Cebu Philippines Mormon Temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the future construction of a temple in Lahug, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines, on 18 April 2006.  Groundbreaking for the future temple took place on 14 November 2007.

The temple sits on 11.6 acres and will be over 29,000 square feet in size. The temple will support a single central spire and share its 11-acre site with a building for patron housing, a meetinghouse, residences for both the temple and mission presidents, and a mission office.

This will be the second temple to be located in the Philippines.  The Manilla Temple has consistently been filled to capacity, as dedicated members in the Philippines have been willing to make huge sacrifices in order to travel and attend the temple.

Missionary work began in the Philippines in 1898. The first two missions were in Manila and Cebu City. The first two Mormon missionaries were in the U.S. military and had been set apart to do missionary work before leaving for the Philippines. The work was initially very slow, but increased dramatically after World War II. In 1961, the Church was officially recognized by the Philippines government. When the Manila Temple was built, there were 76,000 members in the Philippines.  Church membership in the Philippines has grown dramatically over the past 25 years. The nation now is home to over a half million Church members organized into more than 80 stakes with 1000 congregations.

The Angel Moroni statue was placed upon the spire of the temple on Thursday, November 5, 2009, and a crowd gathering below applauded the event.  The installation merited front-page coverage in one of the major daily newspapers in Cebu.

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a public open house prior to the dedication of the Cebu City Philippines Temple.

The public was invited to visit the temple beginning on Friday, 21 May 2010, and continuing through Saturday, 5 June 2010, excluding Sundays.

After the open house, the temple was formally dedicated on Sunday, 13 June 2010. Three dedicatory sessions were held to accommodate Latter-day Saints in the area served by the temple.

In conjunction with the temple dedication, there was also a cultural celebration of music and dance. This event was held on Saturday, 12 June 2010 at the Cebu Coliseum.

Formal temple work commenced at the Cebu City Philippines Temple on Monday, 14 June 2010.