Dedication of the Toronto Ontario Temple
The Toronto Ontario Temple’s public open house — according to a general conference talk by President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency — was a transcendent blessing. “How the people did come,” he explained. “First they thronged to the public open house, where reverently and quietly they viewed the interior of the temple and learned the purpose for its erection and of the blessings which the temple can provide.” One visitor described the temple’s beauty with the words, “This is a center of serenity.”
As one young girl was about to leave, President Monson recounted, she said, “Mommy, this is beautiful here. I don’t want to go.” One woman told an usher, “I have been so impressed with what I have seen. How do I join your church?” One attendee, having spent four years in a hospital, was wheeled into the house of the Lord in her hospital bed and expressed profound gratitude to be there.
After the open house, the Toronto Ontario Temple was dedicated in 11 sessions from Aug. 25 to Aug. 27, 1990, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency. The 27 speakers at dedicatory sessions included 21 general authorities, 11 being members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. President Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Church at the time, was not in attendance due to his age and the long distances required to travel. President Monson pleaded in the dedicatory prayer for the prophet to have “gladness in his heart, comfort in his body and the assurance of our love.”
Some general authorities in attendance had served as mission presidents in Canada: President Monson in Toronto from 1959 to 1962; Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the New England Mission, which included the Maritime provinces of Canada, from 1965 to 1968; and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in Toronto from 1974 to 1976.
More than 17,000 Latter-day Saints attended a dedication session. Because of multiple nationalities of members in the temple district, the sessions were translated into six languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “In this, Thy house will be administered those ordinances which are eternal, even as Thou, our God, art eternal. These ordinances bear witness of the immortality of the human soul. Through them we are made certain that life continues beyond the veil of death. Within this sacred house a great and marvelous work of vicarious service will be performed in behalf of the dead.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Toronto Ontario Temple here.
Rededication of the Toronto Ontario Temple
Nearly 35 years after its 1990 dedication, the Toronto Ontario Temple was rededicated March 23, 2025, by President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This followed more than a year of interior renovations to meet increased patron demand and improve accessibility, as well as upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
This house of the Lord was rededicated in a single morning session that was broadcast to meetinghouses throughout the temple district. “Today we are happy to break the lock on the Toronto Ontario Temple and its grounds, to have what we pray will be a continuous flow of faithful recommend holders,” President Holland said of the reopening of the house of the Lord.
Pointing to the historical significance of the Church in Canada, President Holland said the Restoration made advances in part because of how the Lord used the country as a type of training ground for early Latter-day Saints and Church leaders. Canada was home to the Church’s first mission outside the United States and was the only non-U.S. country visited by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
President Holland was accompanied at the rededication by Elder Robert M. Daines, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the North America Northeast Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Ruth Ann Daines. Elder Kevin R. Duncan and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan, also attended. Elder Duncan is a General Authority Seventy and serves as the executive director of the Temple Department.
President Holland lovingly reflected on a time when he was not able to be in a temple when he wanted desperately to attend, but he described what he did to help prepare mentally and spiritually as though he were going to the temple. He then asked what the Saints in the Toronto Ontario Temple district had done to prepare to return to the temple closest to them.
“What have we done with our spiritual lives during these 18 months to prepare to return to the temple, to be ready for this day?” asked President Holland. “I hope we have searched our own souls and have been truly anxious for the temple to reopen.”
In addition to encouraging a Savior-focused soul searching, President Holland also reminded those who had made covenants in the temple of the way to live life after making that search. “I hope we have remembered that it is what we do when we are outside the temple that testifies we understand what we learned and promised inside the temple.”
Judy Chivers — from the city of Sarnia, located more than two hours away on the southern tip of Lake Huron — was overwhelmed with gratitude to attend the rededication on her anniversary. “To go back into the temple to see it rededicated is an honor for me,” she said.
Alex and Silvana Padrón from Wasaga Beach, Ontario, traveled 90 minutes to the temple for its rededication. Silvana Padrón looked forward to spending more time, more regularly in the temple. “I don’t think we can fully grasp at this point what we have been missing with the temple closed,” she said. “But we’ll start remembering that as we start coming back.”
Alex Padrón served in his stake’s stake presidency at the time of rededication and said their entire stake was happy to see the temple reopening so that they could spend more time remembering their covenants. Specifically, he noted that there were many older members in his stake who missed being able to spend time serving in the house of the Lord. “We’ve been doing temple recommend interviews like crazy.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Father, we rededicate ourselves on this delightful day of rededication. Each one of us is here by virtue of a temple dedication recommend. Whatever our circumstance in life, we pledge our best effort to improve, to be more kind and clean and to remember that Christlike behavior should be evident in those who take upon themselves His name.”
Read the rededication prayer of the Toronto Ontario Temple here.
Timeline of the Toronto Ontario Temple
A temple was announced for Toronto, Ontario, on April 7, 1984, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, with President Spencer W. Kimball as President of the Church. A groundbreaking was then held on Oct. 10, 1987, with President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in a reorganized First Presidency, presiding.
After an open house from Aug. 2 to Aug. 18, 1990, the Toronto temple was dedicated by President Hinckley — first counselor in the First Presidency, with President Ezra Taft Benson as Church President — during 11 sessions, from Aug. 25 to Aug. 27, 1990.
This house of the Lord was closed in October 2023 for renovations. After a public open house from Feb. 13 to March 8, 2025, the Toronto Ontario Temple was rededicated March 23, 2025, by President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Toronto Ontario Temple
The Toronto temple is 171 feet tall with an 11-foot statue of the angel Moroni, and it has a floor area of 55,558 square feet. The exterior of this house of the Lord, which stands on a 13.4-acre site, is made of white cast stone, and tall arches are a prevalent theme around the building.
Above the edifice is a three-tiered tower that sits on a square base and has a spire that leads up to a point. Inside the temple are a baptistry, a celestial room, four ordinance rooms and six sealing rooms.
Interior Photos of the Toronto Ontario Temple
