Dedication of the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple
On Nov. 14, 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple in three sessions. Richard Moses of the Dartmouth Nova Scotia Stake presidency, chair of the local temple committee, expressed his gratitude for this house of the Lord being built near to him and his family.
President Moses said, “Now, when my daughters look out their bedroom window, they see the softly lighted figure of the angel Moroni standing as a beacon over the area.”
Initially, President Hinckley was supposed to arrive in Nova Scotia on Friday, Nov. 12, 1999, and dedicate the Halifax temple on Saturday, Nov. 13, 1999. Secondly, he would dedicate the Regina Saskatchewan Temple on Sunday, Nov. 14, 1999. These plans changed when President Hinckley’s flight was delayed, causing him to arrive a day later than planned. Consequently, Elder Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was assigned to dedicate the Regina temple while President Hinckley dedicated the Halifax temple.
Both the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple and the Regina Saskatchewan Temple were dedicated on Nov. 14, 1999, marking the first time in Church history when two temples were dedicated on the same day.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We pray for those who may not be qualified at this time to come into this house, that they may resolve to make themselves worthy of the ordinances here to be had as a part of Thy restored gospel.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple here.
Timeline of the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple
The Halifax Nova Scotia Temple was announced on May 7, 1998. Later that year, on Oct. 12, 1998, on Canadian Thanksgiving, 700 members in Maritime Canada attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple. Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy presided over the ceremony, which many saw as a historic moment for those in Maritime Canada.
On Nov. 14, 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple in three sessions. Latter-day Saints from places like Maine, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland commuted by car and plane to attend the ceremony.
Architecture and Design of the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple
The Halifax Nova Scotia Temple covers 10,700 square feet and sits on 2 acres, at an elevation of 209.80 feet. The exterior of the temple is made of White Bethel granite and contains a spire with an angel Moroni statue mounted on top of it.
The interior of the temple contains two instruction rooms, two sealing rooms and one baptistry.