The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced a Sept. 27 groundbreaking date for the Fairbanks Alaska Temple. It also began construction on the Budapest Hungary Temple.
Fairbanks Alaska Temple
Elder Peter M. Johnson, first counselor in the North America West Area Presidency, will preside at the groundbreaking in Fairbanks. The temple will sit on a 7.59-acre site along Geist Road.
Plans call for a 10,000-square foot temple, along with a new meetinghouse and an ancillary building.
“The ordinances and covenants of the temple are of eternal significance,” said President Russell M. Nelson when he announced the temple at the October 2023 general conference. “We continue to build more temples to make these sacred possibilities become a reality in each of your lives.”
It will be the second temple in the state of Alaska, alongside the one in Anchorage.
According to a press release, the church has been present in Alaska since 1898. The first congregation was organized in 1938. Today there are nearly 34,000 Latter-day Saints in Alaska comprising more than 80 congregations.
Budapest Hungary Temple
A rendering of the Budapest Hungary Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Following the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, construction of the Budapest Hungary Temple has officially begun. The 17,200-square foot building, along with the 10,700-square foot patron house, is expected to take three years to complete.
This is the first temple in Hungary. Until now, its citizens have had to travel to Germany to attend the temple. People from 12 different countries will be assigned to this temple district.
“We are grateful for the warm welcome — especially from the Óbuda municipality, which has supported our project from the very beginning,” said Péter Borsos, a regional leader of the church in Hungary. “We hope the temple will not only be a spiritual home for our community, but also one of Budapest’s treasures, contributing to the cultural and spiritual enrichment of the local community.”