Groundbreaking Announced for New Mormon Temple in Canada

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are welcoming the announcement of the groundbreaking date for the first Mormon temple in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Church leaders announced today that the event will be held on Saturday, December 3, at 12:00 noon. The temple site is located at 2 Center Street in Winnipeg.

The ceremony will be directed by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy and Elder Larry Y. Wilson, of the Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department. Community, government and interfaith leaders will also be in attendance. The groundbreaking program will be held at the Church meetinghouse at 45 Dalhousie Drive. Speakers will include Church and community leaders and all Latter-day Saints and neighbors are invited to attend. A small group of invited participants will then travel to the temple site for the actual turning of the soil, which will be broadcast to the audience at the meetinghouse.

In Manitoba, there are 4,500 Latter-day Saints organized in 12 local congregations. These Church members currently travel to Regina or Minneapolis to participate in temple worship. Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord,” where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ceremonies that unite families for eternity. Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and others.

There are currently eight temples in Canada to serve the 194,000 Latter-day Saints. The other temples are located in Calgary, Cardston, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Regina, Toronto and Vancouver. The Church currently has 154 operating temples worldwide.

More information about the purpose of temples, including downloadable, high-resolution photos, is available on www.mormonnewsroom.ca and www.presse-mormons.ca.