Latter-day Saints new temple to serve 200,000 members around Pangasinan
THE Filipino people love the Lord, their church leaders, and their family, and they are very loyal to their nation and to.their church..
These are the qualities of Filipinos that struck Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, the highest governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, during his stint in the country as the Philippines Area President from 2002 to 2004
Oaks returned to and resumed his bond with the Philippines together with his wife, Kristen, when he led the dedication of the new temple of the Church of Jesus Christ in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, on April 28.
It is the Church’s third temple in the country, in addition to those in Manila and in Cebu City.
It should be noted that since its first missionaries have set their foot in the country 63 years ago, on June 5, 1961, the Church has gained more than 800,000 members.
This made the Philippines the fourth country with the largest Latter-day Saints membership in the world.
Building temples
HIGHLIGHTING the importance of temples, Oaks, explained in an interview with the Businessmirror via Zoom that the Church of Jesus Christ build them in the “center of the concentration” of their members. where they could come “to worship and strengthen them spiritually.”
It is also “good for the local economy” from people coming from other parts of the province or other areas to worship there, he added.
Mrs. Oaks said their members come to the temple to “feel close to Jesus.”
“In our religion, we come together for baptism…to worship our Savior and make covenants and promises to Him,” she pointed out.
Why build the temple in Urdaneta?
OAKS explained that the choice of Urdaneta was not made by the top leaders of the Church. It was based upon the “recommendation of the leaders” of the Church in the Philippines.
“They looked to a temple district and they showed us that about 200,000 of our 800,000 members in the Philippines live within a suitable distance in Urdaneta,” he said.
Mrs. Oaks said: “Ultimately it was a spiritual choice. Our prophet has a major responsibility and one of them is [building] temples. And he makes the selection. We believe that God allowed him to make the selection there.”
The Church’s current 17th President and Prophet is Russell M. Nelson, according to their website.
Oaks added: “He would not pick the exact site, but he would say that he wanted to build another temple in the Philippines to bless a concentration of members.”
The religious leader pointed out that only Latter-day Saints members are allowed to enter the temples when they are already dedicated.
The temples are closed on Sundays. On weekdays, members hold their “temple recommend, certifying their full compliance with the standards and objectives” of the Church.
However, even members have limited access to the temples.
“We have certain time for services but we want the maximum number of our members to come to the temple,” he said.
On Sundays, Latter-day Saints members worship in their home chapels or wards, he explained.
Mrs. Oaks said their members come to the temple because they feel close to Jesus Christ.
“In our religion, we come together for baptism…to worship our Savior and make covenants and promises to Him,” she said.
Increase in number of members in PHL
THE Latter-day Saints membership in the Philippines ballooned from about 500,000 to about 900,000 within 20 years after Oaks’s mission in the country..
The Filipino people “recognize that… we have more resources to learn about our Savior Jesus Christ than the Bible. We love the Bible but the Book of Mormon is an additional witness to Jesus Christ,” Oaks said.
He explained that the Book of Mormon tells about the ministry of Jesus in the American continent after Jesus’ resurrection.
“People are drawn to the teachings they find in Latter-day Saints faith,” he said.
He added that they help in raising children and in making families stronger, in assisting members in helping one another, and even nonmembers of the church.
“We have a large humanitarian services enterprise,” he added.
Mrs. Oaks agreed that they have the same services worldwide.
“We have the same curriculum for children, young women and young men. We want to [be closer] with the Heavenly Father. We value the family. It is so important to us. Filipinos also love the family, and they love each other,” she said.
With the increase in the number of members in the Philippines, three more temples are under construction and seven are being planned to be built in the country.
Other factors that make Filipinos join the Church
THE Philippines is a Christian nation, different than its neighbors in Asia.
“We begin with people who love Jesus Christ. We offer them opportunities to learn more about Him and the fulness of his Gospel. The temples themselves stand for that,” Oaks said.
Mrs. Oaks said the Church of Jesus Christ is a “demanding religion.” Its members have to come to church every week, and read the scriptures and pray everyday.
In addition, the youth come during the week, while the whole family has activities on Monday night.
“When I say demanding…it is a Church you devote your life to,” she added.
Oaks said that in many religions, you come to church on holy days, Christmas, Easter or on saints’ days.
“In the Church of Jesus Christ, we teach the importance of going to church every Sunday,” he said.
He added that 20 percent of their members are in the church every Sunday. So with 800,000 members in the Philippines, they would have 160,000 members going to church on Sundays.
“We have a very participatory religion, and that is very important to our members,” he said.
Mrs. Oaks added that members “like to do service… to be involved in the community, to get back to the community,” in projects like helping in schools, immunizations, health care, vision care, or providing wheelchairs not just for members but for those not of our faith in the community..
“You don’t have to be a member to receive those services,” she pointed out.
Memories from his first PHL mission
OAKS said he could not forget “the loving, loyal culture and nature” of the Filipino people.
“They love the Lord, they love their church leaders, they love their family, and they are very loyal to their nation and to their church,” he said.
Mrs. Oaks said she could not forget the Filipino Church members who would run to her 6-feettall husband “surround him and hug him.”
She also loved working with the youth, as Mrs. Oaks has worked among children when she served for many years on the Board of Primary Children’s Hospital, according to a briefer.
“I like little children. Filipinos love to sing, and I love singing with them. Just everyone we work with, they became our dear friends. It was not like they were employees. We love each other.dearly,” she said.
The Latter-day Saints leaders don’t wear priestly garb and are dressed in white just like the members “to promote closeness” with them, Oaks noted.
“There is no distinction in our temple worship between the highest official in the church or the most humble who is just starting in their membership,” he pointed out.
Catholic, Church of Jesus Christ similarities, differences
OAKS said both churches are hierarchical. The pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, while the president is the head of the Church of Jesus Christ.
“We look to a hierarchical organization for leadership. We have local leaders but they look to leaders not to their congregation for policy,” he said.
The difference, he said, is in the priesthood authority.. The Catholic Church looks at the succession from Peter.
In the Church of Jesus Christ, the basic priesthood authority was lost in the centuries after Jesus Christ.
“It has to be restored by heavenly messengers who appeared to the first prophet of our church, Joseph Smith in 1820. From that time we have been a restored church with priesthood authority,” Oaks pointed out.
Mrs. Oaks said they have great respect for the Catholic Church.
“I have been to a Catholic school. They are great teachers; great people,” she said.
Humanitarian services
Besides spiritual work, the Latterday Saints take care of the welfare of people in need, not only of their members.
According to Oaks, as the Church have over 17 million members from about 117 countries, it has resources from its members’ tithes.
“We give worldwide over a billion dollars a year for humanitarian services.” he said.
In the Philippines, 346 humanitarian projects were created in 2023, with 16 percent growth from 2020 to 2023.
He cited that among them was the distribution of 13,500 food kits to affected residents during the flood in many parts of the country in January.
Likewise, over 22,000 food kits and thousands of hygiene, kitchen and shelter kits were distributed to survivors of typhoons in August and September in 2023.
Oaks said: “Not just in dollars, also human services are given shoulder to shoulder to people, not only to members of our Church.”
‘Follow the Commandments of God’
IN his message to Filipinos amid the challenges they have been experiencing in their daily lives, Oaks recalled an experience he had a week after he arrived in the Philippines with his wife in 2002 for his two-year mission.
He recounted that he was awakened from sleep with a strong spiritual impression to look into the Book of Mormon.
“I was drawn to a sermon by a prophet who predicted the coming of Jesus Christ,” he said.
He recalled that the prophet talked to people about the principles of the Christian religion.
The sermon, Oaks said, contained words which he used as the major subject in his teaching in his mission in the country.
It is from the Book of Mormon in the Book of Mosiah, Chapter 4, Verse 10, which says: “And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you.”
He said the following words from the verse “were emblazoned” in his mind: “Now if you believe all these things, see that you do them.’”
“My challenge. then and now, to the Filipino people is that you have the commandments of God, you know what you need to do… be faithful to our Savior. If you believe those things, see that you do them. be faithful, follow the direction of the prophets of God,” he pointed out.
For her part, Mrs. Oaks said: “We love you [Filipinos] so much. It is evident that you have been doing that [following the commandments of God] or the Lord will not have given another temple. where so many more beautiful things could come [with the love of] Jesus Christ. We just love the Philippines. We are so proud of them [Filipinos].”