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The Bern Switzerland Temple was announced on July 1, 1952, by Church President David O. McKay to the United Press in Glasgow, Scotland. President McKay had spent the entire month of June ministering in Europe and making arrangements with Swiss leaders for a house of the Lord to be built in Bern.
The groundbreaking for the Bern Switzerland Temple was held on Aug. 5, 1953.
A ceremony was held at the Bern Switzerland Temple to lay the cornerstone of this house of the Lord on Nov. 13, 1954. President Stephen L Richards, first counselor of the First Presidency, gave an address and a prayer at the ceremony. He was accompanied by former president of the Swiss Austrian Mission, Samuel E. Bringhurst; and his wife, Lenora.
The public was invited to tour the Bern Switzerland Temple from Sept. 9 through Sept. 10, 1955. The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, who was touring Europe at the time, sang in a concert in Bern on Sept. 10 and provided music for the dedication ceremony the next day.
The Bern Switzerland Temple was dedicated throughout 10 sessions from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15, 1955, by Church President David O. McKay. As reported in a 1955 edition of the Deseret News, the First Presidency — President McKay; President Stephen L Richards, first counselor; and President J. Reuben Clark Jr., second counselor — said that the temple dedication was “a realization of the dreams and prayers of hundreds of the faithful Saints.”
In early 1990, the temple was closed to renovate and modernize the building.
The Bern Switzerland Temple was open to the public for tours from Oct. 8 through Oct. 17, 1992. Nearly 33,000 people attended the open house, and tours were held in several different languages, including French, Italian, German, English and Russian.
The Bern Switzerland Temple was rededicated in 10 sessions from Oct. 23 through Oct. 25, 1992. The dedication was presided over by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, and a total of nearly 9,000 people attended the ceremonies.
1 July 1952
11 September 1955
23 October 1992
Tempelstrasse 2
CH-3052 Zollikofen
Switzerland
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(41) 31-915-5252
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Switzerland, Europe and the Eastern Hemisphere.
It was the third Latter-day Saint temple dedicated outside of the United States and its territories and the first dedicated outside of North America.
The Bern Switzerland Temple was rededicated five days after the London England Temple was rededicated. The temples had originally been dedicated three years apart.
President McKay first announced a temple for Bern in an interview with the United Press in Glasgow, Scotland.
In 1953, Gordon B. Hinckley, then a staff member of the Missionary Department of the Church, was tasked by Church President David O. McKay to find a way to present the temple ordinances in eight different languages, a necessity for the diverse cultures who would attend the Bern Switzerland Temple. Brother Hinckley studied the ordinances, prayed often and consulted with President McKay to find an answer, which eventually led him to propose that the ordinances be presented in movie form. The top floor of the Salt Lake Temple was used to film the English video over the course of one year, then videos were filmed for each of the remaining seven languages.
Music for the temple dedication ceremonies was partly provided by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
Although only around 6,500 members of the Church lived in Switzerland in 1992, nearly 33,000 attendees toured the Bern Switzerland Temple open house in October of that year.
During the rededication open house, tours were held in several different languages, including French, Italian, German, English and Russian.
The temple had 10 sessions for both the dedication and rededication ceremonies.
A statue of the angel Moroni was added to the steeple of the Bern Switzerland Temple on Sept. 7, 2005, in honor of the building’s 50th anniversary four days later.
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Switzerland, Europe and the Eastern Hemisphere.
It was the third Latter-day Saint temple dedicated outside of the United States and its territories and the first dedicated outside of North America.
The Bern Switzerland Temple was rededicated five days after the London England Temple was rededicated. The temples had originally been dedicated three years apart.
President McKay first announced a temple for Bern in an interview with the United Press in Glasgow, Scotland.
In 1953, Gordon B. Hinckley, then a staff member of the Missionary Department of the Church, was tasked by Church President David O. McKay to find a way to present the temple ordinances in eight different languages, a necessity for the diverse cultures who would attend the Bern Switzerland Temple. Brother Hinckley studied the ordinances, prayed often and consulted with President McKay to find an answer, which eventually led him to propose that the ordinances be presented in movie form. The top floor of the Salt Lake Temple was used to film the English video over the course of one year, then videos were filmed for each of the remaining seven languages.
Music for the temple dedication ceremonies was partly provided by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
Although only around 6,500 members of the Church lived in Switzerland in 1992, nearly 33,000 attendees toured the Bern Switzerland Temple open house in October of that year.
During the rededication open house, tours were held in several different languages, including French, Italian, German, English and Russian.
The temple had 10 sessions for both the dedication and rededication ceremonies.
A statue of the angel Moroni was added to the steeple of the Bern Switzerland Temple on Sept. 7, 2005, in honor of the building’s 50th anniversary four days later.