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.
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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!