John M. Macfarlane — Remarkable Providence in the St. George Temple Survey

In the early 1870s, John Macfarlane served as the primary surveyor for the St. George Temple site. The location chosen by Brigham Young was a difficult, swampy area with high groundwater and unstable soil that many believed could not support a massive stone structure. Macfarlane faced the daunting task of surveying and ensuring the stability of a foundation in a 'boggy, alkaline marsh.' Through what the pioneers described as remarkable providence and persistent prayer, the workers were guided to use a makeshift pile driver—an old Mexican War cannon filled with lead—to beat volcanic rock into the marshy ground to create a stable base. Macfarlane's precise surveying and the eventual success of the foundation, which has supported the temple for over a century despite the initial environmental hazards, was viewed by the St. George Saints as a miracle of divine intervention over the elements.