TACLOBAN CITY – Interfaith leaders gathered in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Tacloban City Philippines Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here on Saturday, Jan. 18.
LOCAL officials and interfaith leaders attend the groundbreaking of the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Eastern Visayas on Saturday, Jan. 18.
The new sacred structure will rise on a 6.99-hectare lot at the Tacloban Bypass Road in Barangay Utap-Caibaan.
The two-story structure has an area of 21,407-square feet and ancillary building that will house an arrival center, patron housing, and a distribution center.
Elder Michael Strong, First Counselor of the Philippines Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was joined by Waray and Cebuano-speaking Latter-day Saints from the six provinces of Eastern Visayas region, including pioneer members of the growing church membership in the Philippines.
From a handful of members in 1961, the church now has more than 876,000 members nationwide.
Eastern Visayas has 35,000 members, including 7,000 from Tacloban City, in five stakes that qualified them to build a temple.
The church projects that members will increase by 13 percent yearly. They record at least 20,000 baptisms in the Philippines annually.
“From the first baptism, until now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has continued to grow and become a vital part of the community of Tacloban and the surrounding region,” Strong said.
“The Church enjoys a strong and healthy friendship with leaders and members of other faiths along with government and civic leaders. These bonds of friendship were evident as the entire community united themselves together following the devastation of typhoon Yolanda in November 2013,” he said.
The Tacloban City Philippines Temple will be the eighth of the 13 temples in the country. The 12 other temples announced under construction or in operation are in Alabang, Muntinlupa City; Bacolod City, Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, Davao City, Iloilo City, Laoag City, Manila, Naga City, Santiago City, Tuguegarao City, and Urdaneta City.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from meetinghouses or chapels where members gather for Sunday worship services.
A temple is considered a "house of the Lord" where Christ's teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism, and other ordinances that unite families for eternity.