Cardston Alberta Temple

O Canada! 🇨🇦

I’m in Chicago, having just boarded my flight to Calgary, Canada. I flew here this morning at 6 AM from Washington Dulles. I left my home at 3:30 AM. In the next 48 hours, I will visit three Canadian temples: Cardston Alberta, Calgary, and Edmonton.
My round-trip flight is $282, which is $94 per temple. (I try to keep it under $100 if possible!)

I will be back in Washington by 10 AM Saturday, which allows me to work that day if I want to.

I arrived in Calgary at noon. I arranged to rent a pick up truck through Priceline from Enterprise. I was thrilled that Enterprise did not charge me a deposit for the truck which could be anywhere from $200-$500. They just charged me for the two day rental which was only $212 with unlimited miles! With truck in hand, I drove 2 1/2 hours south to Cardston at about 110 km/h (70 mph)!

I was thrilled to see a number of A&W restaurants on the way down so I pulled into one and scored on some lunch. Prior to that I actually did my radio show, the Junk Refund Show, during the first hour of driving. That was fun!

Top-notch Temple Workers at the Cardston Alberta Temple

I was met at the recommend desk by Sister Elizabeth Strong, who was a delightful host. She quickly arranged to have Scott Tidmarsh give me a private tour of the temple prior to the endowment session. That was the first among all the temples I’ve visited!
She also knew Lance Miller, father of Elder Miller, who is currently serving in our Washington DC 3rd Ward as a full-time missionary. She arranged to get me Lance’s name and phone number so I could call him afterwards and pay him a visit in nearby, Magrath, a town about 20 miles away. I also met the Chipman’s, Darrell and Karen, who worked in the temple office. What a cordial welcome they all gave me as I told them a little bit about my travels, and the fact that I’ve done temple work in all of the temples in the United States. They could not have been more gracious!

Facts About the Cardston Alberta Temple

• It was the sixth temple dedicated.
• It was dedicated in 1923 by Heber J Grant.
• It was the first temple built in Canada.
• Its design served as a model for the Laie Hawaii Temple.
• It is a temple where you progress from room to room, constantly, moving higher.
• Each room has beautiful original murals and increasingly unique wood designs.
• It has the most spectacular lobby of any temple that I’ve seen. That’s because they extended the temple in 1991 and enclosed the original outdoor reflecting pond to bring it inside the temple. The lobby is simply spectacular!
• The original stonework was all cut by hand.
  

Following the session I drove 20 miles east to McGrath and met Elder Miller’s parents. It was a surprise! I loved it! I talked with them for about 30 minutes and admired their beautiful large home that they built about six months earlier. Lance Miller is a new bishop as of about six months ago. He was an outstanding choice! What’s amazing is that just last night I was with Elder Miller in a ward correlation meeting in Washington DC. Just 24 hours later, I’m standing in his home in Alberta Canada! The Millers were very kind and loaded me up with all kinds of treats, including the new blackberry Dr. Pepper, which is one of my favorites!

After leaving the Millers, I drove 2 1/2 hours north and found the Calgary Alberta Temple. I love to come to these new temples because many times you can spot them from miles away. That is the case in Calgary!

I am writing this from the Days Inn hotel, about 10 miles from the Calgary Temple, where I am staying using my points as a Diamond Member in the Wyndham Hotel group. I am so glad I made this trip! So far it is working out perfectly.