Cardston Alberta Temple

President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) dedicated the site for the temple at Cardston, Alberta, Canada, on July 27, 1913. It was the old tabernacle square, originally given to the Church by Charles Ora Card, who founded the settlement in 1887, when the immigrant Saints first arrived. Then Elder David O. McKay (1873–1970) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles laid the cornerstone on September 19, 1915. President Heber J. Grant (1856–1945) dedicated the building on August 26, 1923.

The temple is built of off-white granite from quarries near Nelson, British Columbia. A veritable fortress of God in spiritual strength as well as physical appearance, the Cardston Alberta Temple has a commanding view of the Canadian prairie in all directions from Cardston.

As an Apostle, Elder David O. McKay laid the cornerstone of the Cardston Alberta Temple in 1915.

One of the temple’s striking features is a 33-foot-wide (10-m) sculpted panel on the east side. The sculpture depicts the Savior offering living water to the Samaritan woman at the well.

Left: photograph of Cardston Alberta Temple by Anita Satterfield; photograph of trowel by Jed Clark; photograph of President David O. McKay by Boyart Studio; photograph of temple panel by Eldon K. Linschoten