Alabang Philippines Temple Explained

The Alabang Philippines Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) under construction in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Philippines.

History

In 1961, Gordon B. Hinckley and a small gathering of members at the Manila American Cemetery marked the beginning of the LDS Church in the Philippines.[1] With more than 800,000 members in the country, the Philippines has the fourth largest membership in the world after the United States, Mexico and Brazil.

The Alabang Philippines Temple was announced by church president Thomas S. Monson in April 2017.[2] This temple was announced concurrently with 4 other temples.[3] At the time, the number of the church's total number of operating or announced temples was 182.

A groundbreaking was originally scheduled for May 2, 2020, under the direction of D. Todd Christofferson.[4] However, the groundbreaking was delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[5] The groundbreaking occurred on June 4, 2020, with the area president, Evan A. Schmutz, presiding. The groundbreaking for this temple marked the first time in the church's history that two temples were under construction at the same time in the Philippines.

The temple will be a two-story building with a tall, tapering spire over the main entrance, and a patron housing facility behind the building.[6]

The Alabang Philippines Temple will be the fourth LDS temple built in the Philippines, following the Manila (1984), Cebu City (2010), and Urdaneta (2024) temples. Three more temples were announced in 2018 and 2019, which are the Davao (for which a groundbreaking was also held in 2020),[7] and the Cagayan de Oro and Bacolod temples. Additionally, temples are in the planning process in Tacloban, Naga, Santiago, Tuguegarao City, Iloilo, and Laoag.

The Alabang and Manila temples are 20.9 kilometers (13 miles) apart.[8]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://news-ph.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-announces-groundbreaking-date-for-4th-ph-temple "First Presidency Announces Groundbreaking Date for 4th Temple in PH"
  2. Toone, Trent. "Church of Jesus Christ announces date for Layton temple groundbreaking", Deseret News, January 23, 2020. Retrieved on April 5, 2020.
  3. The Brasilia, Brazil, Nairobi Kenya, Pocatello Idaho, and Saratoga Springs Utah temples.
  4. Means, Sean P. "Groundbreaking for LDS Church's Layton Temple is set for May 30", The Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2020. Retrieved on April 5, 2020.
  5. Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "All Latter-day Saint temples to close due to coronavirus", The Salt Lake Tribune, March 26, 2020. Retrieved on April 4, 2020.
  6. Satterfield, Rick. "Alabang Philippines Temple", ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org, 2020. Retrieved on April 5, 2020.
  7. As verified here
  8. Taylor, Scott. "How far apart are these Mormon temples?", Deseret News, October 19, 2017. Retrieved on March 28, 2020.