The worldwide leader of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints couldn鈥檛 resist a hockey analogy when he spoke to more than 4,600 members of the church at the 91原创 Events Centre on Sunday.
President Russell M. Nelson noted that LEC often hosts hockey games and said he was glad to see 鈥渘obody in the penalty box鈥�.
A press release from the church said Nelson spoke primarily about nurturing families and the important role parents have in teaching children while they are young to honour God.
He stressed the importance of fathers in assisting in rearing children and promised blessings 鈥渢o the third and fourth generations鈥� of those who would 鈥渟tudy the scriptures together鈥� and who 鈥渨ould pray regularly with their families鈥�.
The visit by Nelson, his wife Wendy Nelson and President Henry B. Eyring of the Church鈥檚 First Presidency was described as a rare, in-person, opportunity to hear Nelson who is considered by members of the church to be a prophet 鈥渘o different than Abraham, Moses, or Noah in the Bible.鈥�
His remarks were also broadcast to church members across B.C.
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The trip to 91原创 was preceded by a similar devotional to Washington State where the church leader addressed nearly 50,000 people at Safeco Field in Seattle on Saturday.
The 94-year-old has also traveled to London, England; Jerusalem, Israel; Nairobi, Kenya; Harare, Zimbabwe; Bengaluru, India; Bangkok, Thailand; Hong Kong, China; Honolulu, Hawaii; Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; as well as other cities across Canada, including Edmonton, Calgary, Raymond, Winnipeg, Montreal and Hamilton.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has more than 16 million members around the world.
Among the church鈥檚 159 temples worldwide, nine are in Canada including the 91原创 temple at 20030 82 Ave, which was dedicated in May, 2010.
It serves 22,000 Mormons from 91 congregations throughout B.C. and northern Washington.
The temple, which is not open to non-members, is reserved for the sacraments of the Mormon church such as baptism and marriage.
Mormons have been in B.C. since 1875, but until the 91原创 temple was built, they had to travel to Washington State or Alberta for temple services and sacraments.
The church estimates B.C. is home to nearly 31,000 members who live in communities across the province and attend services in 79 different congregations.
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