COVID-19 postponed the original dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple in 2020. The new date is scheduled

An artist’s rendering of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple. Open house and dedication dates have been set for this fall after a year-long postponement due to COVID-19. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Latter-day Saint apostle will preside at dedication of Canada’s ninth temple

At long last, a dedication date has been scheduled for the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Following a year-long delay because of COVID-19, the First Presidency announced new dates for the Winnipeg temple’s public open house, dedication and youth devotional, according to a news release Monday.

Canada’s ninth temple will be dedicated in four sessions on Sunday, Oct. 31, at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., with additional sessions if needed. All dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to meetinghouses in the temple district.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication.

Prior to the dedication, a free open house is scheduled from Saturday, Oct. 9, through Saturday, Oct. 23, with the exception of the two Sundays, Oct. 10 and 17, and Monday, Oct. 11. Canada’s Thanksgiving Day holiday is celebrated annually on the second Monday of October.

A devotional for youth ages 12-18 will be held a week prior, on Sunday, Oct. 24, with the 6 p.m. devotional to be broadcast throughout the temple district.

Each event will follow COVID-19 safety guidelines.

The church originally announced open house and dedication dates for the Winnipeg temple on April 20, 2020, with an open house taking place in October of that year, followed by the dedication on Nov. 8.

Those dates were postponed on Sept. 1, 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic.

The Winnipeg Manitoba Temple was announced by President Thomas S. Monson in April 2011 and ground was broken in December 2016.

The 16,000 square-foot temple features a copper steeple, slate roof tiles and Tyndall stone quarried near Winnipeg.

The temple is located eight miles south of Winnipeg. Previously, Latter-day Saints in the area traveled to temples in Regina, Saskatchewan, or Bismarck, North Dakota.

There are more than 4,700 Latter-day Saints in Manitoba organized into 14 congregations, according to the church’s newsroom.

Canada’s other operating temples are located in Toronto, Halifax, Montreal, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Cardston and Vancouver.

President Russell M. Nelson and other guests visited the temple construction site in August 2018 during President Nelson’s ministry through central and eastern Canada.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3kGx67D