Urdaneta Philippines Temple
On 2 October 2010, at the 180th general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of a new temple in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines.
More than 765,000 Latter-day Saints live in the Philippines, spread throughout 1,218 congregations. There are ninety-nine stakes and districts in the area. Urdaneta is located approximately 100 miles north of Manila on the island of Luzon. Luzon is the largest and most populated island in the Philippines. Latter-day Saints in the area are currently served by the Manila Philippines Temple.
The Church has re-aligned missions around the world to better facilitate missionary work. In June 2011, the Philippines Baguio Mission will be relocated to Urdaneta City, which offers a more central and accessible location for the members and missionaries of the mission. A new mission home and office will be located next to the recently remodeled Urdaneta Philippines Stake Center.
With the addition of the Urdaneta temple, there will be three temples in the Philippines. The third is the Cebu Philippines Temple.
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple will be held Wednesday, 16 January 2019. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the event. Attendance for the ceremony will be by invitation only and the proceedings will be transmitted via the internet to designated Church meetinghouses within the proposed temple district. Open house and dedication dates will be announced after the temple is built.
