Kiev Ukraine Mormon Temple Receives Award
The Kiev Mormon Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) recently received first place for the best religious building construction for 2010. It is the first Mormon temple constructed “in the former Soviet Union.” The Kiev temple was announced back in 1998 just a few weeks after the dedication of the first Ukrainian meetinghouse.
The award was given by the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine on 12 September 2011.
Latter-day Saint temples are different from regular church meetinghouses. Temples are literally Houses of the Lord. They are places where Mormons go to make sacred promises or covenants with Jesus Christ. They promise to follow Jesus Christ and live a life of virtue and service to Jesus Christ. Latter-day Saints also bring names to temples to perform ordinances such as baptisms and sealings that unite families in an eternal relationship, in behalf of their ancestors who have passed away. It is a place of love, peace, and holiness for those who attend.
For the full report, please visit the official Mormon news website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Additional Resources:
Find a local church meetinghouse.
Learn more about why Mormons build temples at the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Temples are houses of the Lord where sacred ordinances are performed. Learn more about what goes on in Mormon temples.
The Kiev Ukraine Mormon Temple
The Kyiv Ukraine Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), was announced on July 20, 1998. With great anticipation, and almost a decade later, the site was dedicated and the groundbreaking ceremony held under the direction of Paul B. Pieper, President of the Europe East Area of the Church.
By December of 2008, the scaffolding was in place along the completed exterior walls of the Kyiv Temple in preparation for the laying of exterior stone and for the addition of the well-known spire with Angel Moroni heralding the good news of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mormons believe that the Church Christ established while on the earth, and which was lost after his death and that of his apostles, is now again on the earth. The spire of the temple, is symbolic of the resurrected being who appeared to Joseph Smith, a modern prophet chosen by God, with instructions from the Lord, to enable the restoration of all things.
The groundbreaking of this Mormon temple was held on Saturday, June 23, 2007, in tandem with the 97th birthday of President Gordon B. Hinckley, whose impression it was to build mini-temples worldwide, to provide greater access for more worthy Mormons to receive the special ordinances–including marriage for eternity–that occur in these holy edifices, Houses of the Lord.
The Church of Jesus Christ in Ukraine was established in the early nineties, and membership is growing steadily. The first stake (geographical unit including multiple neighborhoods or ward units), was organized on May 30, 2004, by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Nelson is said to have encouraged members to pursue their family history research in preparation for doing ordinance work in the temple for their ancestors who may not have known the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness.
While visiting Europe in 2002 in order to rededicate the Freiberg Germany Temple and dedicate the The Hague Netherlands Temple, President Gordon B. Hinckley met with the Ukrainian saints. Many hoped that the site would be then revealed for the temple in Kyiv, which had been announced four years earlier; but no announcement was forthcoming then. During the trip, President Hinckley did meet with Viktor Bondarenko, chairman of the state committee on religious affairs in Ukraine, who had assisted the Church in securing the property for the hoped-for temple.
The announcement of the temple came just a week prior to the dedication of Ukraine’s first meetinghouse in Donetsk on June 28, 1998.
Before the dedication of the temple as a House of the Lord, a public open house was held from August 7 through 21, 2010. The temple was dedicated on 29 August 2010 by Prophet Thomas S. Monson, and then opened to worthy Latter-day Saints for worship and ordinance work. Along with the dedication, a cultural celebration was held which featured Mormon youth from regions round about:
Additional Resources:
Carrie A. Moore, «LDS Church making inroads in Ukraine,» Deseret News 28 Sept. 2002, 3 Nov. 2002.
«A temple in Ukraine,» Church News 8 Aug. 1998: 3.