WESTMANN ISLANDS, Iceland — On a sunny day June 30, while overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, some 100 friends, family descendants and Iceland government officials honored 410 Icelanders who, from 1854 to 1914, answered the call to build Zion and emigrate from here to America's Mountain West.
The Icelandic Association of Utah and Friends raised enough funds in in-kind donations to erect a monument that faces the "Mormon Pond," where many of the Icelander converts were baptized members of the Church
The monument dedication was the first of a string of events through July 4 involving Church members, including Elder Wm. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy, newly appointed as president of the Europe North Area. The events included the opening of a museum devoted to LDS Church history and focusing on the emigration and culminated with the dedication of the first LDS meetinghouse to be constructed in Iceland. Other events involving Church members were a conference of the Iceland mission district and the observance of 1,000 years of Christianity in Iceland. The museum opening and meetinghouse dedication featured participation from Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who developed a friendship with Latter-day Saints during a visit to Utah in July and August 1997.
The Mormon Pond, a tide pool within the rocky coast of the Westmann Islands, has retained its name these 145 years since the early Icelandic saints were baptized there. An extinct, grass-covered volcano that rises to a height of 800 feet, with thousands of birds nesting in cliffs, serves as a striking backdrop to the monument.
The black-granite monument base is engraved with the names of the 410 emigrants. It is topped with an 8-foot sculpture, "The Messenger." Artist Gary Price of Springville, Utah, created the work using his mother as the inspiration. It represents an angel of light, truth, comfort and whatever one might need to carry on the earthly journey, just as the emigrants needed help on their journey. The figure is reaching out to the Mormon Pond and the Atlantic, which the Icelanders had to cross to reach their new Zion.
Also engraved on the monument is a scriptural passage: "And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm. . . ." (Ezekiel 20:34.)
Prior to dedicating the monument, Elder Kerr observed that the outstretched hands of the sculpted figure were pointing to the natural baptismal font, the Mormon Pond. He said: "This is a gesture to all to come unto Christ and be baptized.
The dedication service was conducted by Olafur Einarsson, president of the mission district which is part of the Denmark Copenhagen Mission. Speakers in addition to Elder Kerr included Gujon Hjorleifsson, mayor of Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands); sculptor Price; Jon Baldvin Hannibalson, ambassador of Iceland to the United States; J Brent Haymond, vice consul of Iceland for Utah; David Ashby, president of the Icelandic Association of Utah; and Sigrun Inga Sigurgeirsdottir, president of the City Council.
Located in the seaport town of Hofsos, the museum is part of the new Icelandic Emigration Center provided by the government of Iceland. The museum houses the exhibit "The Road to Zion: Latter-day Saint Icelandic Emigration to America."
Funded in part by the Icelandic Association of Utah and assembled with the cooperation of Marjorie D. Conder, a curator at the Musuem of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City, it features such items as a copy of the famous Moroni sculpture by Avard Fairbanks; a painting of the Angel Moroni delivering the gold plates to Joseph Smith; a facsimile of the first edition of the Book of Mormon; a copy of the LDS "Triple Combination" in Icelandic and English; a map showing the emigration of all known groups of Icelandic LDS emigrants of the 19th Century; a full-size replica of a handcart; a copy of the Christus statue; and a copy of "The Family: a Proclamation to the World."
Speakers at the July 3 opening included Elder Kerr, President Grimsson of Iceland; Ambassador Hannibalsson; Vice Consul Haymond; and Valgeier Thorvaldsson, director of the Icelandic Emigration Center.
In his remarks, Elder Kerr observed that one of life's greatest rewards is in building bridges that break down barriers. He said the addition to the Emigration Center would be a bridge to barriers of culture, religion, time and distance.
"The center speaks of unity, friendship, understanding and trust," he said. "Countries are united; friendships are formed, philosophies are understood; roots are identified; lives are changed; barriers are bridged."
President Grimsson said: "Gladly, and with deep emotion, I express gratitude for this gift you have brought."
He added that he is impressed by the loyalty and respect shown by the descendants of Icelanders in Utah. Referring to his 1997 visit there, he said he had been more moved by the experience than by any other place he had been as president of Iceland.
An Iceland newspaper, the Morgunbladid, quoted President Grimsson as saying the chapter in the history of Iceland set forth in the exhibit has neither been recorded by Icelandic historians nor acknowledged by the leaders of the nation. The newspaper quoted him as saying it was appropriate that the day after the Icelandic Celebration of Christianity on July 1-2, "the people who left Iceland because of their religious convictions should be honored, people that had long been criticized and judged for leaving."
Space has been provided for the eventual addition of Church family history resources for visitor use, said Vice Consul Haymond, who is a high councilor in the BYU 21st Stake. In a twist on typical events in which a Church member gives a leader of a country that leader's family history, Brother Haymond received his genealogical pedigree from President Grimsson, showing that the two men have ancestors in common in Iceland.
President Grimsson also attended the dedication on July 4 of the first LDS meetinghouse in Iceland to have been constructed expressly for that purpose. Located in Gardebaer, a suburb of the capital city Rejkjavik, it accommodates two branches of the Church.
Elder Kerr dedicated the building as a place of worship, instruction and love. He blessed it and the site upon which it is located that it might "fulfill the purposes of the Lord, serving as a light upon the hill to all who enter or pass by." The members were promised that through their faithfulness the light of the Spirit emanating from the meetinghouse and their lives would signal a time of increased growth and visibility for the Church.
President Grimssson told the congregation he had watched the construction of the meetinghosue from its beginning as he passed by each day on his way to his government office. He said he was pleased with its visible location and attractiveness.
Later, hosting some of the American guests at his home, President Grimsson commented to Brother Haymond that it was a historic occasion in that it is the first time in history that the president of the country has attended an LDS meetinghouse dedication. He also said on that occasion that the Church would never again be in obscurity in Iceland, Brother Haymond related.
The Iceland president forged a strong friendship with the descendants in Utah during and following the 1997 visit. The monument dedication and the museum opening grew out of that friendship.
