MORMON TEMPLE OFFERS SNEAK PEEK
DESIGNED TO “STAND FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS TO COME,” 33,000-SQUARE-FOOT STRUCTURE IN ROCKY RIDGE OPENS ITS DOORS
We want people to know that our temples are not secrets. They are just very sacred to us. WILLIAM WALKER, CHURCH OFFICIAL
More than 100,000 Calgarians are expected to tour the northwest’s new Mormon temple over the next four weeks as part of a unique sneak-peek for the public before it’s confined to church members only at the end of October.
Church elders conducting tours for the media and other dignitaries Tuesday were excited to open their doors to everyone in an effort to educate the public about the importance of temples to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“We want people to know that our temples are not secrets. They are just very sacred to us,” said Wil-liam Walker, executive director of the church’s temple department.
“To us, it is an extraordinary place. It is everything to us and we are very excited. It will stand for hundreds of years to come.”
Facing out over the city’s southwest, the temple can be seen from kilometres away atop a raised four-hectare site in the community of Rocky Ridge. It is one of only 140 other Mormon temples across the globe.
The 33,000-square-foot structure is a blend of classical and ancient architectural styles, with a grey granite exterior and soaring stained-glass windows. At the peak of the roof is a three-metre-high gilded statue of the angel Moroni, significant to LatterDay Saints for his role in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Despite the grand exterior, the inside is divided into smaller rooms to be used for weddings, baptisms, instruction, worshipping and silent meditation.
Still, the rooms are designed with supreme quality and craftsmanship, including ornate chandeliers, marble flooring imported from Spain, brass fixtures and banisters, Canadian maple and white oak wood along with lush, white rugs.
Walls are decorated with religious oil paintings and giant murals of local scenery, from Alberta’s Rocky Mountains to rivers and fields brimming with local wildlife. Some rooms are also adorned with six-metre-high mirrors facing each other, with their reflecting images symbolizing eternal life.
The flooring, walls and interior stained glass feature a wild rose and wheat motif honouring Alberta’s prairies and mountains.
Other unique features include dressing rooms for men and women, allowing Mormons coming into the temple to change into the traditional all-white shoes, clothing and accessories for worship.
On the second floor is an impressive marble-encased baptism font, held up by 12 oxen statues honouring the church’s ancient ancestry.
Walker said that after the doors close to the public, local Mormons will dedicate the temple Oct. 28, making it only the third in Alberta and eighth in Canada.
Alberta’s largest Mormon temple was built in Cardston in 1923, also on a four-hectare site, with about 88,000 square feet of space.
Of the 180,000 Mormons across the country, 70,000 of them live in Alberta, with about 25,000 of those in Calgary, Walker noted.
“The largest concentration of Mormons in Canada is right here in Alberta,” he said.
“So we’re very excited to have this for them. We believe they will come here, and they will come often.”
Walker wouldn’t comment on the costs to build the temple, explaining that funding came from local as well as international sources within the church, including Salt Lake City, Utah.
The temple’s open house will run from Saturday to Oct. 20, excluding Sundays and Saturday, Oct. 6.
Free reservations for the open house can be made through calgarymormontemple.org.
Elders said up to 40,000 Calgarians are already registered with expectations of that number growing to as many as 100,000 once word of the tours is made public.
Although there is an expectation traffic will be busy during the open-house period, elders said it will slow down significantly once the temple is closed to all but Mormons.