To celebrate the milestone of reaching a membership of 200,000 Latter-day Saints in Canada, a virtual national children’s choir of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a music video on August 7, 2022.
With an impressive 183 voices, the choir itself reflects the expanse of the Church in Canada. The virtual choir consists of young Latter-day Saints from coast to coast, representing each stake (the geographical equivalent of a diocese).
The video features children singing in various languages, including many that Latter-day Saints in Canada use in worship during Sunday services — American Sign Language, Cantonese, English, French, Mandarin, Spanish and Tagalog — along with Michif, the Indigenous language of the Métis people in Canada.
The song “I Love to See the Temple,” by Janice Kapp Perry, was chosen to concurrently commemorate membership growth and the recent dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, the ninth in Canada. Reflecting the Latter-day Saint understanding that temples are “the place where the highest sacraments of the faith occur — [including] the marriage of couples and the ‘sealing’ of families for eternity,” the song also encourages children to prepare spiritually to one day worship in the temple.
A virtual national children’s choir of 183 voices releases a music video in August 2022 to concurrently commemorate 200,000 Latter-day Saints in Canada and the country’s ninth operating temple.
The music video highlights the diversity of the choir in a montage of children singing in individual videos, while showcasing the beauty and architectural uniqueness of each of Canada’s nine temples through a series of photographs and video footage. The video culminates with a depiction of Jesus Christ and the following words: “Temples stand as a beacon to the world of God’s love for His children and the truth that families can be forever,” a belief foundational to Latter-day Saints.
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I Love to See the Temple’
One choir member, Hudson Coad, describes the temple as “a sacred, … perfect kind of place.” The youth from Sooke, British Columbia, says it is “peaceful and just [feels] right being there, like I was meant to be there.” As the number of temples has increased across the country, so has the opportunity for Church members to participate in sacred worship.
Latter-day Saints consider temples to be houses of the Lord, and as such, they are “the most sacred place[s] of worship on earth.” Temples are different from the chapels in which Church members and visitors meet to worship during Sunday services. While only members of the Church aged 11 and older are admitted into a temple after it is dedicated, everyone is welcome to enjoy the temples’ beautiful landscapes and gardens.
Abena Frimpong, a Montreal Latter-day Saint, says, “More recently, I have only been able to go to the temple to worship when I can bring my children with me. They wait quietly inside the waiting room for me. … It is always a good experience for our family to go together to the temple.”
Frimpong’s two youngest children, Ellen and Charles, both sang in the virtual children’s choir. “I’ve been to the temple so many times I can’t count anymore,” says Ellen. “I feel happy at the temple. I like walking around the outside of the temple. There is a fun scripture book [in the waiting room] that I love looking at. I’ll be excited to go inside [the rest of the temple] someday.”
Ellen’s brother has similar sentiments: “I like visiting the temple because I get to be in God’s house,” says Charles. “When I am at the temple, I feel happy. I feel safe there.”
President Russell M. Nelson, president of the Church, said, “The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple” (“The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation,” October 2021 general conference).
With at least one temple in almost every region in the country now, people across Canada are indeed more likely to “see” the temple.
The nine temples in Canada are (by date of dedication) Cardston Alberta (1923); Toronto Ontario (1990); Halifax Nova Scotia, Regina Saskatchewan and Edmonton Alberta (all 1999); Montreal Quebec (2000); Vancouver British Columbia (2010); Calgary Alberta (2012); and Winnipeg Manitoba (2021). The Church currently has 167 operating temples, with an additional 115 temples announced, in renovation or under construction, bringing the worldwide total to 282.
Contributed by Heather Thomson