Yigo Guam Temple
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The Yigo Guam Temple was announced during the October 2018 Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 7 October 2018, by President Russell M. Nelson.
Located in the Church's Asia North Area, Guam is home to about 2,500 Church members and one mission, the Micronesia Guam Mission. Another 6,300 Latter-day Saints reside throughout Micronesia.
The Yigo Guam Temple will be the first temple in Guam, an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. The temple will be located at the corner of Marine Corp Drive and Melalak Drive in the village of Yigo on the north end of Guam. Construction on the temple with an adjacent meetinghouse is expected to begin in 2019 and is anticipated to take about two years to complete.
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History of the Church in Guam
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been in Guam since the 1940s. The first Church members on Guam probably came as members of the armed forces during World War II. Guam branches of from 50 to 300 servicemen began functioning in 1944, acting under the Far East Mission. In 1945, four groups were organized on the island. On one occasion, they dedicated the graves of fallen Church servicemen.
In 1951, fund-raising events by the members raised enough money to purchase land and two Quonset huts, which they used for a chapel and classrooms. The facilities were dedicated in 1953 and Guam became a dependent branch of the Oahu Hawaii Stake.
The first missionaries arrived in August 1957. As members increased, land for another meetinghouse was purchased. A new meetinghouse in Barrigada was dedicated on 10 March 1970, and the Guam Branch became a ward Open houses were frequently held, but few joined the Church. In May 1976, the Guam Ward was divided. The first Chamorro couple to join, Don Calvo and his wife, Maria, were baptized in May 1977. The Agat Branch was created in 1978. And in 1979, Herbert J. Leddy, the first missionary of Chamorro lineage, was called to the Tennessee Nashville Mission.
The Micronesia Guam Mission was created on 1 April 1980. In June, the Guam District was created with four branches.
In 1989, selections of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ were translated into Chamorro, and in the same year, Herbert J. Leddy became the first Chamorro member to be called as district president. Membership in 1995 was 1,400. Today there are 2,534 members, 5 wards, 1 mission, 1 stake, and 1 family history center in Guam.[1]
Groundbreaking Ceremony for Yigo Guam Temple
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Yigo Guam Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was conducted on Saturday, 4 May 2019. Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, then-president of the Asia North Area for the Church, presided over the groundbreaking and dedicated the temple site.
The Yigo Guam Temple, located at the corner of Marine Corps Drive and Melalak Drive in the village of Yigo on the north end of Guam, will be the first such "house of the Lord" in this part of the world. Construction will last approximately two years, and once completed, the temple will serve more than 5,000 Latter-day Saints on Guam and other islands of Micronesia. It will also become the 172nd operating temple of the Church.
During his remarks, Elder Choi said, "Temples are not just buildings. A temple is a university for us to learn how to return to Heavenly Father." Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita asked the audience, "What will you engrave in your heart today to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Yigo Temple?" He continued, "I engrave in my heart my commitment to serve the Lord."
A New Temple Design
The Yigo Guam Temple is the second-smallest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 6,861 square feet.
It is the first temple with rooms that can be converted to either become sealing rooms or instruction rooms, depending on the needs of the church members visiting on a specific day.
The Yigo Guam temple has two such rooms. One is designed as a sealing room but can be converted into an instruction room. The other is an instruction room that can be converted into a sealing room, when necessary.
The Yigo Guam temple is 61 feet larger than the smallest, the Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple. But it still offers all the ordinances, covenants, and blessings of other temples.
Open House and Dedication Date for the Yigo Guam Temple
The Yigo Guam Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened its doors to the public from Wednesday, 4 May 2022, through Saturday, 14 May 2022, with no tours held on Sunday, 8 May 2022. The media toured the temple on 2 May 2022.
The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, 22 May 2022, in three sessions by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The dedicatory sessions will be held at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. A youth devotional will be held on Saturday, 21 May 2022.
This is Guam’s first temple. The 6,900-square-foot temple is located on the northeastern end of Guam, a U.S. territory located in the western Pacific Ocean. The temple is located adjacent to Andersen Air Force Base, and is surrounded by lush tropical trees and includes more than 100 flowering trees and hundreds of decorative shrubs.
The Yigo Guam Temple will serve 9,600 members of the Church in Guam and the islands of Micronesia.
The Yigo Guam Tenple is Dedicated
On Sunday, 22 May 2022, the Yigo Guam Temple, which is the Church’s first temple in Micronesia, was dedicated.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided at the temple’s dedication and shared both his feelings and apostolic counsel about temples and their role in helping individuals learn about and become more like the Savior.
He said, "We speak much of the temple, but we should always first connect Jesus Christ with the temple."
Elder Bednar was joined by his wife, Sister Susan Bednar; Elder Michael John U. Teh, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Grace Teh; and Elder John A. McCune, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Asia North Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Debbra McCune.
Elder Bednar also said, "The size and architecture of the temple are interesting, but the building is not the focus. What occurs inside the temple, as we worthily receive covenants and ordinances, is what the temple is about."
The Yigo Guam Temple is one of the smallest built by the Church. Elder Bednar commented, "But we do not have small temples. A temple is a temple. The covenants and ordinances are exactly the same in every temple, regardless of size."
Comparing past temple travel to the present, Lori Boss, a member of the Barrigada Ward who served on the local temple committee, said, "This may not seem like it makes a big difference to people who live far away from here. But to go all the way to Manila to get a visa is very different than it is to jump on an island hopper." She added, "I think this will be a bonding moment — not only literally for families, but for the people."
Elder Bednar further commented, "We hope the contrast between the Spirit we feel in the temple and commotion of the world is never diminished by frequent attendance. . . .In the temple, we experience a stillness that we may not have thought could exist in mortality. Over time, we learn that stillness can be in us in any circumstance inside or outside of the temple. What we can learn over time is that we are being changed — the Holy Ghost is helping us to become men and women of Christ. . . .The purpose of the gospel is to become like the Savior. We serve, we learn, we do what He did, and that transforms us."
Barrigada Stake President Fredivic Nicerio said, "The temple is a blessing that is already helping people focus on what they need to do to be an eternal family. It is a place to take refuge from the storm — whatever the storm is."
The Yigo Guam Temple will serve 2,500 members in the Barrigada Guam Stake and thousands more from the surrounding islands of Micronesia. The Namoneas Chuuk District (600 miles southeast of Guam), the Panasang Pohnpei Stake (400 miles east of Chuuk) and the Kosrae Micronesia District (300 miles east of Pohnpei) are also part of the temple district.
