Latter-day Saints in the two stakes of Cardston have been remembering their pioneer legacy this year as they celebrate the centennial of the Alberta Stake, formed June 9, 1895, in an area they call "a nursery for the cultivation of faith."
A joint centennial committee from the Cardston Alberta, and Cardston Alberta West stakes has promoted celebration of the centennial. The two stakes encompass the area originally covered by the Alberta Stake.Committee members Thomas M. Matkin and K. J. Taylor, with the assistance of V.A. Wood, prepared a 24-page history, Our Legacy of Faith and Sacrifice, the Founding of the Alberta Stake.
"In its 100-year history, the Alberta Stake has produced generations of faithful Latter-day Saints whose influence has been felt for good in virtually every corner of the earth," the committee wrote in a foreword to the history.
"The stake has excelled in almost every relevant statistical category. A magnificent temple has been raised up to nourish, bless and empower stake members and leaders. The hand of the Lord has been everywhere evident in the development of our communities and the formation of our sacred institutions. In fulfillment of prophecy and under the constant direction of Heaven, Cardston's pioneers took a virtual wilderness and turned it into a nursery for the cultivation of faith."
In a telephone interview, Brother Matkin, a high councilor in the Cardston Stake, said the area was enriched by the faith and dedication of the original settlers from the Cache Stake in Logan, Utah, who migrated to Canada, called by Church President John Taylor and organized by stake Pres. Charles Ora Card. Of 40 families who agreed to go, many had changed their minds by the spring of 1887, and only a few actually made the move. Many of those who did had proven their faithfulness by establishing homes many times and then leaving them to migrate with the Saints.
The Card party entered Canada June 1, 1887. Today, a cairn marks the spot southeast of Cardston where they entered the country.
An incident recounted by some members of the party illustrates the power of faith in bringing miracles. Because of heavy rains, they were obliged to camp by the St. Mary's River on June 2, 1887. Two Northwest Mounted Police in bright scarlet coats rode into camp, talked for some time to Pres. Card, then rode away.
Pres. Card was told the river was so high it was impossible to cross, a condition likely to prevail for weeks. The members knelt in prayer as Pres. Card petitioned God to subdue the elements and make it possible for them to reach their destination. Using available boxes and wood the men worked through the night to make a raft.
The next morning, the same Mounties rode into the camp and said a miracle had happened: the waters had gone down 4 or 5 feet during the night and and if the settlers hurried, they could cross the river before the snow melted. This they did, without using the raft. As soon as they were safe on the other side, the river started to rise, and it was weeks before anyone could cross.
The party traveled on to Lee's Creek, where they established their settlement in early June 1887.
"Charles Ora Card was to these pioneers what Brigham Young was to the early pioneer settlers in Utah," the centennial history reads. "He was their spiritual and temporal leader. He was a gifted organizer, governor and facilitator. . . . The Lord used his vision and boundless determinaton to establish a permanent, stable Mormon community."
The Cardston pioneers operated many small cooperatives, including a store, sawmill, small coal mine, cheese factory, grist mill and irrigation project. A schoolhouse was built in 1888 and a ward was organized at a conference Oct. 6-7 of that year.
By 1895, just eight years after the establishment of the settlement, the Alberta Stake was organized on June 9 by Apostle John W. Taylor. The stake was divided Aug. 30, 1903. At the time it took in most of the territory in Canada west of Ontario. By 1912, there were about 7,000 Church members in three stakes in Southern Alberta. President Joseph F. Smith announced at October general conference that a temple would be built in Alberta. Construction commenced in 1913, and the temple was dedicated in 1923.
During the past year, several events were held to commemorate the centennial. Typical was the annual ward campout of the Cardston 6th Ward Aug. 25-26.
The focus of the event, said ward member Barb Browne, was "the end of a day in the life of our pioneers." The evening program began with the singing of "Come, Come Ye Saints" heralding the arrival of a mule-drawn covered wagon owned and driven by Ron Wilde. Accompanying the wagon were families in the ward portraying pioneers as they made their evening camp.
"Most wards in the area, had similar events, and many families did special things to celebrate the centennial," said Brother Matkin, now a high councilor in the Cardston Alberta Stake.
Events included:
Both stakes sponsored four-day, pioneer handcart treks for the youth.
The stake Relief Society presidencies combined to publish in book form the story of faith of early pioneer women of Cardston and vicinity.
The Cardston Stake Primary presidency conducted pioneer-theme activity days in each of the wards and presented the boys with "prairie diamond" horseshoe nail rings and the girls with rag dolls. Each child received a small piece of stained glass to remind them of the stained-glass window placed in the stake center by the Primary presidency to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stake.
All adults in the two stakes were invited to a grand reprise of the old Gold and Green Ball in March of this year. The highlight of the night was a floor show by the youth, featuring a multitude of musical themes and costumes.
In April, Presidents Myron Arthur Peterson of the Cardston stake and Robert Cameron Leavitt of the Cardston West stake held special firesides for all adult members.
