1Rise and Progress of the Church in Canada
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Rise and Progress of the Church in Canada 1 ROY A. PRETE This book gives a panoramic view of the rise and progress of of distant and scattered members, and spread-out wards and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canada. branches within larger administrative units. It is a fascinating story. Stretching for nearly two centuries The permanent establishment of the Church (whose since the organization of the Church in Fayette, New York, in members are often referred to as Mormons because of their 1830, it is a story of remarkable growth and development in belief in the Book of Mormon) across the entire coun- the face of numerous obstacles and challenges. It has all the try is a story of remarkable accomplishment, whatever elements of a great saga, including that of early faithful mis- the viewpoint, whether that of faithful believer or inde- sionaries preaching in eastern Canada without “purse or pendent observer. With only a few scattered families in scrip” in the 1830s and 1840s and the exodus of early Cana- Canada before the Cardston, Alberta, settlement in 1887, dian converts who joined with the main body of the Church the Latter-day Saint community had grown by the end of in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, then trekked across the Great 2015 to become a significant religious community span- Plains to Utah in the Rocky Mountains. It tells of Mormon ning the entire country. The growth of the Church and pioneers from Utah arriving in southern Alberta after 1887, its spread across Canada in the last half century has been having made a second grand trek—this time north rather particularly remarkable. Total membership in 1966 was than west—to escape their persecutors. It is the story of an 50,015, with approximately 52 percent living in Alberta, the ongoing missionary effort from the late nineteenth century, Church’s original base. By the end of 2015, membership had throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first cen- grown to nearly 194,000, with members spread across the tury, with a vast number of missionaries, and the sustained entire country and just 42 percent located in Alberta.1 In effort of thousands of lay leaders and members, labouring that period, stakes have multiplied from nine to forty-eight, tirelessly to build up the Church. It involves coping with and temples have increased from one temple in Cardston, immense challenges of distance and often inclement and Alberta, to eight stretching from coast-to-coast, with one very cold winter weather, in travelling to attend to the needs more announced for Winnipeg, Manitoba.2 ◀ Roy A. Prete is an emeritus professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He obtained his MA from Brigham Young University and his PhD from the University of Alberta. He has published several articles on World War I and a book, Strategy and Command: The Anglo-French Coalition on the West- ern Front, 1914, with volumes forthcoming for 1915 and 1916. He is the editor or coeditor of eight books, including Window of Faith: Latter-day Saint Perspectives on World History and The Mormons: An Illustrated History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a mission in France and has served as bishop, high councilor, counselor in a district and a mission presidency, and, with his wife, as a senior missionary from 2013 to 2016 in the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is married to Carma J. Taylor, and they are the parents of six and grandparents of twenty-four. (Kimberly Reid) CANADIAN MORMONS 1 2 CANADIAN MORMONS The growing maturity of the Church in lifestyle and family values. They have made ▶ In 1820, confused by the Canada is reflected in each province and a considerable contribution in a multitude contradictory claims of com- region, which has followed a similar pattern of fields both within and outside Canada. peting religions, Joseph Smith, of growth, from very small beginnings to This introductory chapter will dis- as a boy of fourteen, went into the establishment of a temple, giving the cuss the origins and dynamics of the new a secluded grove to ask God full benefits of Church membership. This religion, outline the history of Canadian which church was right. In has been an arduous journey involving Mormon development within its historic response to his fervent prayer, much dedication, perseverance, courage, context, and indicate the main themes and God the Father and Jesus mutual support, and service. The thesis of patterns. It will explore the mission and Christ appeared to him, as this book, the collaborative work of sev- purpose of Canada in the divine plan from depicted in this painting by eral scholars, is that the main ingredient in a Latter-day Saint perspective. It will discuss Gary L. Kapp, and instructed that accomplishment was faith—the faith the challenges of relating the vast panorama him that he should not join of leaders, members, and missionaries— of Canadian LDS history in a reader-friendly any of the churches. (Gary which runs like a thread through the story. manner to diverse audiences and to explore Kapp, Intellectual Reserve, The Church of Jesus Christ of the rationale behind the book’s design, Inc. [hereafter IRI]) Latter-day Saints is a dynamic religious which has combined a well-researched movement based on the belief that God had text with a highly illustrated presentation. restored his gospel through a modern-day Finally, this brief chapter—acting as bridge prophet, Joseph Smith. A vital mission of between past and present—will assess the the new Church that he established was to literature in the field, discuss the method share the message of the restored gospel and approach used in the book’s preparation, with all the world. From the early days of which has resulted in a collaborative work, the Church, Eastern Canada has been a with experts drawn from many fields, and ready field for missionary work, because of define the book’s intended mission in the its close proximity with upstate New York, preservation and enhancement of the faith where the Church was organized. Through- heritage of the Latter-day Saints in Canada. out succeeding stages of its development, the Church in Canada has been closely THE RESTORATION OF THE ▶ Latter-day Saints accept linked with the Church in the United States. GOSPEL AND THE MISSION OF the Holy Bible as the word of The regional nature of Canada, as an exten- THE RESTORED CHURCH God, but they also have addi- sion northward of similar regions in the US, To fully understand Mormonism as a tional scripture: the Book of has further enhanced this tendency and dynamic movement, one needs to under- Mormon, Another Testament often resulted in a north–south regional stand not only its origins but also the set of of Jesus Christ, in which gospel administration. beliefs that inspired the remarkable efforts principles are taught in great At the same time, the Church in of its adherents to spread the message and plainness; and two additional Canada, while conforming to Church pol- to gather together Church members for the books, the Doctrine and Cov- icies and programs, has adjusted to the establishment of new Zion communities. enants and the Pearl of Great Canadian environment. As the country The movement spread first into Canada, Price, which are largely revela- developed, the Church adapted its cultural then to Great Britain and western Europe, tions given to Joseph Smith for traditions and created new ones within the and eventually encompassed the entire the guidance and instruction Canadian context. In large measure, Mor- world in its field of action. of the Church. (IRI) mons have come to mirror, though with some variations, the diverse ethnic and cul- Origins and Beliefs tural mosaic of Canada—with First Nations The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day people, a substantial French community in Saints owes its origin to a young boy’s Quebec, and a significant share of visible prayer. In 1820, Joseph Smith Jr. was a minorities from a wide range of cultures, fourteen-year-old farm boy from Manches- particularly in the big cities. Mormons are ter, near Palmyra, New York. He was the an ethnoreligious group with a distinctive fourth child in a family of nine children RISE AND PROGREss OF THE CHURCH IN CANADA 3 as follows: “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—‘This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! ’ ” (JS—H 1:16–17). Regaining his composure, he asked which of the many churches he should join. He was told he should join none of them, that the true church was not upon the earth at that time, but that if he were faithful, the fullness of the gospel would be made known unto him at a later date (JS—H 1:18–20).4 Left alone amidst intense persecution resulting from the telling of the story of his remarkable vision to local preachers, Joseph sought the Lord’s further direction in prayer. On the night of 23 September 1823, an angelic vis- itant who introduced himself as Moroni, a former inhabi- tant of the Americas, appeared at Smith’s bedside.