Edward James Wood was a prominent leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and was the founder of Glenwood, Alberta

Glenwood, Alberta

Glenwood is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of the town of Cardston, in Cardston County.Glenwood is located in the Cardston County. The village was named for a man named Glen Edward Wood. The founder of the village was Edward J. Wood, successor to Mormon leader Charles...

 and Hill Spring, Alberta

Hill Spring, Alberta

Hill Spring is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located 32 km west of Cardston and 43 km south-east of Pincher Creek, in the Canadian Rockies foothills. It has often been misspelled Hillspring, including the Canada 2006 Census....

.

Wood was born to Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 parents in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory

Utah Territory

The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....

. At age 21, he was sent to Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

 as a missionary

Mormon missionary

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

 for the LDS Church, where he served from 1888 to 1892. Upon returning to Utah in 1892, Wood married Mary Ann Solomon. In 1896, Wood was again sent to Samoa, this time to be the president

Mission president

Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...

 of the Samoan Mission

Mission (LDS Church)

A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...

 of the church.

After Wood returned to Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 in 1898, Charles O. Card invited him to move to Canada in order to take over management of the management of Card's mercantile store in the Latter-day Saint settlement of Cardston

Cardston, Alberta

-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...

, in the Canadian North West Territories. Wood accepted and moved to Cardston with his family in September 1901.

In 1903, Wood became the president of the Alberta Stake of the LDS Church, which was headquartered in Cardston. In 1906, Wood organized the church's purchase of the 66500 acres (269.1 km²) Cochran Ranch for $6 an acre. On this land, Wood founded the Latter-day Saint settlements of Glenwood (1908) and Hill Spring (1910).

In 1923, Wood became the first president

Temple President

Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual capacity....

 of the LDS Church's Cardston Alberta Temple

Cardston Alberta Temple

The Cardston Alberta Temple is the eighth constructed and sixth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. It is one of eight temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of...

. He simultaneously served as temple president and stake president until 1942, when he was released from his duties as stake president. In 1948, Wood asked to be released as temple president due to ill health. Shortly thereafter, he was ordained the patriarch of the Alberta Stake, a position he held until his death at age 89. At his death, the president of the LDS Church, David O. McKay

David O. McKay

David Oman McKay was the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , serving from 1951 until his death. Ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, McKay was a general authority for nearly 64 years, longer than anyone else in LDS Church...

, said to apostle Hugh B. Brown

Hugh B. Brown

Hugh Brown Brown was an attorney, educator and author and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

, “We have never had a greater President of a Stake than Edward J. Wood.”

Wood was the father of eight children. In 1958, a school named in his honour was built in Cardston; it was demolished in 2004.