Manila
Philippines Temple serves nearly half a million members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in 78 stakes and 17 missions in the Philippines,
Micronesia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, India and part of Burma.Manila Philippines Temple
The Manila Philippines
Temple was announced on April 2, 1981 and ground was broken on August 25,
1982. The temple was dedicated on September 25, 1984 by President Gordon B.
Hinckley. The Manila Philippines Temple is located on a 3.5 acre site in Quezon
City. The temple consists of four ordinance rooms and three sealing rooms,
occupying 19,388 square feet.
The
Manila
Philippines Temple serves nearly half a million members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in 78 stakes and 17 missions in the Philippines,
Micronesia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, India and part of Burma.
Although The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was introduced to the archipelago during the Spanish-American War in 1898, by 1970 there was only one meetinghouse in the Philippines. In that year Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the island nation and promised that Church growth in the area would accelerate, and that a temple would be built there "in our lifetime". By the time the Manila Temple was dedicated in 1984, Church membership had reached 76,000. There are now more than 450,000 Latter-day Saints in the Philippines, living in more than 76 stakes. Some 2,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attended groundbreaking ceremonies for the Manila Philippines Temple despite the threat of a typhoon in the area. Later, more than 27,000 people attended temple open house events despite two more typhoons that struck two days apart.
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Dedicatory Prayer:
"Our Eternal Father in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name. Thou art the Mighty Elohim, the Father of all men, our
God whom we worship and to whom we look with love and gratitude. We come
unto Thee in prayer in the name of Thine Only Begotten Son, the Redeemer of
Mankind, the Savior of the world. We are thankful for this day when we
dedicate this sacred building. Its completion brings to full fruition the
marvelous and wonderful work of establishing Thine eternal ordinances in
this nation. Now Thy sons and daughters of the Philippines have available
every gift and blessing, every act and ordinance pertaining to the
dispensation of the fulness of times. Our hearts are filled with
thanksgiving to Thee and to T
hy
Son whose redeeming sacrifice has made possible our salvation. We thank Thee
for the great eternal plan which Thou hast revealed through Thy prophet for
the salvation and exaltation of Thy sons and daughters. We thank Thee for
the restoration to earth of Thy divine gifts and powers of all prior
dispensations. We thank Thee for the vision afforded the boy Joseph Smith
when Thou and Thy Son appeared and opened the work of restoration. We thank
Thee for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as another witness of the
reality and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the promise
found therein that in the latter-days Thou wouldst remember Thy children on
the isles of the sea. This nation of the Philippines is a nation of many
islands whose people love freedom and truth, whose hearts are sensitive to
the testimony of Thy servants, and who are responsive to the message of the
eternal gospel. We thank Thee for their faith. We thank Thee for their
spirit of sacrifice. We thank Thee for the miracle of the progress of Thy
work in this land. In a few short years it has grown from small beginnings
to its present stature with many established stakes of Zion. We thank Thee
for the hospitality afforded Thy servants by the government of the Republic
of the Philippines. Bless the gracious officers of this nation, and preserve
by Thy mighty power peace and freedom in the land. Lift the blight of
poverty from which so many suffer. Particularly bless Thy faithful saints
who live honestly with Thee in the payment of their tithes and offerings. As
was promised of old by Thy prophet Malachi, open the windows of heaven and
pour out blessings that there shall not be room enough to receive them.
Bless Thy saints in their faith that they shall remain true as Thy covenant
people. Bless them in their homes that there shall be love and peace. Bless
them that neither they nor their generations after them will go hungry, nor
naked, nor without shelter from the storms that beat about them. Open their
minds that they shall grow in wisdom in matters both spiritual and temporal.
May Thy Church in this island nation grow and increase in numbers. May the
evil designs of its enemies be frustrated. May Thy work become as "a city
set upon a hill whose light cannot be hid." O Father, we pray for Thy
prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, whom we love and honor. He is now old
in years, his body worn from service to Thy children. Sustain him by Thy
power, and comfort and bless him. We love Thee, our Father and our God. We
love Thy Son, our Redeemer and our Savior, the author of our salvation, He
who gave His life as a ransom for all men. Grant us faith and knowledge of
things divine. Grant us willing hearts and obedient spirits. Grant us
strength and the will to walk the straight and narrow way that leads to life
eternal. Bless us as a people, wherever we may be found, that we may be
worthy of the respect and confidence of all men and that we may walk
acceptably before Thee. We thank Thee for this beautiful edifice and for all
who have worked to make it possible. May it stand as a pillar of truth and
as an invitation to all who look upon it to learn of the purposes for which
it has been created. Now, in the authority of the holy priesthood in us
vested and in the name of Jesus Christ we dedicate unto Thee and to Thy
Beloved Son this the Manila Philippines Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. We dedicate it as Thine abode and as the abode of Thy
Son. Wilt Thou accept this temple as Thy house, a gift of Thy grateful
people. We dedicate the building, all parts thereof and any related
structures, with all of the facilities and furnishings thereof. We dedicate
the grounds and their plantings. We dedicate it as the house of the Lord
with shouts of hosanna unto Thee and the Lamb. Wilt Thou deign to visit it
and sanctify it with Thy presence. May Thy Holy Spirit always abide here. We
dedicate it for the sacred ordinances Thou has revealed to Thy prophets. We
dedicate it for Thine eternal purposes. May it be holy to all who enter
within its walls. May no unclean thing desecrate its sacred precincts. May
it be preserved from the storms of nature, from vandalism, from trespass by
those who are unworthy to enter it. Bless the work that will be done here by
Thy covenant children. Bless Thy work in all the world. Bless Thy people
everywhere. May the spirit of Zion grow in their hearts wherever they
reside. May the messengers of Thy divine truths be endowed with power from
on high in their sacred ministry. Wilt Thou reveal unto Thy prophets, seers
and revelators Thy will concerning Thy people. Bless the leaders of Thy work
in this land and in all lands that they may seek to do Thy will and that
they may counsel with the people under inspiration and direction from Thee.
Now, Almighty God, accept of our thanks, hear our prayer, pour out Thy
healing spirit upon us, accept of our offerings, forgive our sins,
strengthen us against evil temptation, magnify us in our service in Thy
great eternal cause, bless us as we seek to build Thy kingdom, we humbly
pray as Thy thankful sons and daughters, in the name of Thy Beloved Son,
Jesus Christ. Amen."
Given by President Gordon B. Hinckley
(Church News, 30 September 1984, pp. 5, 10.)
