[1] The temple was announced by Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor in the church's First Presidency, in general conference on October 3, 1992.

The location, on land in American Fork previously used as a church welfare farm, was announced at the following conference six months later.

[3] Twenty-thousand people attended a ceremony as the angel Moroni statue was lifted to its resting place on the 190-foot (58 m) spire of the temple in July 1995.

Once the statue was in place, the throngs of visitors broke into applause and then spontaneously began to sing The Spirit of God.

Before the dedication, Hinckley and his counselors in the First Presidency, Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust, applied mortar to the temple's cornerstone.

The exterior is characterized by stained glass windows, bronze doors, and single spire, elements which were each chosen for their symbolic significance and alignment with temple traditions.

[2] Symbolic elements are integrated into the design, providing deeper meaning to the temple's function and aesthetics.

The design has elements representing Latter-day Saint symbolism, which provide deeper spiritual meaning to the temple's appearance and function.

It shares symbolic elements with the Salt Lake and the Nauvoo temples, including sun, moon, and star stones, which represent the three degrees of glory, triple window towers to symbolize the priesthood, and window arch keystones which represent Christ.

[7] The temple has played a role in creating a sense of community in the American Fork region since it was first announced in 1992.

Thousands of people gathered to clean up the temple grounds prior to the open house,[8] and local newspapers created a special edition to commemorate its dedication.

When construction was completed, the church announced the public open house that was held from August 6-September 21, 1996 (excluding Sundays).