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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines

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As of April 2013, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 675,166 members in 85 stakes and 84 districts, 1,134 congregations (537 wards[1] and 597 branches),[1] 21 missions, and two temples in the Philippines.[2]

As of August 2013, the church's Philippines Area is presided over by Brent H. Nielson, with Ian S. Ardern and Larry Echo Hawk as counselors. The previous area president, Michael John U. Teh, is the second Filipino to serve as a general authority, with Augusto A. Lim being the first.

History

The first contact the church had with the Philippines began in the Spanish–American War in 1898, when two LDS men named Willard Call and George Seaman, who were part of the United States artillery battery, were set apart as missionaries and began to proselytize after being deployed to the Philippines. They met with little success.[3] Active proselytizing stopped on the onset of World War II.[4]

The first Filipino to join the LDS Church was Aneleta Pabilona Fajardo in 1945, who was introduced to the church by Maxine Grimm, who was in the Philippines with the Red Cross in the aftermath of World War II.[3]

The Luzon Serviceman's district was organized during the Korean War under the Japanese Mission for American servicemen stationed in the Philippines. In August 1955, the district was then transferred to the newly organized Southern Far East Mission, which was established by President of the Church Joseph F. Smith.[3] During this time, Smith visited the Philippines. Due to legal issues, the LDS Church could not send missionaries. Missionary work, however, was done by some LDS servicemen and American residents.[3] Kendall B. Schaefermeyer, a returned missionary serving in the U.S. Navy was one in particular.[3] He had baptized four native Filipinos by October 1957 and was teaching more than 20 others.[3]

During 1960, Gordon B. Hinckley, then an Assistant to the Twelve, and apostle Ezra Taft Benson, visited the Philippines.[3] The purpose of the visit was mainly to see the work of the LDS servicemen groups but they brought back encouraging reports of the missionary work being done among the native Filipinos.[3]

The church obtained official recognition in the Philippines in 1961 when Robert S. Taylor, president of the Southern Far East Mission, filed the paperwork with the Philippine government.[3] Subsequently, the church rededicated the Philippines. This dedication was done by Hinckley on 28 April 1961 in a meeting with servicemen, American residents, and Filipino members.[3] The first American missionary arrived in Manila two months later. Their names are Ray Goodson, Harry Murray, Kent Lowe and Nestor Ledesma.[3] One of the first converts after official recognition was the Jose Gutierez Sr. family. After the end of the years, six more were baptized.[3]

Due to growth that followed, the Philippines was organized into its own mission by 1967 with the first president being Paul S. Rose.[3] In 1969, the church spread across the islands, having the highest amount of baptisms compared to every other area of the world.[4] This led to the division of the Philippines mission in 1974 into two separate missions, the Philippine Manila Mission and the Cebu City Mission.[3]

The first stake in the Philippines was formed in Manila on 20 May 1973.[2][5] As of January 2016, there are 96 stakes in the Philippines. [6]

Church president Spencer W. Kimball presided over two area conferences, one in 1975 and another in 1980.[3] During the area conference in 1980, Kimball met with the Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos at the presidential palace.[3] Afterwards in 1987, Manila became the headquarters of the Philippines/Micronesia Area of the church.[3]

Augusto A. Lim, the first Filipino general authority, was called to the Second Quorum of Seventy in June 1992.[3]

The Book of Mormon was translated into Tagalog in 1987. The translation is credited to Ricardo Cruz, a native of the Philippines, with the assistance of Posidio Ocampo and Ananias Bala on the final stages of production.[7] Translation of the Book of Mormon is now in several languages of the Philippines.

Notable People

Missions

Temples

 29 Manila Philippines Temple Operating 26,683 sq ft (2,479 m2) 3.5 acres (14,164 m2) 25 September 1984 Gordon B. Hinckley edit
133 Cebu City Philippines Temple Operating 29,556 sq ft (2,746 m2) 11.6 acres (46,944 m2) June 13, 2010 Thomas S. Monson edit
190 Urdaneta Philippines Temple Operating 32,604 sq ft (3,029 m2) 15.34 acres (62,079 m2) 28 April 2024 Dallin H. Oaks edit

Philippines MTC

The Philippines has its own Missionary Training Center (MTC) where native Filipinos receive missionary training in their own language. The first one was dedicated on October 8, 1983, and was housed in a private rented residence. The second MTC was opened July 13, 1992, and stands across the road from the Manila temple.[9] In 2011, the MTC underwent extensive remodeling and was rededicated in May 2012 by Russell M. Nelson.[9] Other nations, as listed below, send missionaries to the Philippines MTC to receive training in their native language.[10]

  • India
  • Pakistan
  • Mongolia
  • Cambodia
  • Thailand
  • Indonesia
  • Taiwan
  • Hong Kong
  • Singapore
  • Vietnam
  • Malaysia
  • Bangladesh
  • Sri Lanka

The current MTC president is D. Gary Beck. Beck served previously as president of the Philippines Manila Mission.[11]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b LDS Meetinghouse Locator. Nearby Congregations (Wards and Branches).
  2. ^ a b "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Philippines", Newsroom, LDS Church, 31 December 2011, retrieved 2012-10-18
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Philippines: Church Country Information". Mormon newsroom. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  4. ^ a b http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/country/philippines/
  5. ^ "Country Information: Philippines", Church News Online Almanac, Deseret News, February 1, 2010, retrieved 2012-10-18
  6. ^ Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, retrieved 2016-02-06
  7. ^ http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/18233/Book-of-Mormon-in-80th-language.html
  8. ^ Leach, Robin (December 11, 2009). "Photo Gallery: Mayor declares Dec. 4 as Lani Misalucha Day". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  9. ^ a b http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/62409/Apostle-dedicates-new-MTC-and-visits-members-government-leaders.html
  10. ^ http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/62591/Bangladeshi-is-eager-to-serve.html
  11. ^ http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/62920/New-MTC-presidents.html

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines.
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