Gifts from the Sisters

Relief Society sisters in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland wanted their contributions to the Stockholm Sweden Temple to match the joy they felt at the prospective opportunities for enlarging their gospel service. Although the temple architect, John Sjstrom, said he had a budget and the services of an interior designer from Church headquarters in Salt Lake City who could take care of the task of decorating the temple’s sacred spaces, the sisters wanted a hands-on role in decorating the temple.

Anna Sofie Bruce Lindbäck was a member of the temple committee and had headed Relief Society activities in Sweden for many years. She successfully lobbied for opportunities for the sisters to lend their talents to the most sacred building that would then exist in their part of the world. She arranged to supply the altar cloths. Sisters throughout the regions responded by handcrafting 40 beautiful cloths.

Lindbäck then contacted another of the Church architects and asked that he allow the sisters to contribute to the new temple’s collection of crystal work and decor. Each of the Church units in the temple district was given the opportunity to contribute. Women and young women 10 years and older in the Stockholm mission and stake contributed money to buy a large crystal bowl, the work of a notable Swedish artist, that became the centerpiece of the central table in the temple celestial room. Two ornate Greek-style vases were contributed by Stockholm Saints, and a handsome silver vase came from Oslo. A replica of the Christus, the well-known sculpture of Christ by famed Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, was the contribution of the Arhus Saints, and a porcelain piece featuring a beautiful rendering of a mother and child was donated from Copenhagen.

In the days before the dedication of the Stockholm Sweden Temple on July 2, 1985, the Relief Society women offered their final gift. Teams of 18 sisters (and some brethren too) worked in shifts to put the temple building in perfect order before the dedication sessions. A stake conference filled the Saturday and Sunday before the dedicatory services began on Monday, so no work could be done on those days. Finally, last-minute tasks, including filling the crystal bowl in the celestial room with fresh flowers, were completed and the sisters could rest, assured that President Gordon B. Hinckley of the First Presidency would find all in order when he stood to dedicate the temple to the work of the Lord.