Anchorage Alaska Temple

Dedication of the Anchorage Alaska Temple

President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Anchorage Alaska Temple in seven sessions, from Jan. 9 to Jan. 10, 1999. The event brought 6,971 people, some traveling from as far as the Yukon Territory in Canada, to attend the dedication services, which began at 8 a.m. with the cornerstone ceremony.

During the dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley said, “We pray that this temple may stand against the storms of nature through the years to come.” He blessed the temple to be free from vandalism and recognized by those who aren’t members of the Church as an expression of love for God.

Read the whole dedicatory prayer of the Anchorage Alaska Temple here.

2004 Rededication of the Anchorage Alaska Temple

On Feb. 8, 2004, President Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated the Anchorage temple, which had been closed in April 2003 for renovation and expansion. More than 5,700 people attended the in-person ceremony, which was also broadcast to a meetinghouse in the Yukon Territory.

The additions to the new structure included changing rooms, office space, a laundry area, a patron waiting room and a separate ordinance room with a capacity of 50 people. The expansion enlarged the temple from 6,800 to 11,937 square feet.

During the rededication prayer, President Hinckley said, “it has become necessary to renovate and add to this sacred structure” to accommodate an increase in temple work.

Read the 2004 rededication prayer of the Anchorage Alaska Temple here.

During October 1997 general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that a temple would be built in Anchorage, Alaska. Six months later, on April 17, 1998, Elder F. Melvin Hammond of the Seventy — president of the North America Northwest Area presidency — presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the house of the Lord.

From Jan. 9 to Jan. 10, 1999, President Hinckley dedicated the Anchorage Alaska Temple in seven sessions. The temple was closed from April 2003 to February 2004 for expansion purposes. On Feb. 8, 2004, the newly renovated temple was rededicated by President Hinckley.

On Jan. 23, 2023, the First Presidency announced that the Anchorage temple would undergo reconstruction and enlargement. Additionally, the temple will be relocated within the same property to where a stake meetinghouse currently stands.

Architecture and Design of the Anchorage Alaska Temple

When the temple was first constructed, it covered 6,800 square feet. Upon reconstruction, it was enlarged to 11,937 square feet. The temple currently sits on a 5.54-acre site, alongside a meetinghouse.

The exterior finish is made from stone-clad Sierra white granite. The temple also has a spire with an angel Moroni statue mounted on top of it.

On the interior, the temple contains a celestial room, a baptistry, one ordinance room and one sealing room. The celestial room has a 700-pound chandelier integrated with thousands of Hungarian crystals and 140 lights, which give off a gold-colored ray of light through the windows.

The temple will undergo extensive construction starting in early 2024 that will increase the temple’s square footage to about 30,000 square feet. In addition, the temple will be relocated to where the Anchorage Alaska Stake meetinghouse currently sits; a new chapel will be built from the current temple structure.