A tale of two temples: Kyiv Ukraine building honored; Salt Lake goes gingerbread

One of the 135 operating temples built worldwide by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was honored this week.

The Kyiv Ukraine Temple received first place for the best religious building constructed in Ukraine in 2010. The award was announced on LDS.org.

The award was given by the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine in September. (Read more in a Ukrainian government news release. Text is in Ukrainian.)

Another temple was also recognized recently, but in a different way.

Elin Lundegard and her family created a gingerbread model of the Salt Lake Temple for a contest in Norway.

An article and video on KSL.com describe how Lundegard created the model.

"The original is a fascinating building, which we experienced two years ago," she said in the article. "We are Mormons, so this building means something to us."

Latter-day Saint temples are known for their inspiring architecture, quality of construction, meticulously maintained grounds and the peace and serenity they evoke.

Email: ttoone@desnews.com Twitter: tbtoone