Although the Far West Temple Site does not house a temple, it exhibits the original four cornerstones, showing the place where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once planned to build a temple. The Far West Temple Site includes a small fenced area with monuments about events that occurred there. Farmland surrounds the site.
In August 1836, Latter-day Saints began to establish
a stake of Zion at Far West. By 1838, Far West was home to 4,900 Saints. They were
forced to abandon the place about two years later. After they left, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a few others returned and dedicated a temple site there, in obedience to a commandment from the Lord (see
Doctrine and Covenants 115:11;
118:5).