Toronto Ontario Temple
The Toronto Ontario Temple is the 44th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the second temple built in Canada, following the Cardston Alberta Temple (1923), and the first built in Ontario.
The Toronto Ontario Temple is located on thirteen acres in Brampton, which is twenty miles west of downtown Toronto. High above the gleaming white temple is the gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni with his familiar trumpet in hand.
The temple district includes Latter-day Saints who live in an enormous geographic area that has been called "the cradle of Mormonism." It covers six Canadian provinces and parts of five American states. [1] The area includes members who come from many nations: England, Scotland, Germany, France, and Italy predominate, but there are also members from Greece, Hungary, Finland, Holland, Estonia, Mexico, Columbia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Poland.
Ground was broken for the temple on 10 October 1987 by President Thomas S. Monson, who was assisted by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder John K. Carmack of the First Quorum of the Seventy.
A total of 61,285 visitors toured the Toronto Ontario Temple during its public open house. It was estimated that 30 to 40 percent were members of other faiths.
The temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley in eleven sessions from 25-27 August 1990. The services were translated in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean due to the cultural diversity of the new temple district, which covered eastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
The Toronto Ontario Temple comprises a total of 57,982 square feet, four instruction rooms, six sealing rooms, and one baptistry. The floor plan and design of the Toronto Ontario Temple was based on plans created for the Denver Colorado Temple.
Notes
- "The First 100 Temples", by Chad Hawkins, 2001, 120
Other Temples in Canada
- Calgary Alberta Temple
- Cardston Alberta Temple
- Edmonton Alberta Temple
- Halifax Nova Scotia Temple
- Lethbridge Alberta Temple
- Montreal Quebec Temple
- Regina Saskatchewan Temple
- Toronto Ontario Temple
- Vancouver British Columbia Temple
- Victoria British Columbia Temple
- Winnipeg Manitoba Temple