It might just be the conspiracy theorist in me, but I am left wondering…
To what extent did the successful bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics contribute to the decision to put a temple in Vancouver?
Before you jump down my throat, I think it’s an honest question given the drive to the Seattle temple is not really that terrible, and other locations with equal populations of LDS commute much farther to attend the temple.
Oh have they? I have to admit I am not a great Hockey watcher (or any type of sport watcher) so I don’t keep up unless our team (local wherever I am) gets in the playoffs, then I pay attention. That’s good! Good to see the Canucks are playing well :) Lol, you think it’s the increaed faith? You never know :)
Want to hear something funny and supersticious? Well, whenever (yes literally whenever) I watch a home team game, in person, they always lose. My high school boy’s basketball team won the triple A championships the year I graduated ONLY because I wasn’t there. Ok, maybe not really. But it was fishy, every time I went to a game, they lost. When I didn’t, they won. And that has held true for every other time I have gone to see a local team (that I want to win) play. I don’t know what it is! haha.
Whos Sally, slow your mustang down. We don’t need any grannies getting in a dither over simple suppositions. I never claimed the 2010 Olympics was the only reason Vancouver was getting a temple. I also never said the 2010 Olympics were not granted to Vancouver. Though you must concede most of the winter events, as well as, the Olympic Village will be in Whistler! Aside from that, I am also not jealous that Vancouver will be getting a temple. Maybe Vancouverites will be jealous that in fact the temple will be situated in dusty ol’ Langley, but not I. Like I said it will fit in very well with the Sikh temples in BC.
Just as Mary, I too am a BC transplant; Island boy in fact. Oak Bay, Victoria to be precise. Yes by Birth, though I am entirely unfamiliar with the nature claim she makes. Is that somehow set apart (aside from the geographical divide of the Rockies, and the Strait of Georgia in my case), from the nature of the rest of the Canadian populace (allowances for Francophone Quebec set aside).
The changing demographics of Mormons between provinces is an interesting point; I wonder if we can prove that?! For instance, can you produce numbers that would suggest that more mormons from elsewhere in Canada are moving into BC? If that is true, what happens to temples in other areas as membership leaves? Is there justification to continually throw money at a temple which may now be serving only 50% of it’s previous total. Seems like a waste of the faithful’s money. Maybe they will close these temples?!
Someone told me Coca-Cola was owned by mormons. So I was having a little fun with the irony of sponsorship by a mormon owned soft drink corporation, in light of the temple being built in BC and the 2010 Olympics. As well as, the irony that if it is true that Coca Cola is a mormon enterprise it is a drink that a mormon will not consume themselves and yet have no qualms about making it available to other people. Then when people get sick and die early deaths you’ll stand in proxy for the salvation of their souls. Yet, you contributed to their deaths in the first place – that’s ironic!
Its called humour Sally, try it on sometime. You might find it a tight fit at first but with a bit of wriggling I think you’ll learn to enjoy it.
By the way, nice pic . . .you are a hot granny!
John said: “Whos Sally, slow your mustang down. We don’t need any grannies getting in a dither over simple suppositions.”
She is a grandmother but not a “Granny”. She’s a hip, young grandma with a lot of energy, oomph and chicness. And she has a great sense of humour. And a husband who loves and supports her and knows her for being a wonderful, strong and loving person, as do all of us who know and love her (and have the honour of being her children and children in law and grandchildren).
Coca-Cola was never owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. The church used to, many years ago, possibly own shares in Coca-Cola as did many many others (individuals and companies and organisations) who are/were not members of the Church(investments, known as Mutual Funds and stocks). And Latter day Saints can, and do consume coca-cola and no, it does not keep them from attending the temple or taking the sacrament or holding callings or sustaining their leaders and people called to new positions. Personally, I find cola drinks distasteful, but then I don’t drink pop.
Check this (non LDS site) for reference:
http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/mormon.asp
Another urban myth put to rest. Common sense dictates that all such claims be researched thoroughly.
Boy, I wish I owned shares in Coca-Cola.
John, first of all I am a Nana not a granny.. there is a huge difference! Grannies are little old grey haired stooped ladies that need help crossing the street. Nanas do not have grey hair.. they may have extremely light blonde hairs on their heads but never grey. At 5’10” I would hardly be described as little or stooped nor do I need help crossing the street.
Now onto your other comments in regards to the temple. You are the one that said and I quote “Maybe there is something to Rick’s theory regarding the timing of temple building and the 2010 Olympics in Whistler after all. “…Actually only the skiing events will be held in Whistler, the remaining ones will be in the Lower Mainland and that still does not make it a Whistler Olympic.
There is not a single Vancouverite that is jealous that a temple will be built in Langley and not in “their” city.. not one of us would begrudge driving 20 minutes or so rather then a 2 hour wait at the border crossing. And I don’t happen to think Langley is dusty… try living in Saskatchewan and then tell me about dirty dusty cities.
As to whether or not temples will close that is up to the Lord not to us mere mortals. When we lived in Regina one of our dear friends was the General Manager of the Coca Cola plant there. A person’s job/career has nothing to do with their faith. Well maybe if you were a stripper in a bar it might be frowned upon. And don’t lump all members of this church in the same category of “all” Mormons… There is no law that forbids drinking of coke products.. I drink diet coke. My husband is a huge fan of drinking regular coke. We have yet to be hung at high noon.
People will die of second hand smoke long before they die of drinking coke. My dad died at the age of 59. My sister at the age of 46. I have 4 aunts that died of cancer in their 40’s. I stood in proxy for each of these women and Kim stood in proxy for my dad. All was done in honour of them because we loved them with all our hearts. I did not contribute to their deaths. And yes I do know you meant “you” as in general terms when you said you contributed to their deaths. People have agency to choose their lives and how they will live it. Being a member of this church does not change that.
And I happen to have great amounts of humour. After all you are still breathing after having called me a granny aren’t you?
There you go again Mary, back on the attack I won’t even try to address your defense of grannies. Mostly, because I agree with you, or at the very least can find no good reason to refute your claims. Like I told you, “someone told me” . . .from their I took a playful jab at the mormon faith. My my my don’t get so defensive; one might think you protest to much. After all, I tempered my comment with the disclaimer that it was humour. Humour never requires research; I don’t have the time to waste on that.
As for you Mustang Sally, I imagine I am still alive because I told you, “you are one hot granny” which places you quite a bit higher than a stooped over gray haired li’ ol’ lady from Pasedena. Besides, what are you going to do, set some mormon thugs upon me to try and give me a beat down? Or better yet, will you have my eternal spirit cast to hell? OOOOOO boogity, boogity boogity! Sheesh! Just be glad I didn’t ask to see your “magic underwear” (rofling w/tears streaming from my eyes).
However no matter what the church’s involvement or investments they should be inline with the doctrine; which again should be universal to members and absolute. Or, is what good for the goose only good for the gander if there is no profit to be made.
Anyway, good to have you join the fray. I was going to leave as I was no longer having any fun (having not been able to find an intellectual equal to joust with), but your presence may cause me to stay . . .just a little bit longer. Besides, I am still following up on some leads Kim gave me . . .and I just don’t have time to bicker with biddies.
Sleep tight
John said: “There you go again Mary, back on the attack I won’t even try to address your defense of grannies. ”
uh, yeah…ok. Defending my mother in law, not grannies. I love her to pieces and she’s one of my most favourite people in the world. And I happen to know she doesn’t like being called a granny.
Why do you think my comment needed you to rush to her defense? You see, you over react and your distress in felt in the textual content of your posts. You are looking for the offense in every single statement, and that is the mark of a very dissatisfied person. It appears you don’t even read the entire comment before you start to take offense and rattle off half-baked retorts.
Anyway, lets leave it alone and carry on. What I really want to put forward this morning is information which refutes the claim that the decision to build a temple in Langley was made long before the announcement that the 2010 winter Olympics would be coming to the Vancouver area.
Information found at http://www.discovervancouver.com/2010/ states, “On July 2nd, 2003 Vancouver was chosen as the host city for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in the year 2010.” While information at http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/vancouver/ claims, “In a letter to British Columbian priesthood leaders dated May 25, 2006, the First Presidency announced the construction of the temple.” Evidently, a later date than the announcement of Vancouver’s winning bid for the Olympics.
So unless someone in the church received divine revelation of where the temple was to be built, before the first presidency, and subsequently leaked this information to the general membership, how can anyone make a claim suggesting the decision to build the temple was decided long before the decision to grant Vancouver the Olympics? No one at this blog has presented any evidence, to back up this claim! You need to back up your statements with at least a shred of corroborating evidence, in order to ascribe any credibility to them.
Getting back to the Olympics, Sally the events to be held at Whistler are as follows: Alpine Skiing, Nordic Sports (Cross Country Skiing, Ski Jumping and Biathlon), Sliding Sports (Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton) and Paralympic Sports. Much more than you suggest when you state, ““…Actually only the skiing events will be held in Whistler, the remaining ones will be in the Lower Mainland and that still does not make it a Whistler Olympic.” Actually only six sports events will be held in Vancouver & 10 in Whistler, and lets not forget where they are building the Olympic village. If anything a more accurate statement would be that Vancouver is sharing the Olympics with Whistler. Since the winter Olympics would not have gone to Vancouver had it not been for the proximity of the world famous resort of Whistler providing the best venue for the bulk of the events.
Also, in defense of Langley, why diss Saskatchewan? When I said dusty ol’ Langley it was in comparison to Vancouver (a difficult thing to overlook), as these were the only two cities mentioned in the paragraph. To bring in Sask. is like comparing apples to oranges. C’mon nana at least try to keep up with me.
Hey I’ll be in Abbotsford, Langley, Vancouver, and Victoria during the Easter break it’ll be interesting to be back. The point will probably be moot by then but,I think I will check out the new temple site and talk to some residents regarding their feelings on it.
s’all for now!
I’ve lived in both Saskatchewan and the GVRD, and I have to say that Greater Vancovuer is by far the dirtiest of the two. I will concede that Saskatchewan was dustier, but given how little rain Vancouver had last year and how much rain Saskatchewan had last year, it was probably neck and neck last summer.
Because a decision can be made before an announcement is or before land is decided upon. That doesn’t meet the requirement of evidence but it does address the question.
lol. You are an interesting one. I don’t look for offence, and perhaps one day you might want to meet me in person (not that I desire to at all) to see who I really am. Nor am I distressed. You read far too much into my words. Not sure why. Methinks thou dost protest too much.
I defend those I love. Always. I was not offended.
Certainly a decision can be made before an announcement (I had, in fact, already considered this), yet without proof
. . .weeell, you’ve already pointed out the end result of that. I agree with you, we come up short of evidence! Then I stopped, and gazing thoughtfully off into the distant bright light of the incandescent bulb flickering epileptically across the room. I was, quite suddenly, taken aback by what should’ve been obvious from the very beginning. Is evidence really necessary? After all, the blog site is merely “Our Thoughts” (as opposed to our proof), God imbued each of us with an individual conscience. Each is entitled to their own thoughts.
Then this epiphany climaxed with the realization that it is not up to anyone of us to change the other’s mind/open their eyes as all knowledge comes through Him alone and He will grant it in His own time.
In the immortal words of Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, “Your time is gonna’ come” from the album Led Zeppelin I
Sask. has nothing to do with it, that was your mom’s contribution. Nor was I alluding that Langley was dirty! I never even used the word as a descriptive element while referring to Langley. Having lived in the Fraser Valley for a number of years, while attending university in Vancouver, it has been my experience that Langley is dustier than Vancouver. This is attributable to the preponderance of farmland in Langley, as well as its further geographical location from the ocean and its accompanying breeze.
One thing for absolute certain is that Victoria is cleaner (less dusty) than all priorly mentioned cities or provinces, in what has degenerated to a ridiculously inane thread.
More about Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola and Diet Coke have exactly 45.6 mg caffeine per 12-oz. serving. Mormons have always recognized that the “abuse” of certain drugs is different than using those drugs for legitimate medical reasons. It is also irrelevant what most mormons claim as their reason for avoiding caffeine. The “Word of Wisdom” itself gives no indication of the reasons this substance should be avoided; it only states that it should be.
HOWEVER!
So I suppose, it can be construed, if you do not live according to the spirit of the word of wisdom, you are not entirely living within the wisdom of your faith.
Δεν ισχÏει αυτό; (is this not true)
What can be construed is that according to the above the “spirit of the Word of Wisdom” is different for everyone.
You are without a doubt (in my mind) correct again!
However, how is it the church (financial leaders) can reconcile it’s financial interests in Coca-Cola, in light of a leadership appointed for their knowledge of doctrine & enlightened wisdom of the mormon faith & God. I, for one, would suspect that they (the leaders) might hold themselves/the church up to a higher standard, considering the faithful may be looking toward them as examples of living by adherence to the word of wisdom (mormon basic law of health).
Add to this the fact Suzanne Armitage (an LDS member) states, “ the body is a temple†scripture found in the Bible and we begin to have a clearer understanding of the Church’s emphasis on being vigilant of what we ingest and on the wellbeing of our bodies.”
Did ya’ get the part,”Church’s emphasis on being vigilant of what we ingest and on the wellbeing of our bodies.”?
So whats the deal with being financially invested in Coca-Cola. Does the LDS church also have any tobacco investments? Hold up on that; I will research it myself and get back to you.
Don’t be too defensive of the church on this, after all I am certain (personal knowledge) that other Christian faiths are also not living up to their own doctrine as espoused by their respective leadership. It appears that all of Christianity has become more interested in saving money, than souls. Especially the televangelists! Are there any mormon televangelists? Out to make a buck off the faithful (and the general community at large).
While the faithful who live in rundown clapboard houses (surrounded by equally derelict houses) with shabby narrow yards, backing onto dirty muddy alleys, in old neighbourhoods so close to the business core that enterprise has crept onto the very street upon which they live, give to the church more than they can afford to give – the fat-cats at the top of religion’s food chain invest (sow) the cash and reap the harvest by paying themselves good salaries (which are income tax-free), write off nearly all their expenses (trips too), live in opulent homes in the nicest of neighbourhoods and continually breed guilt amongst the faithful who are just not quite yet down to their last two mites to give.
My point being that while the faithful live in squalor, the leadership takes their money and invests it (in interests that are not even doctrinally sound or in any case of sound wisdom according to the faith) to make the church even more financially powerful, without financially caring for the faithful (especially the working poor families).
It appears to be Fascism (do/live what/as we say, not as we do), practiced by religion. Sheesh, how about a little Socialism to even up the haves (clergy) and the have nots (laity)?! How long does one go on supporting a system which is holding them down. God loves (wants the best for) you too. He didn’t intend you to be subjugated by intermediaries claiming to stand between you and Him.
I have never seen any credible evidence that firmly establishes the Church is financially invested in Coca-Cola.
It is owned by (wealthy) Mormons in Lethbridge!
But what about the rest of what I had to say?
Are you ambivalent concerning the financial disparity between the laity (yourself included) and the clergy? Don’t you think God has prepared you with a sound mind and good health, and provided you with employment because He wants to improve your (yes, you!) lot in life personally?! “cause He doesn’t require these intermediaries to act on your behalf. They don’t know whats best for you, God does – and He provided you with the aforementioned gifts, not to squandor, to flourish.
Honestly? I think it’s blatant threadjacking and is ruining the integrity of the topic originally posted. Feel free to start your own blog if you’d like to get feedback on rehashed issues not found in current threads here.
John… if you are going to quote facts you should research them more thoroughly.. while I was in the strawberry patch I wanted to make note the following about the Olympic events… MOST are not being held in Whistler and the Olympic Village is not a sport last time I checked although I am sure lots of “sports” will be played out in the Village..
Whistler will host the alpine skiing events.
Blackcomb Mountain will host the sledding one such as bobsled and luge.
Cypress Mountain will host the freestyle skiing (aerials, moguls, and ski cross), and all 2010 snowboard events (half-pipe, parallel giant slalom, snowboard cross).
Vancouver will host the opening and closing exercises, all hockey, curling, figure skating and speed skating, ice sledge hockey, and the Olympic village for the paralympic as well as curling for the paralympic (seeing as how you want to include the Olympic Village as being in Whistler)
Oh and I do not mind you posting on my blog, I welcome all messages but if you are going to post I would appreciate you posting something relevant to what the original message was. After all what does Coca Cola have to do with the end table I just bought?
I never said the Olympic Village was an event, I merely pointed out that it will not be in Vancouver. The Vancouver City website’s page describing the Olympics clearly states 10 events will be in Whistler & only 6 in Vancouver, C’mon girlfriend do the math (rofling)!
Last time I took a helicopter over Blackcomb I had to drive to Whistler first. So, any events at Blackcomb, count as Whistler oriented. I agree Vancouver will get the opening and closing ceremonies (gotta’ pay for that new roof on BC Place somehow), and its only fitting as Vancouver is the Gateway to the Pacific (you know gate . . open & close . . .aw, nevermind).
I read that Whistler will be hosting the special/para – Olympics. Please direct me to your source for this information.
ttfn
Hey you all I just know by faith that the temple will be built in Langley / Vancouver B.C. although it still has not had final Langley city approval yet. But Heavenly Father has chosen this place for the saints in Vancouver and surrounding areas
Sounds like Heavenly Father better inform the Langley City Council.
I served in the Alaskan-Canadian Mission (hence North Van and Vancouver, etc., 1962-1964, and there was only one ward in Vancouver back then. And only one ‘real’ chapel in the area, the Vancouver Ward.
The area is very, very blessed to have this temple. We want to come to the open house and tour the mission field again.
Does anyone have any idea as to a ‘guess’ when the open house might be?
We actually just had a fireside last night (Sunday the 22nd Feb 2009) in regards to this. It was supposed to be in November of this year but we have had 2 setbacks.. one the huge amounts of snowfall this winter which then turned into record breaking amounts of rainfall and then secondly the company that had been doing the heating/AC work went bankrupt and time was taken to get new bids in and a new company in place. They are still hoping and praying for the end of this year.
Looks like the Open House may be pushed back until after the Olympics (February/March 2010).
Looks like the temple got its Angel Moroni yesterday.
I just found your blog and am thinking of moving to B.C. but want to be where there are some strong wards, less crime, good for families, and generally an affordable cost of living. We work from home so we can pick the location. Where would you recommend? Victoria, Langley, or other places?
Hello,
I’m grateful for the Temple; it will make it easier for the Island LDS people and those living in Northern BC to visit the temple more often. That’s a blessing.
As far as the timing with the Olympics, does it really matter? It’s the Lord’s temple, and He makes the decisions.
And, yes, any temple shines brightly; it’s always wonderful to me when I drive in different cities, and I see the lights of the temple-so reassuring…Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on…
Coca cola…not offered on any church owned school. That tells us something…
Sure nice traveling to the temple on City Transit. Skytrain to Surrey Central. 501 Langley Center leaves Surrey Central and goes to 200th Street and 82 Avenue. Just a 5 minute walk up the hill. Although most drive it is accessible to everyone with or without a car.
If you view the seattle temple dedication film on youtube, all you can see is forest. you should look at it now.. Talk about growth. The same thing is going to happen in Langley and area. Major growth, in membership in the LDS church and an economic growth for that area. Which means an increase of dollars ,and jobs.. Langley’s town council will not be frowning on this reality. They will be saying it should have happened sooner. I don’t think the Olympics will have had anything to do with it.. They will know it was because of the growth in the church in BC. Just watch . With every Temple comes a major growth. And as far as the Temple being seen . The only thing I see currantly in the area of the Temple is the old stake centre on that corner facing 200st. which means the only people finding it or seeing it will be only those who are seeking it..
I was surprised. As small as the temple is, it is not very crowded in the sessions the first week it was opened. Even on Saturday there were no more than 6 brethren but a lot more sisters at each season. I attended 3 per day. An appointment is needed. I wonder how many don’t show and don’t bother to cancel?