President Oaks dedicates Urdaneta Philippines Temple for faithful Filipino members who ‘believe these things’ and ‘do them’

President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the Urdaneta temple — the Church’s 190th and 3rd in the Philippines — 20 years after he served there on a special assignment as an Apostle

Published: April 28, 2024, 10:20 a.m. MDT

President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, wave to attendees during the Urdaneta Philippines Temple dedication. — President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, wave to attendees during the Urdaneta Philippines Temple dedication in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

URDANETA, Philippines — When President Dallin H. Oaks first arrived in the Philippines as an Apostle with the assignment to serve as area president in 2002, he sought the Lord’s guidance for a theme that would define his ministry.

That night, the Spirit of Lord awakened President Oaks and impressed upon his mind a passage from the Book of Mormon: “Now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them” (Mosiah 4:10).

At the time, the Philippines was experiencing rapid growth with some 600,000 members but did not have enough Latter-day Saints with a current temple recommend for President Oaks to recommend a second temple for the nation.

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