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 853,000 Latter-day Saints live in the Philippines, spread throughout 1,272 congregations in this country of more than 107 million people. 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 Urdaneta Philippines Temple is the third temple built in the Philippines. The second is the Cebu Philippines Temple and the first is the Manila Philippines Temple. Other cities with temples currently operating, under construction, or announced are Alabang, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo, Laoag, Naga, Santiago, Tacloban, and Tuguegarao.

The Church often re-aligns missions around the world to better facilitate missionary work. In September 2010, the ground was broken for the new mission home and office. In June 2011, the Philippines Baguio Mission was relocated to Urdaneta City, which offers a more central and accessible location for the members and missionaries of the mission. The new mission home and office are located next to the remodeled Urdaneta Philippines Stake Center.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles created the 100th stake in the Philippines—the Mandaluyong Philippines Stake, on 10 September 2017. He said, "This is a special place. Do not underestimate who you are. The most important part of the Philippines is the people."

During a Facebook Live event in March 2018, Elder Ronald A. Rasband said, "This is just the beginning. . . . The Philippines is going to be a source of huge strength for the future of this Church."

When Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the Philippines in June 2018, he said the growth of the Church in the Philippines is reflective of the character of the people. He said, "They are very spiritual by nature."

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Senior Church leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined with community and interfaith leaders in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines, on Wednesday, 16 January 2019, to break ground for the Urdaneta Philippines 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. Attendance for the ceremony was by invitation only, with the general public invited to view the proceedings on Facebook Live.

The temple is located at MacArthur Highway, Barangay Nancayasan, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, Philippines.

Open House and Dedication Announced

President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, will preside at the dedication of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

Two sessions will be held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. PHT. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all congregations in the Urdaneta Philippines Temple District. Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced at a future date. 

A public open house starts on Friday, March 15, and continues through Saturday, March 30, 2024 (excluding Sundays). A media day was held on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, and invited guests toured the temple on Wednesday, March 13, and Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The Urdaneta Philippines Temple is 32,604 square feet (3,029 square meters) on 15.34 acres (6.2 hectares). It measures 136 feet (41.6 meters) to the top of the angel Moroni statue.

The temple’s flooring features honed honey gold tile from Israel and Palestine; broadloom carpets from the United States in the instruction rooms; cream-colored, carved wool rugs from Thailand in the celestial and sealing rooms; and entry rugs made of New Zealand wood. The light fixtures of satin brass and frosted glass were fabricated in Hong Kong, with the furniture and seating coming from Vietnam. The doors and millwork throughout the temple are made of stained African mahogany. The baptistry includes blue and green mosaic tile from Italy, with the oxen at the base of the font being painted fiberglass.[1]

With an exterior of “golden sand” granite from China, the temple shows an architectural design combining Asian influences with a modern interpretation of local Spanish colonial elements. Other exterior features include rounded corners, motifs based on the sampaguita flower and mango, with the carved stone heads on the windows representative of the decorative ventilation grills on traditional buildings. The sampaguita is the national flower of the Philippines, with the white jasmine species native to Southeast Asia. Deemed culturally and symbolically significant, the flower represents purity, simplicity, humility, and strength.[2]

Landscaping includes lush gardens and concrete-paver pathways, local flowers, large acacia trees and two rows of palm trees that line the main approach from the highway.[3]