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Temple Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 / 2 Download Photos

Senior Church leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined with community and interfaith leaders in Urdaneta, Pangasinan on Wednesday, 16 January 2019, to break ground for a new temple.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided at the ceremony. He was joined by Elder Evan A. Schmutz, Elder Michael John U. Teh and Elder Taniela B. Wakolo of the Philippines Area Presidency.

The temple site is located in Barangay Nancayasan, Urdaneta City, fronting MacArthur Highway. Attendance at the ceremony was by invitation only, with the general public invited to view the proceedings on Facebook Live.

The Urdaneta Philippines Temple will be the Church’s third temple in the country, joining those in Manila and Cebu. The Church currently has 160 operating temples worldwide.

Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. A temple is considered a “house of the Lord” where Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and their fellow man.