News for Temples in the Philippines and Alaska

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the date of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple. The site and rendering for the Fairbanks Alaska Temple have also been released.

Tacloban City Philippines Temple

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple will be held on Saturday, January 18, 2025. Elder Michael B. Strong, Second Counselor in the Philippines Area Presidency, will preside at the event.

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This house of the Lord will be built on a 6.99-acre site located at Tacloban Bypass Road Brgy. Utap-Caibaan, Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. Plans call for a two-story temple of approximately 21,407 square feet.

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced this temple during the October 2021 general conference.

“The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ,” he said during the conference.

There are nearly 870,000 Latter-day Saints in almost 1,300 congregations in the Philippines. Since missionary work in the country began in 1961, Church growth has been among the fastest in the world.

The Tacloban area, located on the northeastern tip of Leyte Island, was struck by deadly Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, causing loss of life and homes. Hundreds of Filipino Latter-day Saints joined the broader Church humanitarian efforts to provide relief and rebuild homes.

The Tacloban City Philippines Temple will be the 13th in the country. The other 12 temples that are announced, under construction or in operation in the country are in Alabang, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Davao, Iloilo, Laoag, Manila, Naga, Santiago, Tuguegarao City and Urdaneta.

Fairbanks Alaska Temple

The site of the Fairbanks Alaska Temple has been released, as well as a rendering of the temple exterior.

This temple will be built on a 7.59-acre site located along Geist Road, Fairbanks, Alaska. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 10,000 square feet, a meetinghouse and an accompanying ancillary building. This will be the city’s first temple.

Downloadable B-roll of temple site

The Fairbanks Alaska Temple was announced by President Nelson during the October 2023 general conference.

“The ordinances and covenants of the temple are of eternal significance. We continue to build more temples to make these sacred possibilities become a reality in each of your lives,” he said.

The temple in Fairbanks will be the second house of the Lord in the state of Alaska, joining the temple in Anchorage, which was rededicated by then-Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in February 2004.

The first members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in Alaska with the gold rush in 1898. One of them, 79-year-old convert Dr. Edward G. Cannon, helped to establish the Church there by maintaining a portable “tabernacle” that was transported from settlement to settlement.

The first congregation in Alaska was organized in July 1938. Today, nearly 34,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 80 congregations call the state of Alaska home.

The ceremonies conducted inside each temple teach about the purpose of life and unite families, both past and present. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints promise to keep God’s commandments, support His work, live the higher law that Christ taught while on earth, remain chaste and dedicate their lives to building the Church of Christ.