasures app. As of January 2025, these will be freely available in the app, and the paid subscription model will be discontinued at the end of this year. Other content and functionality in the app will also be free of charge from this time.

SSSF is also working on new solutions for making the church’s literature available, and a new literature portal will be launched around the turn of the year. Until then, the current literature portal will be available as before. Printed books can still be purchased from ChristianBookshop.org for the time being, but e-books will largely be made freely available on the literature portal starting at the beginning of the year.

We would like to thank contributors, readers, and subscribers for an extraordinarily good collaboration up until now, and we are eagerly expecting the time ahead to be interesting and a blessing to all of us.

Your brother, Kåre J. Smith