The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canada

Since its organization in New York in 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in Canada. The first Latter Day Saint missionaries to preach outside of the United States preached in Upper Canada; the first stake to be established outside of the U.S. was the Alberta Stake; and the Cardston Alberta Temple was the first church temple to be built outside of the current boundaries of the United States.

The Cardston Alberta Temple is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States

Early missionary contacts

In the winter of 1829–30, Oliver Cowdery and Hiram Page visited Upper Canada while seeking money to finance the publication of the Book of Mormon. After the publication of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, the unbaptized convert Phineas Young preached in Earnestown.[1]

Joseph Smith, Sr. and Don Carlos Smith—the first official Latter Day Saint missionaries to preach outside of the United States—visited Upper Canada in September 1830 and preached in villages north of the St. Lawrence River.[2] In January 1832, converts Brigham and Phineas Young went to Upper Canada to convince their brother Joseph Young to join the church.[2] After Joseph's baptism, the Young brothers taught their family and friends in Canada and baptized over 150 individuals and established four branches of the church, including ones in Kingston and Sydenham.

Joseph Smith preached in Upper Canada in September 1833 with Sidney Rigdon and Freeman Nickerson.[3] Also in 1833, future apostle Lyman E. Johnson preached in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Later, John E. Page and apostle Parley P. Pratt served successful missions to Upper Canada; Page baptized over 1000 individuals between 1834 and 1836 and Pratt converted a number of individuals who would play a prominent role in the church, including John Taylor, Joseph and Mary Fielding, and William Law.

By 1850, approximately 2500 residents of Canada—most of them from Upper Canada—had joined the LDS Church.[1] However, most of these members joined the gathering of the Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, Nauvoo, Illinois, and eventually Salt Lake City, Utah, and by 1861, the census of Ontario listed only 73 Mormons.[1]

Colonization of Alberta

In 1887, John Taylor—who by then had become the president of the church—sent Charles Ora Card, the president of the church's Cache Stake, to Canada's Northwest Territories to establish a Mormon colony that was beyond the reach of the United States government's anti-polygamy prosecutions. Card led a group of followers and established a settlement along Lee's Creek; the settlement was eventually renamed Cardston in Card's honour.[4] The Alberta Stake of the church was created in 1895[5] with Card as its president; it was the first stake of the church established outside of the United States.

Michelsen Farmstead one of the original Mormon farmsteads in Stirling Agricultural Village

Mormon pioneers continued to colonize what would become Alberta in 1905. Before the turn of the century, Latter-day Saints had founded Mountain View, Aetna, Beazer, Leavitt, Kimball, Caldwell, Taylorville, Magrath, and Stirling. After 1900, Mormon colonies were established in Woolford, Welling, Orton, Raymond, Barnwell, Taber, Frankburg, Glenwood, and Hill Spring.[6] Church apostle John W. Taylor—the son of church president John Taylor—played a leadership role in assisting Latter-day Saint emigration from Utah to Alberta.

The Alberta Stake was divided in two in 1903: the Alberta Stake remained headquartered in Cardston and the new Taylor Stake—named in honour of John W. Taylor—was headquartered in Raymond. By 1910, there were about 10,000 Latter-day Saints in southern Alberta and in 1913 the church began construction of a temple in Cardston.[6] In 1924, Heber J. Grant dedicated the Alberta Temple as the first church temple outside of the United States.[7] A stake was organized in Lethbridge in 1921.

Stirling, one of Alberta's original Mormon settlements and a National Historic Site of Canada, was founded by Theodore Brandley in 1899, and is one of few towns in Canada plotted out by the Plat of Zion. Today, Stirling still follows the Plat of Zion; for this reason, the village is recognized as the most well-preserved Canadian example of the Latter-day Saint planning model.

Beyond Alberta and today

A branch of the church was organized in Edmonton in 1933, with the Edmonton Stake being established in 1960. The Calgary Stake was established in 1953. In 1960 Alberta resident N. Eldon Tanner was called as a general authority of the church; he became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1962 and a member of the First Presidency in 1963.

In 1998, a temple was announced for Edmonton and in December 1999 Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Edmonton Alberta Temple. In 2008, a temple was announced for Calgary by Thomas S. Monson.

As of December 31, 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 197,710 members, 50 stakes, 345 wards, 5 districts, 147 branches, 8 missions, 8 temples, and 159 Family History Centers, in Canada.[8] The vast majority of church members in Canada live in Southern Alberta.[9]

In 2020, the LDS Church canceled services and other public gatherings indefinitely in response to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.[10]

Temples
Temples in Canada
Red = Operating
Blue = Under Construction
Yellow = Announced
Black = Closed for Renovations

There are 8 operating temples and 1 awaiting dedication in Canada.

 6. Cardston Alberta Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
Rededicated:
 Size:
 Notes:

Cardston, Alberta, Canada
27 June 1913
26 August 1923 by Heber J. Grant
22 June 1991 by Gordon B. Hinckley
81,700 sq ft (7,590 m2) and 85 ft (26 m) high on a 10 acre (4 ha) site
An addition was completed in 1962 and was dedicated on July 2, 1962 by Hugh B. Brown.

 44. Toronto Ontario Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
 Size:
Style:

Brampton, Ontario, Canada
7 April 1984
25 August 1990 by Gordon B. Hinckley
57,982 sq ft (5,387 m2) and 171 ft (52 m) high on a 13.4 acre (5.4 ha) site
Modern, single-spire design - designed by Allward-Gouinlock Inc.

 64. Halifax Nova Scotia Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
 Size:
Style:

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
May 7, 1998
November 14, 1999 by Gordon B. Hinckley
10,700 sq ft (990 m2) and 71 ft (22 m) high on a 2 acre (0.8 ha) site
Classic modern, single spire[11] - designed by L.A. Beaubien and Associates, and Church A&E Services

 65. Regina Saskatchewan Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
 Size:
Style:

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
August 3, 1998
November 14, 1999 by Boyd K. Packer
10,700 sq ft (990 m2) and 71 ft (22 m) high on a 1 acre (0.4 ha) site
Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Roger B. Mitchell and Church A&E Services

 67. Edmonton Alberta Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
 Size:
Style:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
August 11, 1998
December 11, 1999 by Gordon B. Hinckley
10,700 sq ft (990 m2) and 71 ft (22 m) high on a 1 acre (0.4 ha) site
Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Robert Bennett and Church A&E Services

 86. Montreal Quebec Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
Rededicated:
 Size:
Style:

Longueuil, Quebec, Canada
6 August 1998
4 June 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley
22 November 2015 by Henry B. Eyring[12]
10,700 sq ft (990 m2) and 71 ft (22 m) high on a 2.4 acre (1 ha) site
Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Andrij Serbyn, Fichten Soiferman and Church A&E Services

 131. Vancouver British Columbia Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
 Size:
 Notes:

Langley, British Columbia, Canada
25 May 2006
2 May 2010 by Thomas S. Monson
19,053 sq ft (1,770 m2) on a 11.77 acre (4.8 ha) site
Open house was held in April and the dedication 2 May 2010.[13][14][15] First temple in British Columbia and 6th in Canada.

 140. Calgary Alberta Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
 Size:
 Notes:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4 October 2008
28 October 2012 by Thomas S. Monson
29,050 sq ft (2,699 m2) and 115 ft (35 m) high
Announced at the 178th Semiannual General Conference.

170. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple (Dedication Postponed)

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
 Size:
 Notes:

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
April 2, 2011
TBD[16]
TBD
Announced by Thomas S. Monson on April 2, 2011[17]

Communities

Latter-day Saints have had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the "Mormon Corridor" and other locations, including the following in Alberta, Canada:

See also

References
  1. Deseret News Church Almanac 1993–1994 (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News) p. 203.
  2. Richard E. Bennett, "Canada: From Struggling Seed, the Church Has Risen to Branching Maple," Ensign, September 1988, p. 30.
  3. Joseph Smith (B.H. Roberts ed., 1902). History of the Church 1:416–425.
  4. Church Educational System (1993, rev. ed.). Church History in the Fulness of Times (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church) p. 609.
  5. "Country/State Profiles: Canada-Alberta". LDS Newsroom. LDS Church.
  6. Deseret News Church Almanac 1993–1994 (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News) p. 199.
  7. The Laie Hawaii Temple was dedicated in 1919 during the time it was a territory of the United States.
  8. "Facts and Statistics:Canada". Mormon Newsroom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  10. Lovett, Ian. "Mormon Church Cancels Services World-Wide Amid Coronavirus Crisis", The Wall Street Journal, 12 March 2020. Retrieved on 31 March 2020.
  11. Several dozen temples, built from identical plans.
  12. Weaver, Sarah Jane. "Montreal temple rededication", Church News, 22 November 2015. Retrieved on 21 March 2020.
  13. "Dedication and Open House Dates Announced for the Vancouver British Columbia Temple", Newsroom (News Story), LDS Church, retrieved 2012-10-15
  14. Satterfield, Rick, "Vancouver British Columbia Temple", LDSChurchTemples.com, retrieved 2012-10-15
  15. Size verified on: "Rezoning Application No. 100276 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)" (PDF), Report to Mayor and Council, Regular Meeting (Report: 07-79, File: 08-26-0094), Community Development Division, Township of Langley, May 7, 2007, retrieved 2012-10-15
  16. "Postponed: Winnipeg Manitoba Temple Open House and Dedication Dates Announced". churchofjesuschrist.org. 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  17. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, ldschurchtemples.com. Last accessed on April 2, 2011.

Additional reading
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