Straddling the U.S.-Canadian border, the Toronto Ontario Temple District covers an area rich in Church history.

The district includes 24 stakes and three mission districts stretching from Ontario to the Maritime provinces in Canada and from Michigan to Vermont in the United States.On the United States side, it is an area that includes places that will forever be etched into Church history - such places as the Hill Cumorah, the Sacred Grove, Palmyra and Kirtland.

The temple district includes not only the birthplace in Vermont of 14 key figures of the early Church, including the Prophet Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, but also includes the birthplace of the Church itself in Fayette, N.Y.

And if Fayette is considered the birthplace of the restored gospel, then Palmyra is its cradle, and Kirtland its schoolmaster. Nearly half of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were received in the Kirtland area.

On the Canadian side, the district is an area where the Church's first missionary effort took place outside the United States.

Everett S. Pallin, who gathered histories and artifacts that were placed in the temple's cornerstone box, spoke of the close proximity of the new temple to the sites where so many significant events transpired in Church history. Speaking at a dinner of Church leaders and their wives Aug. 25, he said:

"From the location of the statue of Moroni on the temple, I assume we could see Cumorah - the birthplace of the restoration. We literally bask in its radiance, it is that close! And Moroni looks east toward home, Cumorah."

Missionary work in Canada dates back to June 1832, when six missionaries began preaching in Earnestown, 12 miles east of Kingston, Ontario. From that tiny seed that was planted only two years after the gospel was restored came many converts who added great strength to the early Church, including John Taylor, who later became president of the Church.

In 1833, the Prophet Joseph Smith made the first of two trips to eastern Canada; the second visit was in 1837. These were the only visits he made outside the United States.

Six members of the Council of the Twelve came to Canada at one time in 1835, preaching, baptizing and advising the saints to gather and collect means for the purchase of lands in Missouri and for the completion of the Kirtland Temple.

An early missionary, John E. Page, was called to serve in Canada in 1836, but objected because he didn't even "have a coat to wear." The Prophet Joseph took off his coat and gave it to him, telling him to go, and "the Lord will bless you abundantly."

During the two years that Elder Page served in Canada, he baptized about 600 persons, and traveled more than 5,000 miles, mostly on foot.

Elder Parley P. Pratt also came to Canada in 1836. In April of that year, he arrived in Toronto, then a city of about 9,000, where he met John and Leonora Taylor through a letter of introduction. When he failed in attempts to rent halls and preach the gospel, Elder Pratt prepared to return to Kirtland.

In relating a story of that period, Brother Pallin told of Isabel Walton's role in helping Elder Pratt:

"She felt impressed on a busy wash day to leave her home and walk down Newgate Street, now Adelaide Street, to visit her sister. When she was passing [John] Taylor's wood-turning shop, the Spirit said, `Go in there.' She thought, `No, I will later.' But the Spirit persisted. She was obedient and responded and met Parley P. Pratt and knew immediately why she had been so directed.

"I am touched at how often the Lord will use sisters to accomplish His purpose when doors are closed. The spiritual receptivity of sisters is a valuable tool in the progress of the work. Isabel opened her large home to Brother Parley and crowds were taught. She was the first baptism in Toronto Bay."

John Taylor was among those Elder Pratt taught the gospel, and he was baptized by Elder Pratt on May 9, 1836, in Black Creek, in what is now North York in suburban Toronto.

John Taylor's wood-turning shop was located where the new 68-story Scotia Tower now stands in downtown Toronto, and Toronto has grown to become Canada's largest city with a metropolitan population of about 3 million.

The message of the restored gospel spread from Toronto to the country and other towns. Joseph Fielding and his two sisters, Mary and Rachel, were among early converts. Mary Fielding later became the wife of Hyrum Smith and mother of Joseph F. Smith and grandmother of Joseph Fielding Smith, the sixth and 10th presidents of the Church.

Joseph Fielding was instrumental in the Church's success when the gospel was taken to Great Britain in 1837.

"Many wagon trains," said Brother Pallin, "went westward from the Toronto area. One group including 200 covered wagons left in May 1837. Another group left in August. A marker near Toronto at Mount Pleasant, Ontario, commemorates the saints for cutting a road for their wagons through a hardwood forest, naming it Nauvoo Road. The road is still in use."

Reflecting on the area that is included in the Toronto temple district, Brother Pallin said, "From Timmins, Ontario, to Kirtland, Ohio; from Detroit, Mich., to the Maritimes - is there a land more beautiful than this temple area? The diamond-studded lakes of Ontario, the picturesque hills of Quebec, the rugged sculptured Maritimes, the lush green forests of Vermont, each province and state has its own special beauty. This is indeed a special place for each of us who resides here. . . .

"To us today the real beauty of the area is the eternal significance the pioneers had in their love and dedication for the Savior. We are indeed rich in history. This ruggedly beautiful area has been the birthplace of a special breed of pioneer; men and women who were prepared to change a lifetime of teaching when touched by the Holy Ghost."

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(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

Milestones of Church in Toronto area

1832, June - Six elders began teaching in Canada, the first missionary efforts outside the United States, and organized the first branch in British America.

1833, Oct. 5 - The Prophet Joseph Smith left Kirtland, Ohio, for Upper Canada (Ontario), where he preached in Mount Pleasant, Brantford, Colburn and Waterford. The prophet made a second trip to Canada in 1837, traveling to Toronto. Canada was the only country outside the United States visited by the Prophet.

1836, May 9 - John Taylor, who later became third president of the Church, was baptized by Parley P. Pratt in Black Creek near Toronto.

1919, July 1 - The Canadian Mission was organized in Toronto with Nephi Jenson as president.

1939 - President Heber J. Grant dedicated the Ossington chapel, the first meeting house built by the Church in eastern Canada.

1960, Aug. 14 - The 300th stake of the Church, the Toronto Stake, was organized by Elder Mark E. Petersen from units of the Canadian Mission, then presided over by mission Pres. Thomas S. Monson.

1979, Aug. 25-26 - An Area Conference, attended by 8,200, was held in Toronto under the direction of President Spencer W. Kimball.

1984, April 7 - The First Presidency announced that a temple would be built in the Toronto area.

1986, June 22 - The 1,600th stake of the Church, the Kitchener Ontario Stake, was organized by President Thomas S. Monson and Elder M. Russell Ballard. President Monson announced the Toronto temple would be built in nearby Brampton.

1987, Oct. 10 - President Thomas S. Monson and Elder M. Russell Ballard broke ground for the Toronto temple.

1990, Aug. 25-27 - The Toronto Ontario Temple was dedicated in 11 sessions, which were presided over by President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Thomas S. Monson and attended by more than 17,000 members. Previous to its dedication, the temple was open to the public during a 16-day open house. A total of 61,285 visited the temple.