1999 Dedication of the Anchorage Alaska Temple
Shortly after the Anchorage Alaska Temple site was announced, before ground had even been broken, a local Church member spent the day removing paper and trash that had blown into the future temple grounds. Her reason? “She couldn’t bear the thought that the place that was going to become a sacred temple would be littered,” according to a local stake president.
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Anchorage 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.
This was the second house of the Lord to be finished after President Hinckley announced the program to build smaller temples in October 1997.
During the open house held two weeks before the dedication services, some of the nearly 15,000 visitors who toured the temple described the temple as a “jewel box.” A local bishop whose ward boundaries included the temple reported that requests for temple recommends had doubled.
President Hinckley and a small group of other Church leaders entered a small heated structure temporarily built to provide shelter from the 18-degree weather. Inside, they placed mortar on the capstone, ceremonially completing the temple construction. A 21-person choir made up of members of the Anchorage Alaska Stake sang in the small structure, filling the air with music before President Hinckley returned inside the temple.
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.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May this great work of temple building go forward across the earth to bless Thy people wherever they may be found. May all who come with hope and high expectation leave with satisfaction and gratitude, having tasted of the sweet things of Thy divine work.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Anchorage Alaska Temple here.
2004 Rededication of the Anchorage Alaska Temple
To accommodate an increase in temple work, the Anchorage temple was closed in April 2003 for renovation and expansion.
On Feb. 8, 2004, President Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated this house of the Lord. More than 5,700 people attended the in-person ceremony, which was also broadcast to a meetinghouse in the Yukon Territory. Many of the attendees waited for hours to attend the rededication, well before the sun began to rise around 9 a.m. in the Alaskan winter morning.
The additions to the new structure included changing rooms, office space, a laundry area, a patron waiting room and a separate instruction room with a capacity of 50 people. The expansion enlarged the temple from 6,800 to 11,937 square feet. During an open house for the temple held several weeks before the rededication, nearly 10,000 people came to view the newly remodeled temple.
Even though temperatures dipped below zero degrees, hundreds of local members volunteered to help organize and implement the temple open house for interested attendees. Members reported several major and minor miracles helping the open house be successful. In one remarkable instance, two Russian-speaking visitors were interested in attending the open house. Their randomly chosen tour guide happened to be the only guide who also spoke Russian.
Just as during the previous dedication, Church leaders reported that increasing numbers of people had been requesting temple recommend interviews, including five first-time interviews in the week leading up to the rededication. Anchorage Alaska Stake President Mel Nichols said, “I have felt a spiritual reawakening in myself and in the stake.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Touch those of this temple district with Thy Holy Spirit, and stir within them a desire to use this beautiful facility in the accomplishment of Thy divine will. May they find great joy in coming here. May it be a haven of peace from the cares and stress of the world, a refuge from the hurried pace of their lives.”
Read the rededication prayer of the Anchorage Alaska Temple here.
Relocation of the Anchorage Alaska Temple
On Monday, Jan. 3, 2024, The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that the Anchorage Alaska Temple would be rebuilt where the nearby stake center stood. The meetinghouse would be demolished to make space for the new temple. Following the dedication of the new house of the Lord in 2026, the older temple would be decommissioned and a new meetinghouse built in its place. During the construction, the current temple will remain open for ordinance work.
The new temple will have an area of approximately 30,000 square feet — roughly 150% bigger than the current temple and well over 400% bigger than the original 6,800 square footage. The reconstructed temple will take 13111 Brayton Drive as its new address, while the new meetinghouse will take 13161 Brayton Drive, effectively swapping the addresses of both buildings.
Timeline of the Anchorage Alaska Temple
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.