By DIANA VAN ORDEN
diana@newsroom.byu.edu
While two temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were scheduled to be dedicated in two consecutive days last weekend, they ended up both being dedicated on Sunday because of unforeseen circumstances.
This is the first time the LDS Church has ever dedicated two temples on the same day.
President Gordon B. Hinckley was scheduled to dedicate the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple on Saturday and the Regina Saskatchewan Temple on Sunday.
However, because his airplane required repairs, President Hinckley's flight out of Salt Lake City was delayed from Friday until Saturday, which meant the dedication of the Halifax Temple had to be delayed.
Because of the set back, President Hinckley dedicated the Halifax Temple on Sunday while President Boyd K. Packer, acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dedicated the Regina Temple the same day.
President Packer was already scheduled to attend the dedication of the Regina Temple, but was not planning to dedicate it until transportation problems arose, said church spokesman Dale Bills.
The Regina Temple is now the first temple dedicated by someone other than President Hinckley since he became prophet in March 1995.
D. Lawrence Penner, President of the Saskatoon Saskatchewan stake, said that while church members were expecting to have President Hinckley dedicate the temple, nobody complained that the prophet was not there.
'We were looking forward to having President Hinckley come, but President Packer did a great job of course,' President Penner said.
R. Dean Layton, mission president of the LDS Canada Winnipeg Mission, said the members in Regina were not disappointed that President Hinckley did not dedicate the temple.
'President Packer did a beautiful job,' he added.
The Halifax Nova Scotia and Regina Saskatchewan Temples are the LDS Church's 64th and 65th operating temples. There are now four dedicated temples in Canada with a fifth temple, the Edmonton Alberta Temple, scheduled to be dedicated later this year.