The Virginia state flower is the dogwood blossom. The state bird is the cardinal. 

There are dogwood blossoms all over the temple. 

The cardinal is a lot harder to find.

In 2019 the renderings for the temple were released to the public. During the event there was an open house and members were invited to attend. At that meeting one of the members suggested the cardinal should be included, too.

Several years later I attended the actual building tour and thought it was cute when someone pointed out that there are two cardinals in one of the paintings. There is a male and a female cardinal in flight. 

The painting is one of the landscape scenes. It is located on the ground floor on your right side as you exit the baptistry.

The cardinal is actually kind of a fun symbol.

The red color reminds us of the blood of Christ.

Cardinals do not migrate. They stay around all winter, which is why they are so frequently depicted in snowy scenes. Just like evergreens they provide a splash of color to the otherwise white and gray world. Also like the evergreen, this is a symbol of eternal life.

There is a good old southern tradition that when you see a cardinal, it is a message of encouragement from a deceased love one. This is merely superstition, but it is a fun symbol for the temple where we can remember our departed ancestors and help them with their work of salvation.