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Finland's first contact with the Church came from Swedish emigrants baptized in the early 1870s and Swedish missionary brothers who preached in Vaasa. In 1876, the first converts in Finland were baptized, and by 1886, 25 people had been baptized among the Swedish-speaking Finns. In 1903, Apostle Elder Francis M. Lyman visited Finland. The Finnish Mission was organized in 1947, when there were only 129 members in Finland. During the next seven years, the Church gained legal status and the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, a companion scripture to the Bible, was translated into Finnish.

The Helsinki Stake was organized in October 1977 with 3,642 members. Ten years later, Church membership was 4,100. Finnish members were the first to introduce the gospel to Estonia and parts of Russia. The Helsinki East Mission, created in 1990, served members in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and parts of the former Soviet Union until their own missions were created. Membership in 1990 was 4,200.

For Journalist Use Only

Ville-Matti Karumo
Espoo,
Finland
Phone:  +00 358 9 592747