The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invited journalists, reporters, deskmen, bloggers and social media influencers to a group-guided tour of the interior of the newly completed Urdaneta Philippines Temple on March 12, 2024.
Over two dozen media members came from Metro Manila and several local cities from Northern Luzon. The Open House offers a rare glimpse of the sacred practices performed by members of the Church in these sacred and special buildings.
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| 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 |
Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Temple Department at Church Headquarters, hosted the exclusive briefing and tour for the media attendees. He was joined by Elder Steven R. Bangerter, Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, and Elder Carlos G. Revillo, Jr. of the Philippines Area Presidency, along with their wives.
“This building, this temple, this House of the Lord, is a House of Hope in a world where we all need hope. It's a place of faith for the members of our faith,” Elder Duncan explains during the press briefing before the tour.
“It's a place of peace for the members of our faith. As we travel through the adversities of life, we are able to enter this sacred edifice and worship [God] and serve others in this building,” he added.
During the press briefing and tour, the Church leaders explained to the media why temples are important to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what ordinances are conducted inside each ordinance room of the Temple, and why there is a consistent effort to construct more of these sacred edifices not only in the Philippines but around the globe.
When asked about her brief experience, Leila Chua Sy, Editor of the Northern Philippine Times, said, “I found the place so peaceful and calm… it is really meant to be a House of God.”
“I’m speechless… very beautiful, and most especially when you’re inside [the temple], you will really feel your connection to God. This is different from the outside world we live in,” Rjay Comin, Editor-in-Chief of Northern Expose News, shared in Filipino.
The Open House of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple began last March 18, 2024, and will end on Saturday, March 30, 2024. It is available for all who wish to tour the property from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The Open House allows people of all faiths to tour the temple’s beautiful interior and grounds and learn about the purpose of these sacred structures. Tours are free, and no reservations are needed. More information is available at UrdanetaTemple.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The temple will be formally dedicated after the public open house on Sunday, April 28, 2024. President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, the Church's highest governing body, will preside at the dedication.
Two sessions will be held on April 28 at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (Philippines Time). Additional details, including local broadcast information regarding the temple dedication, will be announced at a later date.
The temple is located at MacArthur Highway, Brgy. Nancayasan, Urdaneta City. It is 3,029 square meters and 41.6 meters high. The temple reflects Spanish and Asian influences on the Philippines and contains design references to the mango and the sampaguita flower.
There are more than 850,000 Latter-day Saints in the Philippines. In the past, over 200,000 Church members in Northern Luzon had to travel to either Manila or Cebu to worship in a temple. In addition to the Urdaneta Temple, ten more temples have been announced or are under construction in Alabang, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo, Laoag, Naga, Santiago, Tacloban and Tuguegarao. The Philippines has the fourth-largest population of Latter-day Saints of any country worldwide, and members worship in more than 1,200 congregations.
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ from meetinghouses or chapels, where members meet for Sunday worship services. Each temple is considered a “house of the Lord,” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve others.
