The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites the public to tour the newly completed Helsinki Finland Temple. An open house begins today and continues through Saturday, 7 October 2006, excluding Sundays. Reservations are not required.
Following the public open house, the temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, 22 October 2006. Four separate dedicatory sessions will be held to accommodate Latter-day Saints in Finland and Eastern Europe who will be served by the new temple.
A cultural celebration
featuring the talents of local Latter-day Saint youth is scheduled
for Saturday, 21 October 2006, in the LänisAuto Arena.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, announced in April 2000 that a temple would
be built in Finland. A suitable site was acquired in 2002 and
groundbreaking took place in early 2003.
Once dedicated, the Helsinki Finland Temple will be the Church's 124th operating temple in the world and the 10th in Europe. Other temples in the Nordic countries include the Stockholm Sweden Temple (dedicated 1985) and the Copenhagen Denmark Temple (2004). The temple in Helsinki will serve not only Latter-day Saints in Finland, but those in Russia and the Baltic countries as well.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered "houses of the Lord" where Christ's teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity.
Inside the temple, members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and their fellow man.