The following is excerpted from the Church Newsroom. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.

Ground has been broken for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The First Presidency also announced the groundbreaking ceremony for the Birmingham England Temple and released the site of the Huntsville Alabama Temple.

Tacloban City Philippines Temple

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple was held on Saturday, January 18, 2025. Elder Michael B. Strong, Second Counselor in the Philippines Area Presidency, presided at the event.

In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Strong asked that blessings be poured out among all of God’s children in the Philippines and for all in the temple district to have greater capacity “to act with charity, compassion, patience and kindness towards our neighbors and to go about doing good.”

Elder Strong remarked prior to the dedicatory prayer on the early days of the Church in Tacloban, recalling the first missionaries who arrived in 1968. Their efforts led to the baptism of George Pamin — the first member of the Church in Tacloban — exactly 56 years ago.

“From this 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,” Elder Strong said.

This house of the Lord will be built on a 6.99-acre site located at Tacloban Bypass Road Brgy. Utap-Caibaan, Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. Plans call for a two-story temple of approximately 21,407 square feet.

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced this temple during the October 2021 general conference.

“The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ,” he said during the conference.

There are nearly 870,000 Latter-day Saints in almost 1,300 congregations in the Philippines. Since the country officially opened for missionary work in 1961, its Church growth rate has been among the fastest in the world.

The other 12 temples that are announced, under construction or in operation in the country include those in AlabangBacolodCagayan de OroCebu CityDavaoIloiloLaoagManilaNagaSantiagoTuguegarao City and Urdaneta.

Birmingham England Temple

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