Dedication of the Stockholm Sweden Temple
Three months into John E. Forsgren’s mission in his native land, Swedish authorities banished the Latter-day Saint convert — but not before he baptized 11 converts, including his siblings, Peter and Christina.
Though starting relatively small, the Church in Sweden had grown sufficiently by 1985 that a house of the Lord was completed there to serve all of Scandinavia at the time, with 18,500 members in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
With its 47,000 visitors more than doubling expectations, the open house lifted the Church in Sweden “out of darkness and obscurity in a marvelous way,” said Elder Bo G. Wennerlund, a regional representative and temple committee chairman at the time.
During the open house, the Church received over 1,200 referral cards from people interested in learning more about temple work. The Swedish postal service even issued a special commemorative stamp cancellation, featuring the angel Moroni.
One well-traveled woman artist from Estonia was reported by Church News to have stood silently in the celestial room, commenting it was the most beautiful room she had ever seen. Others voiced similar sentiments.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the Stockholm Sweden Temple in 11 sessions from July 2 to July 4, 1985.
Accompanied by then-Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a descendant of Swedish converts, President Hinckley called the dedication during the first session “the most significant day in the history of the Church in Scandinavia.”
Ninety-year-old Hilda Bjorklund, who joined the Church 63 years earlier and was endowed in the Bern Switzerland Temple 30 years earlier, never thought she would live to see a temple in her homeland.
“It was so wonderful. There was such a wonderful spirit in there,” Bjorklund said. “Before I die, I want to come here once more.”
Elder Monson called the temple a “beacon” like the North Star, later saying the endowment “will always guide us to the celestial kingdom of God.”
“Let this be a day of dedication, a day of commitment when there will be ushered in a more glorious day in the work of the Lord in this choice land,” President Hinckley said during the first session.
Elder Wennerlund noted that many couples left the temple open house holding hands.
“You don’t often see that in Sweden,” he said.
President Hinckley would say during the dedication that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about “sons and daughters in the family of God, all with the assurance that these ordinances will enable families to go on forever in the eternities.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May the dedication of this temple usher in a new era for Thy work in all of Scandinavia and Finland. Bless the missionaries and lead them to those whose hearts are inclined unto the truth.”
Read the Stockholm Sweden Temple dedicatory prayer here.
Timeline of the Stockholm Sweden Temple
On March 17, 1984, Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over and offered the dedicatory prayer for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Stockholm temple. This house of the Lord was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, on July 2, 1985.
On Sept. 12, 2022, the Church announced the Stockholm temple would be closed in 2023 for renovations. A three-year project will aim at expanding the total floor area to 31,000 square feet, nearly doubling the current perimeter of 16,366 square feet.
Part of renovation and expansion, two endowment rooms, each with 40 seats, will be added to the new structure.
Architecture and Design of the Stockholm Sweden Temple
The Stockholm Sweden Temple sits on a 4.47-acre site, spanning 16,366 square feet, measuring 178 feet by 71 feet. An angel Moroni statue is placed atop the tallest spire at 112 feet. The exterior finish consists of masonry with a copper roof.
The exterior consists of four instruction rooms, three sealing rooms and one baptistry.
Sitting next to the temple is a guest house owned and operated by the Church with 120 beds to accommodate traveling patrons during their trip to the temple.