Our first visit to Lappeenranta

We were pleased to be invited to accompany Riitta and Quentin White to Lappeenranta where they presented a program about temples in general and the Helsinki temple construction, in particular. Elder and Sister White have been serving as missionaries at the temple site since August 2004. He is the Church's representative on the temple site and she is keeping the temple history. He took the architect's models and displayed them in the Church foyer before and after the program. Afterwards we toured Lappeenranta a bit. It is a very lovely city as you can see from the pictures. We often walk through the cemeteries of the towns we are able to visit. In the cemetery here there was a monument to the Winter War. It was quite poignant and effective in the telling the story of every war.

Lappeenranta LDS meetinghouse 

Architect's model Helsinki Temple 

Architect's model of Helsinki Temple 

Riitta and Quentin White, Elizabeth and David Tippets at the Lappeenranta chapel 

Lappeenranta, May 9PM 

Lappeenranta, May 9PM 

Lappeenranta harbor May, 9PM 

One side of two sided memorial in Lappeenranta cemetery portraying the women and children left alone after the war 

The opposite side of memorial from the winter war. The old people who were left.

Helsinki Temple dedication 4 months away

Great progress is being made on the temple construction. Construction trailer offices have been removed to make way for paving the parking areas. Art glass windows are being installed. The exterior appearance of the temple will be spectacular in the dark months when there is a clear view of the temple and the lights are on inside. The exterior landscaping is coming together and adds a lot to the appearance of the site. The landscaping walls are granite from Lappeenranta. At the rear of the temple there is a stone wall that looks like many you see as you travel through Finland. I understand that there are several temples that have been built with the same footprint as the Helsinki temple, but the exteriors are all different. The Helsinki temple has a copper wrapped steeple similar to many that are found in Finland. The pictures below are of the cathedral in Turku--Finland's oldest city. You can see the seams and flared out treatment at the base of the copper steeple there. The copper dome at the rear of the temple is reminiscent of a church in Helsinki. The building itself is truly international with building materials coming from Finland, Italy, England, USA, and Israel. Interior features come from Spain, Finland, Holland, and England, at least. Workers have come from more than 10 countries.

Helsinki Finland Temple  

Helsinki Finland Temple tower 

Holiness to the Lord--The House of the Lord 

Turku cathedral 

Copper steeple on Turku cathedral with double wrapped seams