Cardston Alberta Temple


The Cardston Alberta Temple is the eighth constructed and sixth of the still-operating temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS Church temple outside the United States. It is one of eight temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of six without spires, similar to Solomon's Temple. It is also one of only two LDS Church temples built in the shape of a cross, the other being the Laie Hawaii Temple.

History

The temple was announced on June 27, 1913, and was built on Temple Hill, an eight-acre plot given to the church by Charles Ora Card. The site expanded to more than in the mid-1950s. The granite used in building the temple was hand-hewn from quarries in Nelson, British Columbia.
Originally dedicated on August 26, 1923, by LDS Church president Heber J. Grant, an addition was rededicated on July 2, 1962 by Hugh B. Brown. The first temple president was Edward J. Wood, who served from 1923 to 1948. The temple was renovated in the 1990s, and Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated it on June 22, 1991.
The temple has four ordinance rooms, five sealing rooms, and a floor area of.
In 1992, the temple was declared a National Historic Site, and a plaque was dedicated in 1995.
In 2020, the Cardston Alberta Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Presidents

Notable presidents of the temple include Edward J. Wood ; Merlin R. Lybbert ; Joseph E. Jack ; and Heber B. Kapp. As of 2018, the current president is D. Wesley Balderson.