First Mormon temple in Manitoba opens 

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This article was published 07/10/2021 (1443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As someone born on Vancouver Island who has resided in several cities, Rebecca Stiles appreciates the touches of her adopted province in Manitoba’s first and only Mormon temple.

“I like that regional element of it,” said Stiles of the repeated images of purple crocuses and wheat in the new building’s decorative touches.

“It reminds you that God is where you are, and you can connect wherever you happen to be.”

Designed to mimic an English country church, the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, opens to the public for two weeks, beginning Saturday. Visitors can sign up for a 30-minute tour at https://thewinnipegtemple.org/.

After its dedication service on Sunday, Oct. 31, only members in good standing can enter for sacred rituals, including baptisms, weddings, and instruction. Church members gather at local meeting houses for weekly worship services and their temples are not used for large gatherings or regular worship.

Located on the median between north and southbound lanes of Kenaston Boulevard in the Bridgwater neighbourhood, the one-level red brick- and limestone-clad building stands 31 metres at its peak, topped with a gilded statue of Moroni, a prophet in the Book of Mormon.

Visitors to the 991 square metre (10,667 sq. ft.) temple must don shoe coverings to protect the stone floors quarried in Turkey from dirt and gravel.

“Everything in the temple is going to be immaculate,” explained longtime member Yvonne Robison of the continual cleaning and repairs undertaken by staff and volunteers to keep the building pristine.

“If the carpet gets yucky, it will be changed.”

Based on a cruciform plan, the temple is bisected by a long central hallway with several rooms designed for specific functions, each seating between a dozen and 40 people.

The east wing holds an octagonal-shaped baptistry held up by a dozen oxen built in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the denomination is headquartered. Touches of Manitoba are evident in the purple crocuses dotting the friezes and millwork in the room and represented in components manufactured in Winkler and Steinbach. The west side of the building features a room for brides to get dressed in their wedding finery, and a larger sealing room, where couples and families are sealed for life and all eternity, according to church doctrine.

A large chandelier with a thousand crystals — scheduled to be cleaned every three months — hangs above the altar where couples are married and is reflected repeatedly in the gold-framed mirrors on either end of the room.

“It gives someone the perspective it (marriage) never ends,” explained open house co-chair Allan Robison of the symbolism of the mirrors.

He said the first weddings are expected to take place on Nov. 12, with each couple or family allowed about 30 minutes for the spiritual ceremony, which also includes signing Manitoba marriage certificates.

Church members can visit the temple instruction room with theatre-style seats for 90-minute education sessions, and then proceed to the celestial room, what most church members consider the highlight of any temple.

“It’s very sacred, it’s very quiet, and very peaceful,” Allan Robison said of the high-ceilinged room, which features the same muted greens, purples and neutrals found in the rest of the temple.

“That room is one room where when people go on a tour, we hope they feel something,”

“It’s where I go to feel the closest to God,” added Yvonne Robison, who has visited 95 Mormon temples in the world with her husband, Allan.

Designed to have an understated classical elegance, the building might read more as a high-end hotel than a breathtakingly beautiful cathedral with a large gathering space.

“It’s a little smaller than I expected but the artwork is incredible,” said Stiles of her first impressions of the new temple, where she plans to volunteer as a tour guide.

“I found the temple to be absolutely gorgeous, really beautiful and (I liked) how well it represented Manitoba really well,” said Brandon resident Collette Palmer.

Stiles looks forward to more frequent trips to the temple now that she no longer has to travel to Regina to undertake sacred church rituals, called ordinances.

“Hopefully, we can go every week or every other week and find that sanctuary of peace from the craziness of the world,” said the Bridgwater Trails resident.

“To know I have a place to go for some clearheaded guidance is invaluable.”

Manitoba is home to about 4,700 Latter-day Saints in 14 congregations. The missionary-minded Christian denomination founded by American Joseph Smith nearly two centuries ago has a worldwide membership of 16.5 million people in 196 countries and territories.

brenda.suderman@freepress.mb.ca

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