When the first ordained pastors from Norway began their work here, they found that the immigrants in many places had come in touch with, and had been influenced to some extent by, various sects. Our pastors did not make the mistake which had repeatedly been made before by those who attempted to found Lutheran church bodies, of fraternizing with these sects at the expense of the truth. These pioneer pastors realized very keenly that it was the will of God, that they should carefully avoid and shun all false doctrine, and not enter into any fraternal relations with those of other faiths. This same care was exercised over against so called Lutherans who were unfaithful to the truth in greater or lesser degree. This principle of avoiding all unionism in the church was definitively established from the very beginning and consistently maintained and championed in the Norwegian Synod up to the union of 1917. By consistenly following out this principle our fathers made many enemies. They were accused of being exclusive and of lacking in true brotherly love. They chose, however, to suffer this calumny, knowing that they were doing the will of God, rather than compromise the truth in order to gain the friendship of the world. And God has abundantly blessed their faithfulness to the truth.