Although the Far West Temple Site does not house a temple, it exhibits the original four cornerstones, showing the place where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once planned to build a temple. The Far West Temple Site includes a small fenced area with monuments about events that occurred there. Farmland surrounds the site.
In August 1836, Latter-day Saints began to establish
a stake of Zion at Far West
. By 1838, Far West was home to 4,900 Saints. They were
forced to abandon the place
about two years later. After they left, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a few others returned and dedicated a temple site there, in obedience to a commandment from the Lord (see
Doctrine and Covenants 115:11
;
118:5
).