Over the past two general conferences, three new temples have been announced for the United States’ two noncontiguous states: two additional houses of the Lord in Hawaii and one in Alaska.
At the same time, reconstruction is underway for temples in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and Anchorage, Alaska.
The first temple in either of the two states was the Laie Hawaii Temple, initially completed in 1919; its most recent renovation was followed by being rededicated in 2010. The Laie temple is the Chuch’s longest-operating house of the Lord outside of Utah.
The Church has had a presence in Hawaii since missionary efforts began there in the 1850s. A Hawaiian-language translation of the Book of Mormon was published in 1855 and was the seventh Book of Mormon language, after English, Danish, German, French, Italian and Welsh.
The Kona Hawaii Temple, dedicated in 2000, closed in October 2023 for renovations and for expansion from 9,500 square feet to approximately 12,000. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2025.
The first branch of the Church in Alaska was organized in 1938 in Fairbanks.
The Anchorage Alaska Temple, dedicated in 1999 and rededicated in 2004 after expansion, remains in operation while a larger temple is constructed next door. With that building’s completion, anticipated in summer 2026, the current temple will be decommissioned and a meetinghouse constructed on the site. The Anchorage temple was initially 6,800 square feet and expanded to almost 12,000 square feet in 2004. The under-construction building will be about 30,000 square feet.
Plans to build temples in Kahului and Fairbanks were announced by President Russell M. Nelson during October 2023 general conference, among 20 locations newly announced.
The Honolulu temple is one of 15 announced during April 2024 general conference.
Following is information about the areas of the three recently announced temples. None of the three has a specific site made public.
Fairbanks Alaska Temple
• The city: Fairbanks has about 32,000 residents and is Alaska’s 2nd most-populous city. The Fairbanks North Star Borough’s population is about 96,000. The northern half of Alaska has about 137,000 residents, just less than one-fifth of the state’s population.
• The Church in the area: 2 stakes. The 1st was created in 1979.
• Current temple district: Anchorage Alaska Temple, which is about 360 miles south of Fairbanks. The current Anchorage temple district comprises 9 Alaska stakes.
Kahului Hawaii Temple
• The city: Kahului is the main city on Maui and the 2nd most-populous Hawaiian city on an island other than Oahu. The city’s population is about 27,000, and the island’s is about 150,000.
• The Church in the area: 2 stakes with headquarters in Kahului. The 1st was organized in 1975.
• Current temple district: The Kona Hawaii Temple district comprises 2 stakes on Maui and 2 stakes on the island of Hawaii. Kona is about 80 miles by air from Kahului.
Honolulu Hawaii Temple
• The city: Honolulu is the capital city of and most-populous city in Hawaii. Its population was 405,295 in the most recent U.S. census. Honolulu is on the island of Oahu, where about 70% of the state’s population lives.
• The Church in the area: 2 stakes in Honolulu and 6 total on southern Oahu. The 1st of the stakes was created in 1955.
• Current temple district: Honolulu is now in the temple district of the Laie Hawaii Temple, about an hour drive to the north. The Laie temple district comprises 12 Hawaii stakes — 11 on Oahu and 1 on Kauai — and 2 in the Marshall Islands.
