Dedication of the Edmonton Alberta Temple
Before the 1998 announcement of a temple to be built in Edmonton, Alberta, members of the Church in Edmonton looking to attend a house of the Lord would drive five hours south to the closest temple, in Cardston, Alberta. Many of these Latter-day Saints would move to Cardston after their retirement in search of warmer weather and to be closer to the temple.
Donald D. Salmon, who moved to Edmonton in 1951, had such retirement plans, but the announcement of the Edmonton temple urged him to stay there. “We are staying, and many others are staying too,” said Salmon, who was called as the first temple president of the Edmonton Alberta Temple.
The groundbreaking ceremony, held in February of 1999, was limited to just 300 persons on-site, with a video broadcast sent to the nearby stake center. Saints in other Church buildings nearby were able to listen to the audio of the groundbreaking.
During the four days of the Edmonton temple open house, more than 27,000 people toured the building. Keith Woodruff of the Callingwood Park Ward in the Edmonton Alberta Riverbend Stake said that many of the visitors to the temple “went through once and wanted to go through again.”
About the open house, Elder Blair S. Bennett, an Area Authority Seventy, said that 786 copies of the Book of Mormon were given away, along with 602 requests for Church videos. At least three people that he was aware of called the mission home. The open house was not specifically designed to be a proselytizing activity, but interested people were able to learn more.
The Edmonton Alberta Temple was dedicated throughout seven sessions from Dec. 11 to Dec. 12, 1999, by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. Although attendees at the dedication huddled in vinyl tents for warmth amid the cold temperatures — around 32 degrees Fahrenheit — thousands of members attended the dedication, with around 6,900 Saints attending one of the seven sessions.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Following this dedication, may only those who are worthy in Thy sight cross the portals of this, Thy house. When they enter herein, may they do so knowing that they come as Thy guests, here to feel the presence of Thy Holy Spirit. Enlighten their minds with an understanding of the sacred ordinances in which they will participate.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Edmonton Alberta Temple here.
Timeline of the Edmonton Alberta Temple
On Aug. 11, 1998, the First Presidency of the Church announced the Edmonton Alberta Temple after President Gordon B. Hinckley returned from a nine-day ministry across Canada, including Alberta. Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi, second counselor in the North America Central Area presidency, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the temple on Feb. 27, 1999.
After construction was finished, the public toured this house of the Lord from Dec. 3-7, 1999. President Hinckley dedicated the Edmonton Alberta Temple throughout seven sessions on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, 1999.
Architecture and Design of the Edmonton Alberta Temple
The total floor area of the temple is 10,700 feet, and it sits on 1 acre of land. The stone for the exterior of the edifice was quarried from Quebec, Canada.
A common motif throughout the temple — seen in the stained-glass windows, railings, doorknobs and furniture — depicts wheat, honoring the importance of agriculture in Alberta. Rooms inside the temple include a baptistry, a celestial room, two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms.