5. Go to the Calgary Temple Open House

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints builds a new temple they often hold an open house and invite the public to tour the building before the temple is dedicated. I had never been to a temple open house and to make sure I made it to the Calgary temple open house, I added it to my list.

This past Saturday I travelled down to Calgary with some friends from my ward. It was great getting to know them a bit better. Being the last day of the Open house it was pretty busy, I heard that there were over 10,000 people that went through on Saturday and over 100,000 during the 3-week open house. I think it’s great that so many people were able to go. It would be interesting though to know the percentage of LDS vs. Non-LDS people who toured the temple.

The tour began at the nearby church building where we watched a video on temples and the history of the church in Calgary. We were then taken by groups of about 30 to form a line to tour the inside of the temple. The line moved fairly quickly which was nice because it was cold and snowy. We then ended up back at the Church where we ate cookies and visited with people we knew who also happened to be there. The interior and exterior design of the temple is so beautiful, it was worth the trip down!

Some may wonder why Latter-day Saints build temples. That question can be answered thoroughly on the official church website under the section on temples. I will give a quick introduction by sharing that it is recognized by LDS people as the most sacred place on earth. I love the statement on the back of the pamphlet we received which states, “Everything in the temple testifies of Jesus Christ’s divinity and sacrifice and teaches us to follow His example of love and service.” I can testify that that is true.  

It is a place of peace, where we can go to gain a greater understanding of the purpose of our life, where we make covenants with God to live our life in a certain way and where couples and families can be sealed together for eternity. We also believe that baptism and other ordinances can be performed by proxy for deceased people which is why we are encouraged to research our family history so that these ordinances can be completed on behalf of our ancestors. As Christians we believe that in order to receive Eternal life we must have faith in Christ and be baptized. However, there are many people who have never heard of Jesus Christ and also many who did but were not baptized. Does that mean they have no chance at salvation? We believe that the answer is no. One scripture I love is found in John 5:25 which reads, “Verily, Verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” Now, we don’t believe that because we are baptized on behalf of a deceased person that that individual automatically accepts the gospel, they still make that choice for themselves. The same chapter in John also discusses how Christ will be the one to determine the salvation of each individual after the resurrection.

While church buildings are open for anyone to worship with us on Sundays or attend activities throughout the week; once dedicated, temples are only open to members who hold a temple recommend (meaning that they have already made temple covenants and are living in such a way to reflect those covenants). The Calgary temple will be dedicated this Sunday and will become the 140^th temple of the Church worldwide and the 8^th in Canada (3^rd in Alberta!).

I feel that I should also add the significance to me of a temple in Calgary. I was born in Calgary and lived there for the first 6 years of my life and although I grew up in the Vancouver area and consider that my home, there is still a soft place in my heart for Calgary (Even though I now live in the rival city of Edmonton ... hahaha). My dad is from Vancouver and my mom is from Scotland so I don’t really have any other connections to Calgary, well maybe except for my love of Country music.

However, it was while living in Calgary, soon after my twin and I were born, that LDS missionaries knocked on our door. My mom let them in and told them that she was LDS but that her husband was not and she didn’t think that he would be interested in what they had to say. It turns out that he was interested and was baptized. Three years later we travelled down to Cardston, Alberta and were sealed in the Cardston temple as an Eternal family.  

For those who may not be familiar with LDS temples, I hope this write up made sense for you. If not, feel free to ask me to answer any questions you may have. J

I love this video because it also shares other religious leaders views on temples.