| 
Out of Many, One
The Prophet Greets the People in Helsinki, Part 2
Written by Maurine Jensen Proctor
Photography by Scot Facer Proctor
Ecstatic
The Finns are ecstatic about their new temple.
The most common phrase among them is, “I never thought I’d
see this day when we’d have a temple right here in Finland.”
Elder Quentin White, who has been on a mission
overseeing the construction of the temple, said when he was on his
first mission in Finland in 1951 to 54, he never dreamed there would
be a temple in Finland, let alone that he would play a key role
in building it.
Members throughout the region are so excited to have
their own temple.
The reality is, however, that the member population
in Finland could not have supported a temple without the vibrancy
and support of the members of Russia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithania
who bring temple district numbers to 26,000.
President Hinckley spoke to the Saints in English
and this brother translated the talk into Finnish. Wireless radio
headsets were given to other members who required translation into
the various other languages of the region.
“I have participated in the dedication
or rededication of 94 of the 124 temples” said President Hinckley,
“but I’ve never seen such enthusiasm as I’ve seen
with reference to the Helsinki temple. One sees a very interesting
thing here. There is an intense bonding between the people from
America and the Finnish Saints. “
Before the cultural celebration, members heard
talks from Elder Bruce C.Hafen, Elder Scott and President Hinckley.
Here are excerpts from their talks.
Elder Bruce C. Hafen
Elder Hafen began by acknowledging the outstanding
success of the Helsinki Temple open house, “Many of those
who came felt the deep spirit of the temple. One visitor wrote,
‘I felt peace in the temple. It felt like time stopped and
I didn’t want to leave.’
“Another wrote, ‘The temple made
me rethink my life all over again.’ And said another, ‘What
impressed me most about the temple was seeing the members of your
church. They are all so happy. You can just see it in their eyes.’
Elder Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy.
“A Scandinavian Church member I know was
married in the temple as a young man, but then he had some problems.
He left the Church and stayed away for twenty years. He wouldn’t
allow his two children to be baptized. But his wife read the scriptures
with them and took them with her to church.
“I met this man just after he returned
to Church activity, but had not yet regained the blessings that
he had lost so long ago. I asked him what brought him back after
twenty years. He said that his son and daughter had attended a Church
conference called Festinord in 2004. That interested me because
Sister Hafen and I also attended Festinord in that year.
“He asked them, ‘What did you learn
at Festinord?’ They told him about their exciting week of
activities and classes, and then, they added, ‘We also bore
our testimonies in the big meeting at the end of the conference.’
“’Your testimonies?’ he asked.
‘What did you say?
“’Do you really want to know, father?’
they asked. He said, ‘Yes I do.’ So they spoke to him
from their hearts about their love for the Lord, their love for
him and their mother and about their conviction that the Book of
Mormon is true and that this is Christ’s true Church.
“Two nights later, this father told me,
he had a very vivid dream. He saw himself standing by a large rushing
river. He saw his wife and his two children standing next to a beautiful
tree on the other side of the river. They beckoned to him to join
them, but he saw no bridge across the river, so he could not reach
them. Suddenly he awoke from this dream with anxious feelings. He
knew immediately what the dream meant. He went to his bishop; and
said, ‘What must I do to return to the Church and return to
the temple? I want to be sealed to my wife and my children for eternity.’
Elder Bruce Hafen is the President of the Europe
Central Area of the Church.
“Brothers and sisters, his children have
now been baptized, the whole family has been sealed together in
the temple. I happened to see this man and wife in Utah recently
at October conference. They looked radiantly happy. They had just
visited several temples. The temple means everything to them. I
cried as I thought about the power of the word from his children’s
testimonies and about the temple’s power to draw us like a
magnet toward God and toward each other.
“We have people tonight from many countries,
but we are all united by the Helsinki temple district. Some years
ago, Finland was the host country for sending the first missionaries
into the country of the Soviet Union. Now Finland will host temple
patrons from those same countries. This sacred history creates a
very special unity among all of us here. The temple itself unifies
multiple cultures. As Spencer W. Kimball said about the Swiss temple,
the confusion of tongues from the Tower of Babel is being overcome
by the ordinances of the temple.”
Elder Richard G. Scott
Elder Scott asked, “Can you imagine of
the billions of people on earth, that each one of you and I have
been touched by the Holy Spirit, and we rejoice in the restoration
of the truth on earth again through a prophet divinely called? The
fullness of the truth of the teachings of Jesus Christ are on earth
again. The authority to act in the name of Jesus Christ through
his priesthood is here with us.
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Council of the Twelve.
“It brings remarkable blessings, but none
more important than those realized within the walls of the sacred
temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Study
the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon, in the Bible,
The Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants. We know
how to be happy. We know how to face the challenges of earth around
us.
Elder Scott with his translator.
“There are so many who don’t know
how to live in today’s world with all of its difficulties,
but as you study the teachings of Jesus Christ that have been restored
to earth in his Church, you will know how to overcome every challenge
and live with peace and happiness. When a couple is sealed in the
temple, and they keep the covenants made there, they have the absolute
assurance of knowing how to live with happiness on earth, and qualify
to live forever together with their family members who also qualify
in the same way. How happy we must be that we recognize the truth
that has been restored to earth.
President Gordon B. Hinckley
President Hinckley said, “Now Finland
is a most interesting and progressive country... Finland has been
ranked as having the most competitive economy and the best business
climate in the world. Finland has been recognized as having the
least corrupt and most democratic government in the world. Finland
is one of the most technically advanced countries.
President Hinckley gave an impressive scorecard to
Finland.
“Finns are known for their honesty.
Finland is the only country to pay all its war debts to the United
States. Finland is famous among other things for Nokia phones, Fiskars
scissors and Marimekko textiles. Eero Saarinen, the famous Finland
architect, designed the Dulles Airport in Washington D.C., and the
famous arch in St. Louis. Finland’s public school system is
ranked the best in the world. Most Finns speak at least three languages
and almost everybody in Finland speaks English.
Then in a teasing aside, President Hinckley
pointed to the interpreter, “So why have we got you here?”
President Hinckley’s humor never wanes.
He continued, “Finland produces the best
licorice in all the world.
“Now seriously, the work in Finland has
reached maturity. With the construction and dedication of the temple,
you have everything that Latter-day Saints have anywhere in the
world. And I urge you as strongly as I can that everyone secure
a temple recommend. If you have a temple recommend, it indicates
that you are all right in every other way. It means that you pay
your tithing, that you live the Word of Wisdom, that you treat your
wife and children with respect and kindness, that you are men and
women of integrity in the community, and so I urge everyone of you
adults to live worthy of a temple recommend.”
President Hinckley showed the Finnish Flag.
President Hinckley then surprised the Saints
by pulling out a Finnish flag from his coat pocket. In a showing
of great love for the Finns he said to them: “I picked up
this little Finnish flag. I like it. It’s so simple. It has
the Christian Cross, saying that this is a Christian land and it
is as I said so simple with that cross on a white background. Treasure
it. Respect it. Love it and make it a glorious thing among the nations
of the earth.”
“God bless you my beloved brothers and
sisters, you wonderful Finnish Saints.”
Click
here to go back to Part 1 of The Prophet Greets the People in Helsinki.
Click here to go to Meridian’s
Home Page.
-----
Keep watching this entire week as we
bring you coverage from the Helsinki Temple Youth Cultural Celebration
and Dedication as well as fascinating inside views into the members
from Finland and other Baltic States and Russia. If you haven’t
signed up to receive the Meridian in your inbox every day, please
sign up here. It’s free!
|
