LDS Church holds groundbreaking rites for Cebu temple

Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Quentin L. Cook, members of the Council of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the LDS Church, led a simple ceremony in breaking ground for the construction of the Cebu Philippines Temple.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Lahug barangay captain Mary Ann Delos Santos, Provincial Board Member Vicente Maambong, and selected members of the LDS Church attended the ceremony held at the sprawling 4-hectare complex along Gorordo Avenue in barangay Lahug.

Elder Oaks, in his dedicatory prayer, invoked blessings from Heavenly Father for the members of the Church in the Philippines, pleading for the “people, nation and economy, for oppression to cease and prosperity to be enhanced.” He also asked protection for those who will construct the temple that “no one will be injured, that the work will be without flaw and that the temple will be protected from the elements and outside forces.”

In his short message, Elder Cook said that members of the Church must rejoice for this wonderful day and reminded them: “…we are doing this because we love Jesus Christ.”

The Cebu Temple is the 132nd temple, announced or under construction of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When completed, this will be the second temple in the Philippines. The first was the Manila Temple dedicated in 1984.

The temple stands about 100 feet from the ground to the tip of the spire on a hilly 4-hectare complex. The exterior will be made of imported natural stone cladding and artglass will embellish its exterior windows.

The architecture is of the newer design that features a single spire. A gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni will adorn the spire of the temple facing east.

Additional buildings will be built on the temple complex including a patron housing (for visitors outside of Cebu), distribution center, meetinghouse and residences for the temple and mission presidents.

“The temple complex will change the landscape of the city. The temple will be an imposing building - taller than other surrounding buildings,” said Engr. Rommel Fajardo, the temple project manager.

Construction will approximately take two years from the groundbreaking.

The temple will serve more than 200,000 members of the LDS Church in Visayas and Mindanao who will no longer suffer the agonizing long travel time to Manila.

The Cebu Temple, however, is not a house of regular worship, thus it is not open on Sundays. Members of the Church hold regular Sunday services in homes, meetinghouses or chapels built for that purpose.

After its construction, the temple will be opened to the public for viewing. Then the temple will be closed for some minor refitting for its dedication.

A dedicated temple is a house of the Lord, so only members of the Church who hold a valid or current ID card or temple recommend may enter.

Members who have been a member for at least a year may obtain a recommend after being interviewed by the bishop (equivalent to a parish priest) and then by a member of the stake presidency (or an archbishop).

A male member must be a Melchizedek priesthood holder.

During these private interviews, the leaders determine the person’s personal worthiness, testimony of the gospel, faith in the God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ.

Questions related to being honest in all dealings, keeping the commandments such as chastity, the Word of Wisdom (abstaining from hot drinks like coffee and tea, alcoholic beverages, smoking, and prohibited drugs), and law tithing, among others, are part of the interview.

Members of the LDS Church strive to go to the temple to receive and participate in sacred, redeeming and higher ordinances exclusively performed therein such as endowment, eternal marriage, sealing, and baptism for the dead.

Today, the Philippines, with close to more than 600,000, is one of the fastest growing areas of the LDS Church.