Calgary Alberta Temple
Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the Calgary Alberta Temple in the opening session of the 178th semiannual General Conference on 4 October 2008. The Calgary Alberta Temple is the eighth temple built in Canada, and the third built in Alberta. The other temples in Alberta are the Cardston Alberta Temple (1923) and the Edmonton Alberta Temple (1999).The temple is located on the northeast corner of Royal Oak Rd NW and Rocky Ridge Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta. The site has a panoramic view of the city and is adjacent to the Royal Oak Chapel in northwest Calgary. Over 18,000 members of the Church in 6 stakes will use the temple.
There are 192,299 members of The Church of Jesus Christ living throughout the province of Canada. Within the province there are 7 missions, 482 congregations, 8 temples, and 166 Family History Centers. In Alberta, Canada alone there are 3 temples, 2 missions (Canada Calgary Mission and Canada Edmonton Mission), 22 stakes, 213 congregations (179 wards and 34 branches). The new Tuscany/Royal Oak rail station will be within short walking distance of the temple, facilitating access for those who use public transportation. The completion of the Calgary Ring Road, with a close exit, will make the temple accessible for those traveling by car.
History of The Church of Jesus Christ in Canada
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.
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. In January 1832, converts Brigham and Phineas Young went to Upper Canada to convince their brother Joseph Young 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 a branch in Kingston and Sydenham.
The Prophet Joseph Smith preached in Upper Canada in September 1833 with Sidney Rigdon and Freeman Nickerson. 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. Between 1834 and 1836, Page baptized over 1,000 persons, and Pratt was instrumental in the conversion of a number of people who would later have prominent roles in the Church, including John Taylor, Joseph and Mary Fielding, and William Law.
By 1850, approximately 2,500 residents of Canada, most of them from Upper Canada, had become members of The Church of Jesus Christ. Most of these members would later join the gathering of the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, Nauvoo, Illinois, and eventually Salt Lake City, Utah. By 1861, the census of Ontario listed only 73 Mormons.
Mormons first began to settle in southern Alberta, Canada in the late 1880s. Many of them at that time were contract workers on the St. Mary's Irrigation Canal, or farmers in present-day Cardston Alberta. The first stake in Alberta was established in 1895, and membership in the Church has continued to thrive there ever since. 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 present boundaries of the United States.
The groundbreaking for the temple was held on May 15, 2010.
A temple open house was scheduled wherein community leaders and the general public may have an opportunity to tour a Mormon temple and receive explanations of how it is used for worship and as a house of God. The open house was scheduled for 29 September through 20 October 2012, excluding Sundays and Saturday, 6 October.
The temple was formally dedicated on Sunday, 28 October 2012, in three sessions. In conjunction with the dedication of the temple, there was also a cultural celebration featuring music and dance on Saturday, 27 October 2012.
The temple was dedicated by Mormon prophet and president Thomas S. Monson. Assisting President Monson for the traditional cornerstone ceremony prior to the dedication were Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Craig C. Christensen and Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy and temple president and matron, Blair S. and Mary Jane C. Bennett. A choir composed of Latter-day Saints from within the temple district sang Church hymns for the dedication and cornerstone ceremony.
The Calgary Temple is the third in Alberta; the Cardston Temple opened in 1923 and the Edmonton Temple in 1999. The Cardston Mormon Temple is the 140th of dedicated temples worldwide with nearly 30 announced or under construction.
