Dedication of the Regina Saskatchewan Temple
On Nov. 14, 1999, President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dedicated the Regina Saskatchewan Temple at a place seen by some members as a “forgotten place on the Canadian prairie.” There were 2,020 members who attended the three dedicatory sessions.
Initially, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley was scheduled to dedicate the Regina temple on Saturday, Nov. 13, 1999, and the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple on Sunday, Nov. 14, 1999. Due to difficulties with his flight, President Hinckley could not leave on Friday, causing him to arrive in Halifax on Saturday. Instead, President Packer was assigned to dedicate the Regina temple while President Hinckley dedicated the Halifax temple. Both temples were dedicated on Sunday, Nov. 14, marking the first time in Church history that two houses of the Lord were dedicated on the same day.
President Packer was assisted in the Regina Saskatchewan Temple’s dedicatory events by Elder Donald L. Staheli, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the North America Central Area presidency; Elder Blair S. Bennett, Area Seventy, of Edmonton, Alberta; Canada Winnipeg Mission President R. Dean Layton; and Regina Saskatchewan Temple President Lorin J. Mendenhall.
In his dedicatory prayer, President Packer blessed the temple to “remain strong and that it may stand against the forces of nature” and that God could “safeguard it from any act of vandalism or evil of any kind.”
At the time of dedication, the temple district included the Province of Saskatchewan, a 252,000-square-mile area in central Canada that had a population of 1 million, with about 4,500 of them being members of the Church. Latter-day Saints from nearby provinces also attended the dedication.
Bishop Terry Hawkes of the Regina 2nd Ward shared that a combined group of more than 100 missionaries, youth and adult members laid 18,000 square feet of sod, planted trees and raised the granite sign in front of the temple. He added that a Canada Winnipeg Mission trizone conference was canceled that Saturday morning so that 60 missionaries could assist in the sod laying.
“It’s so majestic,” said Dan Morse of Regina 2nd Ward, one of Regina’s first converts, as he stood outside the beautiful granite walls. No one, he said, suspected a temple would be built in their city. “Never, never, never,” he said. “The whole province has only a million people. At the groundbreaking, I saw some ground turned over and still couldn’t believe it; not until I was in the celestial room when there was plasterboard up when the temple was being constructed could I believe it.” Morse served on the local temple committee.
Morse was in attendance when President Hinckley and President Packer visited Regina in August of 1998. Later, President Packer commented on that visit, saying, “We were greatly impressed with the reverence and dedication of the people.”
After the temple dedication, President Packer said, “The Spirit of the Lord was present in great abundance.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Pour out Thy blessings upon Thy people in the great expanse of this temple district. Prosper them as they serve Thee in righteousness. Temper the elements. Bring rain upon the land in ‘seedtime and harvest’ (Genesis 8:22). Remember Thine ancient covenant concerning those who are honest with Thee in the payment of tithes and offerings that they may have cause to rejoice before Thee.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Regina Saskatchewan Temple here.
Timeline of the Regina Saskatchewan Temple
On Aug. 3, 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced the Regina Saskatchewan Temple. On Nov. 14, 1998, Elder Hugh W. Pinnock of the Seventy presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of this house of the Lord. The services brought in 480 people, including members of the Saskatoon Saskatchewan Stake presidency and the Canada Winnipeg Mission presidency.
Exactly one year after the groundbreaking, President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Regina temple, while President Hinckley dedicated the Halifax temple. Both leaders dedicated their respective temples on the same day, Sunday, Nov. 14, marking the first time in Church history that two temples were dedicated on the same day.
Architecture of the Regina Saskatchewan Temple
The Regina Saskatchewan Temple is a 10,700-square-foot structure made of light gray granite and sits on 3.2 acres of land at an elevation of 1,889.76 feet. Out of the 3.2 acres, 1.6 acres is occupied by the temple and the parking lot.
Alongside the temple is a meetinghouse that accommodates two to three wards. A seven-foot angel Moroni statue sits on top of the temple spire. The interior contains one baptistry, a 700-square-foot celestial room, two instruction rooms, two sealing rooms, dressing rooms and a small office area.