A new temple will soon replace Alaska’s first and only operating Latter-day Saint temple: the Anchorage Alaska Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The new temple is being built adjacent to the existing Anchorage temple, at nearly three times its current size, and will be dedicated next year on Sunday, June 13.
The existing Anchorage temple, which has remained open during the new temple’s construction, will be decommissioned March 22, 2027, according to a church press release published Monday.
The purpose of Latter-day Saint temples worldwide is “to bless the covenant children of God with temple worship and with the sacred responsibilities and powers and unique blessings of being bound to Christ,” church President Dallin H. Oaks taught in a recent general conference.
Plans to rebuild and slightly relocate the Anchorage Alaska Temple were first announced in January 2023. Construction of the new Anchorage temple began in early 2024 on the site of where a church meetinghouse originally stood.
The new Anchorage temple will take the old meetinghouse’s address at 13111 Brayton Drive in Anchorage, Alaska.
It will be a structure of approximately 30,000 square feet — nearly triple the size of the current Anchorage temple’s 11,930-square-feet structure.
Preceding the new Anchorage temple’s dedication in June 2027, guests of all faiths and ages will be welcome to tour the new structure during a free public open house period that will run every Monday through Saturday from May 13 to May 29, 2027.
Tours for the media will also be held May 10, 2027, followed by private tours for invited guests on May 11–12.
The Anchorage Alaska Temple was first announced in October 1997 by then-church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
According to a Church News report, the Anchorage temple was one of the first three temples built in a smaller size than typical temples.
President Hinckley dedicated the original Anchorage temple in 1999 and later rededicated the temple in 2004, following a brief closure for renovation and expansion.
The Anchorage temple was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Alaska and continues to be the only operating house of the Lord in the state. A second temple in Alaska — the Fairbanks Alaska Temple — was announced in October 2023 and is currently under construction.
Learn more about the Anchorage Alaska Temple and others worldwide on the Church News’ temple almanac.