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

Since its organization in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

in 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The first Latter Day Saint missionaries

Mormon missionary

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

to preach outside of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

preached in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

; the first stake to be established outside of the U.S. was the Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

Stake; and the Cardston Alberta Temple

Cardston Alberta Temple

The Cardston Alberta Temple is the eighth constructed and sixth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. It is one of eight temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of...

was the first church temple

Temple (LDS Church)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...

to be built outside of the current boundaries of the United States.

Early missionary contacts

In the winter of 1829–1830, Oliver Cowdery

Oliver Cowdery

Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...

and Hiram Page

Hiram Page

Hiram Page was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.-Biography:...

visited Upper Canada

Upper Canada

while seeking money to finance the publication of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

. After the publication of the Book of Mormon in March 1830, the unbaptized convert Phineas Young

Phineas Young

Phineas Howe Young was a prominent early convert in the Latter Day Saint movement and was later a Mormon pioneer and a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

preached in Earnestown.

Joseph Smith, Sr.

Joseph Smith, Sr.

Joseph Smith, Sr. was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the Golden Plates. In 1833 Joseph Sr...

and Don Carlos Smith

Don Carlos Smith

Don Carlos Smith was the youngest brother of Joseph Smith, Jr. and a leader, missionary, and periodical editor in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement....

— the first official Latter Day Saint missionaries

Mormon missionary

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

to preach outside of the United States — visited Upper Canada

Upper Canada

in September 1830 and preached in villages north of the St. Lawrence River. In January 1832, converts Brigham

Brigham Young

Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

and Phineas Young

Phineas Young

Phineas Howe Young was a prominent early convert in the Latter Day Saint movement and was later a Mormon pioneer and a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

went to Upper Canada to convince their brother Joseph Young

Joseph Young

Young was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, the eighth child born to John Young and Abigail Howe.In 1830, while he was a preacher for the Methodist Church in Upper Canada, Young was introduced to the Book of Mormon by his younger brother Brigham...

to join the church. 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

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

and Sydenham

Sydenham, Frontenac County, Ontario

For other places called Sydenham, see Sydenham .Sydenham, named after Lord Sydenham, is a community in Frontenac County, located in the municipality of South Frontenac...

.

Joseph Smith, Jr. preached in Upper Canada in September 1833 with Sidney Rigdon

Sidney Rigdon

Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...

and Freeman Nickerson. Also in 1833, apostle Lyman E. Johnson

Lyman E. Johnson

Lyman Eugene Johnson was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He broke with Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon during the 1837-38 period when schism divided the early Church...

preached in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

and Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. Later, apostle John E. Page

John E. Page

John Edward Page was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.Born in 1799 in Trenton, New York, Page was the son of Ebenezer and Rachael Page. He was baptized into the Church of Christ, established by Joseph Smith, Jr., in Brownhelm, Ohio in August 1833 by missionary Emer Harris, brother...

and Parley P. Pratt

Parley P. Pratt

Parley Parker Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Orson 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

Joseph Fielding

Joseph Fielding was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as the second president of the British Mission , coordinating the activities of missionaries in sections of the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. He was the brother of Mary Fielding, the second wife of Hyrum Smith,...

and Mary Fielding, and William Law. On April 6, 1837, Canadian resident John Gould

John Gould (Mormon)

John Gould was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and is recognized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the first non-American person to serve as a general authority.-Biography:...

was made one of the first seven presidents of the Seventy and so became the first non-American general authority

General authority

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...

of the church.

By 1850, approximately 2500 residents of Canada — most of them from Upper Canada — had joined the LDS Church. However, most of these members joined the gathering of the Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...

, Nauvoo, Illinois

Nauvoo, Illinois

Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...

, and eventually Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

, and by 1861, the census of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

listed only 73 Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

Colonization of Alberta

In 1887, Canadian convert John Taylor, who by then had become the president of the church, sent Charles Ora Card

Charles Ora Card

Charles Ora Card was the founder of the town of Cardston, Alberta, the first Mormon settlement in Canada. He has been referred to as "Canada's Brigham Young"....

, the president of the church's Cache Stake, to Canada's Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

to establish a Mormon colony that was beyond the reach of the United States government's anti-polygamy

Polygamy

Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...

prosecutions. Card led a group of followers and established a settlement along Lee's Creek; the settlement was eventually renamed Cardston

Cardston, Alberta

-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...

in Card's honour. The Alberta Stake of the church was created in 1895 with Card as its president; it was the first stake of the church established outside of the United States.

Mormon pioneers continued to colonize what would become Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

in 1905. Before the turn of the century, Latter-day Saints had founded Mountain View, Aetna, Beazer

Beazer, Alberta

Beazer is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Cardston County, located south of Highway 5, approximately southwest of Lethbridge.- References :...

, Leavitt, Kimball, Caldwell, Taylorville, Magrath

Magrath, Alberta

Magrath is a town in Cardston County, Alberta, Canada. Its 2006 population was 2,081. Magrath is located near the Canadian Rockies and is south of Lethbridge and south of Calgary.- History :...

, and Stirling

Stirling, Alberta

Stirling is a village in the County of Warner No. 5, Alberta, Canada. The village is located on Highway 4, approximately southeast of Lethbridge and northwest of the United States-Canada border....

. After 1900, Mormon colonies were established in Woolford, Welling

Welling, Alberta

Welling is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Cardston County. It is located north of the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 52, approximately south of the City of Lethbridge.- History :...

, Orton

Orton, Alberta

Orton is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Willow Creek No. 26. It is located south of Highway 3, approximately west of Lethbridge.- References :...

, Raymond

Raymond, Alberta

Raymond is a town in Warner County, Alberta, Canada. It is located in southern Alberta south of Lethbridge on Highway 52. Raymond is known for its annual rodeo and its large Mormon population...

, Barnwell

Barnwell, Alberta

Barnwell is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located west of Taber and east of Lethbridge along the Crowsnest Highway, in the Municipal District of Taber.-History:...

, Taber, Frankburg, Glenwood

Glenwood, Alberta

Glenwood is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of the town of Cardston, in Cardston County.Glenwood is located in the Cardston County. The village was named for a man named Glen Edward Wood. The founder of the village was Edward J. Wood, successor to Mormon leader Charles...

, and Hill Spring

Hill Spring, Alberta

Hill Spring is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located 32 km west of Cardston and 43 km south-east of Pincher Creek, in the Canadian Rockies foothills. It has often been misspelled Hillspring, including the Canada 2006 Census....

. Church apostle John W. Taylor

John W. Taylor

John W. Taylor is the name of:*John W. Taylor , apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints*John W. Taylor , early nineteenth century American politician...

— the son of church president John Taylor — played a leadership role in assisting Latter-day Saint immigration from Utah to Alberta.

In 1895, the Alberta Stake was divided in two: 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

Temple (LDS Church)

in Cardston. In 1924, Heber J. Grant

Heber J. Grant

Heber Jeddy Grant was the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale...

dedicated the Alberta Temple

Cardston Alberta Temple

as the first church temple outside of the United States. A stake was organized in Lethbridge in 1921.

One of Alberta’s original Mormon settlements and a National Historic Site of Canada, founded by Theodore Brandley on May 5, 1899, Stirling

Stirling, Alberta

Stirling is a village in the County of Warner No. 5, Alberta, Canada. The village is located on Highway 4, approximately southeast of Lethbridge and northwest of the United States-Canada border....

is one of few towns plotted out by the Plat of Zion in Alberta. Today Stirling still follows the Plat of Zion and For this reason the town is recognized as the most well-preserved, Canadian example of the Plat of Zion, and is also known as Stirling Agricultural Village

Stirling Agricultural Village

Stirling Agricultural Village is a National Historic Site of Canada, and was listed as one of only three communities in Canada designated as a National Historic Site because of the community’s well preserved settlement pattern that follows the Plat of Zion model...

a National Historic Site of Canada.

Alberta

A branch of the church was organized in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

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

General authority

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...

of the church; he became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1962 and a member of the First Presidency

First Presidency (LDS Church)

The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...

in 1963.

In 1998, a temple was announced for Edmonton and in December 1999 Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...

dedicated the Edmonton Alberta Temple

Edmonton Alberta Temple

The Edmonton Alberta Temple is the 67th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The temple was the second to be built in Alberta; the first was built in Cardston in 1923. The temple serves about 15,700 members in the area. The exterior of the temple is white granite and...

. In 2008, a temple was announced for Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

by Thomas S. Monson

Thomas S. Monson

Thomas Spencer Monson is an American religious leader and author, and the 16th and current President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . As president, Monson is considered by adherents of the religion to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" of God's will on earth...

Status today

As of year-end 2007, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 178,102 members, 47 stakes, 324 wards, 5 districts

District (LDS Church)

A district of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative unit composed of a number of congregations called branches. A district is a subdivision of a mission of the church and in many ways is analogous to a stake of the church. The leader of a district is the...

, 157 branches, 8 missions

Mission (LDS Church)

A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...

, 6 temples

Temple (LDS Church)

, and 155 Family History Centers, in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

Temples

There are 7 operating temples and 2 announced in Canada.
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Communities

Latter-day Saints have had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the "Mormon Corridor

Mormon Corridor

The Mormon Corridor is a term for the areas of Western North America that were settled between 1850 and approximately 1890 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who are commonly known as Mormons....

" and other locations, including the following in Alberta, Canada:

Altorado
Altorado, Alberta
Altorado is a ghost town in Forty Mile County, Alberta, Canada.The community was originally settled during the creation of a Canadian Pacific Railway line from Weyburn, Saskatchewan to Stirling, Alberta in an attempt to profit from railway trade. During 1912 - 1913, pioneers, mainly Mormons,...
Barnwell
Barnwell, Alberta
Barnwell is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located west of Taber and east of Lethbridge along the Crowsnest Highway, in the Municipal District of Taber.-History:...
Bow Island
Cardston
Cardston, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...
Del Bonita
Del Bonita, Alberta
Del Bonita is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Cardston County. It is located at the junction of Highway 62 and Highway 501, north of the United States border and approximately south of Magrath....
Ensign
Ensign, Alberta
Ensign is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Vulcan County. It is located approximately south of Highway 23 and southeast of Calgary.- References :...
Glenwood
Glenwood, Alberta
Glenwood is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of the town of Cardston, in Cardston County.Glenwood is located in the Cardston County. The village was named for a man named Glen Edward Wood. The founder of the village was Edward J. Wood, successor to Mormon leader Charles...
Hill Spring
Hill Spring, Alberta
Hill Spring is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located 32 km west of Cardston and 43 km south-east of Pincher Creek, in the Canadian Rockies foothills. It has often been misspelled Hillspring, including the Canada 2006 Census....
Jefferson
Kimball
Lundbreck
Lundbreck, Alberta
Lundbreck is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9. It is located on the south side of Highway 3, approximately east of the southern terminus of Highway 22, east of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, west of the Village of Cowley and west of...
Magrath
Magrath, Alberta
Magrath is a town in Cardston County, Alberta, Canada. Its 2006 population was 2,081. Magrath is located near the Canadian Rockies and is south of Lethbridge and south of Calgary.- History :...
Pincher Creek
Pincher Creek, Alberta
Pincher Creek is a town in the southwest of Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies in the centre of ranching country, north of Waterton Lakes National Park.The town's mayor is Ernie Olsen.- History :...
Raley
Raley, Alberta
Raley, Alberta is an unincorporated community in Cardston County, Alberta, Canada. The population of Raley was 5 in 1966. The community is located about 4 km north of Highway 3, and about 15 km east of the Town of Cardston. Raley is named after C. Raley, of Lethbridge.-Alberta Pacific...
Raymond
Raymond, Alberta
Raymond is a town in Warner County, Alberta, Canada. It is located in southern Alberta south of Lethbridge on Highway 52. Raymond is known for its annual rodeo and its large Mormon population...
Seven Persons
Stirling
Stirling, Alberta
Stirling is a village in the County of Warner No. 5, Alberta, Canada. The village is located on Highway 4, approximately southeast of Lethbridge and northwest of the United States-Canada border....
Taber
Welling
Welling, Alberta
Welling is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Cardston County. It is located north of the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 52, approximately south of the City of Lethbridge.- History :...
Woolford

Early missionary contacts

Colonization of Alberta

Alberta

Status today

Temples

Communities

See also

Further reading