In his address at the Monticello Utah Temple groundbreaking, Elder Ben B. Banks of the Seventy traced the history of the Church in the temple district. Here are some highlights:
In 1855, pioneers of the Church's Elk Mountain Mission settled the Moab area, but the mission failed, and they returned to their homes in western Utah.- In November 1879, the San Juan Mission, comprising 225 Church members with 83 wagons, left central and southern Utah to settle what is now Bluff. They planned no more than a six-week journey, but the arduous trek took a full six months in one of the most severe winters that ever hit the area. Their crossing of the Colorado River Gorge through a narrow slit in Glen Canyon became known as the "Hole in the Rock" expedition.
In August 1880, Church leaders came to Bluff by way of Moab and told the people, "The Church has a definite object and purpose in settling a colony in this wild region." Apostle Erastus Snow suggested that the people living in Grand Valley, known today as Moab, find a townsite and build a fort to live in.
The San Juan Stake of Zion was organized Sept. 23, 1883, with Platte D. Lyman as president.
In 1912, the San Juan Stake was divided into the Platte and Young stakes. Soon afterward, by unanimous consent, the name of Platte Stake was changed back to the original name of San Juan Stake.
In September 1971, the Moab Stake was organized to include Green River, taken from the Carbon Stake, and LaSalle and Paradox branches from the San Juan Stake.
In accordance with a change in Church policy in 1974, the names of the stakes were changed. The San Juan Stake became the Monticello Utah Stake, and the Moab Stake became the Moab Utah Stake.
In 1978, the Blanding Utah Stake was formed, the Castle Valley Branch was formed and placed in the Moab Utah Stake, and the LaSalle and Paradox branches were returned to the Monticello Utah Stake. The White Mesa Branch was organized and placed in the Blanding stake.
