The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Finland

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Finland
(Logo in Finnish)
A meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tampere.
Area	Europe North
Members	4,898 (2023)^[1]
Stakes	3
Wards	18
Branches	11
Total Congregations^[2]	29
Missions	1
Temples	1
Family History Centers	29^[3]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Finland refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Finland. In 1950, there were 204 members in Finland. In December of 2022, there were 4,826 members in 29 congregations.^[1]

History

Membership In Finland^[4]^[1]
Year	Membership
1950	204
1960	1,297
1970	2,935
1980	4,214
1989*	4,200
1999	4,403
2009	4,548
2019	4,885
1989 membership was published as a rounded number.

Under the tsarist Russian State, the church was unrecognized and members and missionaries had several conflicts with police. Missionaries and converts often suffered covert surveillance, arrests, imprisonments, and deportations by police.^[5] The first convert from Finland was baptized in Sweden in 1869. Though not legally recognized at the time, the first missionaries were sent to Finland in late 1875. On May 6, 1876 the first convert, Johanna Berg, was baptized in Vaasa. The first branch was organized also in Vaasa on November 13, 1876. In 1917 Finland declared its independence from Russia.^[6]

On January 16, 1947 missionaries were assigned to learn the Finnish language. Later that year on September 1, the Finnish mission was organized with Hary A. Matis, an American with Finnish ancestry, as mission president. In 1948, the Church began microfilming church records and in 1954, the Book of Mormon was translated into Finnish.^[6]

On August 2–3, 1976, about 3,000 Latter-day Saints gathered in Helsinki to hear church President Spencer W. Kimball speak in Helsinki and on October 16, 1977 the Helsinki Finland Stake was organized with 3,642 members.^[1] 6 years later on April 17, 1983 the Tampere Finland Stake was organized.^[5]

Two former missionaries from the Finnish mission have served as US Ambassadors to Finland:

Mark Evans Austad
Keith Foote Nyborg^[7]

Stakes and Congregations

Finland had 3 stakes as of February 2023.^[8]

Stake	Organized
Helsinki Finland Stake	October 16, 1977
Jyväskylä Finland Stake	May 16, 2021
Tampere Finland Stake	April 17, 1983

Helsingin vaarna (Helsinki Finland Stake)

Espoon 1. seurakunta (Espoo 1st Ward)
Espoon 2. seurakunta (Espoo 2nd Ward)
Helsingin 1. seurakunta (Helsinki 1st Ward)
Helsingin 2. seurakunta (Helsinki 2nd Ward)
Helsingin 3. seurakunta (Helsinki 3rd Ward)
Hyvinkään seurakunta (Hyvinkää Ward)
Keravan seurakunta (Kerava Ward)
Kymenlaakson lähetysseurakunta (Kymenlaakso Branch)
Lohjan lähetysseurakunta (Lohja Branch)

Jyväskylän vaarna (Jyväskylä Finland Stake)

Joensuun lähetysseurakunta (Joensuu Branch)
Jyväskylän seurakunta (Jyväskylä Ward)
Kajaanin lähetysseurakunta (Kajaani Branch)
Kemin lähetysseurakunta (Kemi Branch)
Kokkolan lähetysseurakunta (Kokkola Branch)
Kuopion seurakunta (Kuopio Ward)
Lappeenrannan seurakunta (Lappeenranta Ward)
Mikkelin lähetysseurakunta (Mikkeli Branch)
Oulun seurakunta (Oulu Ward)
Pietarsaaren lähetysseurakunta (Pietarsaari Branch)
Rovaniemen lähetysseurakunta (Rovaniemi Branch)
Vaasan seurakunta (Vaasa Ward)

Tampereen vaarna (Tampere Finland Stake)

Hämeenlinnan lähetysseurakunta (Hämeenlinna Branch)
Lahden seurakunta (Lahti Ward)
Porin lähetysseurakunta (Pori Branch)
Rauman seurakunta (Rauma Ward)
Tampereen 1. seurakunta (Tampere 1st Ward)
Tampereen 2. seurakunta (Tampere 2nd Ward)
Turun 1. seurakunta (Turku 1st Ward)
Turun 2. seurakunta (Turku 2nd Ward)

Mission

On January 16, 1947 missionaries were assigned to learn the Finnish language. Later that year on September 1, the Finnish mission was organized with Hary A. Matis, an American with Finnish ancestry, as mission president. On June 10, 1970 it was renamed the Finland Mission and on June 20, 1974 it was renamed the Finland Helsinki Mission to adjust to the naming convention of the church for missions.^[9] On July 1, 1990, The Finland Helsinki East Mission was organized to serve members and missionaries in the former Soviet Republics. On January 2, 1992 the mission was renamed Russia Moscow Mission.^[9]

Temples

The Helsinki Finland Temple was dedicated on October 22, 2006 by Gordon B. Hinckley.

	124. Helsinki Finland Temple Official website News & images		edit
	Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Style:	Espoo, Finland 2 April 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley 29 March 2003 by D. Lee Tobler 22 October 2006 by Gordon B. Hinckley 16,350 sq ft (1,519 m²) on a 7.4-acre (3.0 ha) site Classic elegance, single-spire design - designed by Evata Architects

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Finland", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 1 June 2023
^ Excludes groups meeting separate from wards and branches.
^ Finland Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 29, 2022
^ Wendall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall (eds.), Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Finland
^ ^a ^b Zachary Ray Jones (January 2008), Conflict Amid Conversion: Mormon Proselytizing in Russian Finland, 1860-1914 (PDF), William & Mary ScholarWorks, retrieved 2021-01-12
^ ^a ^b Finland: Chronology, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018-09-01, retrieved 2021-01-12
^ Lisa Dayley Smith (September 19, 2019). "Ashton native, former U.S. ambassador Keith Nyborg dies". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^ "Helsinki Finland Temple District", churchofjesuschristtemples.org, retrieved 2021-05-23
^ ^a ^b '1999-2000 Deseret News Church Almanac, Salt Lake City: Deseret News.