Emphasizing President Russell M. Nelson’s admonition to “let God prevail,” the Philippines Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presented the new Area Plan for 2021 that was broadcast on 03 January 2021. The Area Plan’s priorities to obey, covenant, and establish have been retained. Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, Area President, presided over the broadcast.
Elder Steven R. Bangerter, first counselor in the area presidency said, “As an area presidency, the desire of our hearts is that as individuals and families, you will carefully, prayerfully study all elements of this adjusted Area Plan. As you do, you will learn that the adjustments are subtle but deeply meaningful.”
The new design of the Area Plan has kept the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in the center, with President Nelson’s words, “Let God Prevail,” written in the header. This admonition has been incorporated in the vision statement of the Philippines Area Plan 2021.
The vision statement reads, “We will let God prevail in our lives by exercising faith in our Heavenly Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and by obeying the commandments, making and keeping sacred covenants, and establishing God’s Kingdom on the earth.”
Elder Bangerter said that the Area Plan is an instrument that will help inspire members to come unto Christ.
Each member of the Philippines Area Presidency gave messages discussing each of the area’s main priorities. A question and answer portion where the area presidency addressed queries from selected members of the audience was held after. The broadcast was hosted by Kyle Bernadas and Hannah Pagaduan.
We Will Show our Love to God by Obeying His Commandments
Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, second counselor in the area presidency said, “We show our love to God by obeying His commandments. God will prevail in our lives as we obey.”
In his message, he introduced five ways by which everyone can obey God in daily life, which are to hear God through daily prayer, scripture study and daily repentance, to keep the Sabbath holy and partake the Sacrament weekly, to pay a full tithe and a generous fast offering, to keep a regular study of Come, Follow Me, and to submit names and complete temple ordinances of deceased ancestors.
Speaking of the blessings of tithing, he said, “As we obey the law of tithing, we will become self-reliant. The more members keep this law, the faster we will be self-reliant.”
We Will Receive the Ordinances of the Temple and Keep Our Covenants
Elder Bangerter gave a message about the sacred central role of covenants in the Philippines Area Plan. He admonished members to assist young men and young women to make and keep sacred covenants, as well as to help everyone keep their covenants and magnify their callings.
The priority to covenant is placed in the center of the Area Plan deliberately because participating in sacred ordinances and keeping the associated covenants are fundamental to the gospel and the process of coming to and being perfected in Him, he explained.
“Coming to Christ is the reason that we do all that we do in the Church,” Elder Bangerter said.
He also said that purposefully keeping covenants will strengthen, bolster, and encourage members in the face of calamity, heartache, and weakness.
Concluding his message, Elder Bangerter said, “As we keep those covenants, the distance between us and God lessens… all covenants work together to perform these mighty miracles in our lives.”
We Will Build Gospel-Centered, Multigenerational, Self-Reliant Families and Gather Israel on Both Sides of the Veil
Elder Wakolo discussed the importance of a strong foundation in the process of establishing the Church in the Philippines. He said, “We can only establish something when we have the foundations in place to ensure that we are initiating what we are building will be strong. The first two priorities of obey and covenant provide us with the necessary groundwork to establish God’s kingdom here in the Philippines.”
The third priority of the Area Plan to establish is to “commit to build gospel-centered, multigenerational, self-reliant families and gather Israel on both sides of the veil.”
He discussed five main points to establish the Church in the Philippines, which are to participate in Seminary and Institute, to work with full-time missionaries, to apply self-reliance principles, to continue ministering, and to encourage children, young men and young women to make the Children and Youth Program a part of their daily lives.
Putting special emphasis on the valuable role of children and youth in the Church, Elder Wakolo relayed the story of President Martiniano Soquila of the Philippines Pasig Stake (Diocese).
He was inspired to make the young men of his stake look forward to the year that they would enter into the Missionary Training Center (MTC) by giving them name tags and neckties embroidered with the word “MTC,” followed by the year they would enter the MTC in their Stake Priesthood Preview activity.
Elder Wakolo said, “Sometimes, the things that we do may not seem monumental, but to those we are serving, they are. We have always heard people say that children and youth are our future leaders. That is true and it has not changed… We need to see them as leaders now.”
He counseled members to involve the children and the Youth in the Children and Youth Program, which would help to develop every aspect of their lives and help them to progress along the covenant path.
“The Area Plan allows us to create permanence in what we want to achieve as we establish the Church here in the Philippines,” he said.
Concluding the broadcast, Elder Wakolo said, “Let us seize the opportunities to make a difference in the lives of our families and others by making the Area Plan a part of our daily lives.”
Posters of the new Area Plan will be sent to stake and district presidents to display in meetinghouses.
The broadcast may be viewed at the following links: Facebook, YouTube, and Church Country Page.