The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alaska

As of December 31, 2019, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 33,495 members in eight stakes, 80 congregations (59 wards and 21 branches), 15 Family History Centers, one mission, and one temple in Alaska.[1] (A branch in Whitehorse, Yukon is part of the Juneau Alaska Stake)

The Anchorage Alaska LDS Temple

History

The first members of LDS Church came to Alaska with the gold rush in 1898.[2] One of these was Edward G. Cannon (1824-1910), a man originally from Kentucky who had served in the Mexican war and converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on traveling to Utah in 1871. From 1871-1881 Cannon lived in Wanship, Utah. He then lived for nearly 20 years with a son of his in Indiana before migrating to Nome, Alaska. Cannon had worked as a farmer and medical doctor previously. He held various mining claims in the Nome area while there. He very vigorously sought to establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nome. In June 1902 Cannon baptized Kedzie N. Winnie (1874- ) a man born in Walton, New York. Winnie had come to Nome in the 1890s. In September 1902 Cannon ordained Winnie an Elder with the authorization of Melvin J. Ballard who as Northwestern States Mission president held ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the church over Alaska. Winnie worked closely with Cannon in preaching the gospel until Cannon's death in 1910. He then carried on his own vigorous campaign of preaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and regularly contributing articles on it to Nome newspapers until he chose to migrate to the body of the Church in Utah in 1913.[3]

After Winnie left the Church had no organized presence in Alaska for 15 years. In 1927 Wulliam R. Sloan became president of the Northwestern States Mission and shortly after during a tour of the mission John A. Widstoe of the quorum of the 12 recommended to Sloan that missionary work be extended to Alaska. Sloan gave the assignment to open missionary work in Alaska to Alvin Englestead, a 36-year-old widower from Kanab, Utah who was serving in the Northwest states mission as a 2nd mission having previously served in Australia. Englestead recruited his stake president from Kanab, 59-year old Heber J. Meeks, to lead the effort, and 48-year old James Judd to also join the effort.[4]

In 1981, special Church buildings designed for the Arctic weather were built.[2]

One of the first smaller LDS Church temples was built in Anchorage in 1999.[2] In 2016, the Alaska Bush Branch was formed with approximately 200 members from 36 families, and they meet Sunday mornings over the phone.[5]

In 2020, the LDS Church canceled services and other public gatherings indefinitely in response to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.[6]

Membership History
Year LDS Membership
1941 300
1961 3,051
1970 6,744
1980 14,414
1990 21,410
1999 25,340
2011 32,175
2019 33,495

Stakes

There are 8 stakes in Alaska.

Stake Organized
Anchorage Alaska August 13, 1961
Anchorage Alaska Chugach November 24, 2002
Anchorage Alaska North September 17, 1978
Fairbanks Alaska May 27, 1979
Juneau Alaska October 8, 1995
Soldotna Alaska December 9, 1984
Wasilla Alaska November 13, 1983
Palmer Alaska 2016

Missions

The first two missionaries arrived in Juneau in 1913 where they worked for a few weeks. The next missionaries, Elders Heber J. Meeks, Alvin Englestead, James Judd, and Lowell T. Plowman arrived in Alaska in 1928, under the direction of President William R. Sloan of the Northwestern States Mission.[7] From then on, there have been missionaries in Alaska.

Alaska has been part of several missions. Alaska was part of the Northwestern States until 1941, when the Western Canadian was organized. In 1960, the Alaska-Canadian Mission was organized. It was renamed the Alaska-British Columbia Mission in 1970. On October 15, 1974, the Alaska Anchorage Mission was organized - being the first mission to be based in the state.

Mission Serving Alaska Effective Date
Northwestern States 1913
Western Canadian September 15, 1941
Alaska-Canadian Mission November 21, 1960
Alaska-British Columbia Mission June 10, 1970
Alaska Anchorage Mission October 15, 1974

Temples
Anchorage Alaska Temple
Main article: Anchorage Alaska Temple

On January 9, 1999 the Anchorage Alaska Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley. After remodeling, President Hinckley rededicated the temple on February 8, 2004.

 54. Anchorage Alaska Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
Rededicated:
 Size:

Anchorage, Alaska, United States
October 4, 1997
January 9, 1999 by Gordon B. Hinckley
February 8, 2004 by Gordon B. Hinckley
11,937 sq ft (1,109 m2) and 71 ft (22 m) high on a 5.4 acre (2.2 ha) site

See also

References
  1. "Facts and Statistics Alaska", Newsroom, April 11, 2020
  2. "Facts and Statistics", Church News, 2020. Retrieved on 31 March 2020.
  3. Fred E. Woods. "More Precious Than Gold: Mormonism Comes to Nome (1900-1913)" in Alaska History No. 2. Fall 2016. P. 28-45. Also see Fred E. Woods. Melting the Ice: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Alaska Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 2018. Chapter 1.
  4. Woods. Melting the Ice Chapter 2
  5. Knight, JoAnne. "Attending church by phone in rural Alaska", Anchorage Daily News, 28 September 2016. Retrieved on 31 March 2020.
  6. Lovett, Ian. "Mormon Church Cancels Services World-Wide Amid Coronavirus Crisis", The Wall Street Journal, 12 March 2020. Retrieved on 31 March 2020.
  7. Walther, Barbara Jean. The History of the Mormons in Alaska
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