'Right place for a temple'

KIEV, Ukraine — President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the LDS First Presidency began a long-anticipated visit to Ukraine and Russia on May 28 by visiting important historical areas of Kiev, presenting new imaging equipment to a medical diagnostic center, and touring the construction site of the Kiev temple.

Along the way he shook the hands of many LDS Church members and missionaries.

President Uchtdorf was joined by his wife, Harriet, and Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve and his wife, Kathy. Also, Elder Paul B. Pieper of the Seventy and president of the Europe East Area, and Elder Sergey N. Mikulin, Area Seventy, accompanied them.

President Uchtdorf and others were guided on a walking tour through historic parts of Kiev by Kateryna Serdyuk and her daughter, Lada. They learned of the founding of the city of Kiev as the center of the ancient Rus people and of the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir in 988 A.D. The group visited a statue of Vladimir overlooking the Dnipro River where, in September 1991, Elder Boyd K. Packer dedicated the land of Ukraine for the preaching of the gospel.

President Uchtdorf commented that he had previously visited Kiev in 1994 as a member of the Europe East Area Presidency to preside at a young single adult conference and hold a fireside with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The group then visited a medical diagnostic center not far from the Kiev temple site. In 2008, the LDS Church made a significant contribution of medical imaging equipment to the clinic. President Uchtdorf made an official presentation of the equipment to Aleksander Serafimovich Sytnyk, a member of the board of the non-profit clinic.

Sytnyk spoke of the years of effort to establish a clinic that could provide modern medical services for the low income and socially at risk population, including victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He expressed gratitude for the partnership between the clinic, the government, the church and other donors who are making that dream a reality.

In his remarks, President Uchtdorf testified of Jesus Christ as the master healer and presented Mr. Sytnyk with a replica of the "Christus" statue to place in the clinic as a reminder of the Savior's healing power. A fixed plaque was unveiled near the entrance of the building noting the exceptional contribution of the church to the establishment of the diagnostic center.