Manila Philippines Temple

Category: Temples
The Manila Philippines Temple is the 29th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On August 21, 1955, Joseph Fielding Smith, an apostle for the Mormon Church, dedicated the land in the Philippines for the preaching of the gospel. The first four missionaries arrived in June of 1961 and by 1973 over 13,000 Filipinos had been baptized. In 1987 selections from the Book of Mormon were published in the Filipino language Tagalog and a missionary training center was established in Manila in 1986.
 
On April 1, 1981 the announcement of a Mormon temple was announced; groundbreaking and site dedication for the temple were on August 25, 1982. Two years later, the Manila Philippines Temple was dedicated. By the time of the dedication, Church membership had reached 76,000. There are now more than 450,000 Latter-day Saints in the Philippines. 
In January 1981 the Mormon Church purchased land in Quezon City, in the metro Manila area. The site was partly chosen because of its accessibility to members throughout the temple district. When the temple was announced, a fund-raising campaign was quickly set up in the Philippines. The local Saints sacrificed greatly but nine months later, they had only reached 65 percent of their goal. Church leaders again encouraged the members to give all they could to the fund, and the Filipino Saints responded once again, reaching and even exceeding the goal in three months time. 
During the construction of the temple, several events that hindered its progress. In 1983, the assassination of a Filipino senator led to rioting and demonstrations. That, with a weak economy, unemployment, and the increasing presence of crime, the people were struggling just to get by. During these trying times, the Church established ways to help members become more self-reliant and encouraged them to stay close the God. 
On September 25, 1984, President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Manila Philippines Temple. The Temple serves half a million members of the Mormon Church in the Philippines, Micronesia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, India, and part of Burma. The temple has four ordinance rooms and three sealing rooms and has a total floor area of 26,683 square feet.
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==See also==
* Inside Mormon Temples
* Mormon Temples
* The Temple Endowment
* Mormon Undergarments
* LDS Weddings
==External links==
* Official LDS Manila Philippines Temple page
* Manila Philippines Temple page
* Manila Philippines Temple page
* Mormon Temple Worship - BBC Religion & Ethics
* Mormon Temple Ordinances - ReligionFacts
* Mormon Temples - Lightplanet
* Mormon Temples - Wikipedia
* Temples and Mormon Temples - Answers.com
* Resources about the History and Symbolism of Mormon Temples
* Mormon Temples and Secrecy
* Mormons Open Temple Doors to Share Beliefs - USA Today
* History of Mormon Temples - Lightplanet
* A video about the Manila Philippines Temple
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