| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
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.
Called by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “Houses of the Lord,” this temple will be built on a 2.83-hectare site located along Tacloban Bypass Road, Barangay Utap-Caibaan, Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. Plans call for a two-story temple with an approximate floor area of 1,989 square meters.
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 about 900,000 Latter-day Saints in almost 1,300 congregations in the Philippines. Since missionary work in the country began in 1961, the Church has experienced some of the fastest growth worldwide.
The Tacloban area, located on the northeastern tip of Leyte Island, was struck by the deadly Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which caused significant loss of life and destruction of 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 temple in the country. The other 12 temples—either announced, under construction, or in operation—are in Alabang, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Davao, Iloilo, Laoag, Manila, Naga, Santiago, Tuguegarao City, and Urdaneta.