Less than five months after the Philippines’ fourth Latter-day Saint temple is dedicated in January, the island nation’s fifth temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will open for tours and be dedicated by Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
This temple, the Davao Philippines Temple, will first open its doors to the media next year on March 23, after which invited guests will tour the building March 24-25, according to a Monday release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Then, starting March 26, guests of all faiths and ages will be welcome to tour the two-story building during a free public open house period that will run every Monday through Saturday until April 10.
Guests visiting the temple during this time can expect the experience to include an introductory video, followed by a guided walk-through with explanations of each area and its significance.
Following the open house period, Elder Renlund will dedicate the Davao temple on Sunday, May 3, at 10 a.m. This dedicatory session will be broadcast to all units in the temple’s distric, and the session will also be rebroadcast at 2 p.m. that Sunday.
“Building and maintaining temples may not change your life, but spending your time in the temple surely will,” said then-church President Russell M. Nelson, upon announcing this and 11 other temples during his second general conference as prophet.
The Davao Philippines Temple was announced by President Nelson on Oct. 7, 2018. Construction of the temple began just over two years later. And upon dedication, the temple — located at Ma-a Road and Anahaw Road in Davao City, Philippines — will become the church’s fifth operating temple in the Philippines.
About the church’s growing number of temples in the Philippines
The Davao Philippines Temple is one of 14 total temples currently announced, under construction, scheduled for dedication or operating in the Philippines.
Of these 14 temples, three — the Manila Philippines, Cebu City Philippines and Urdaneta Philippines temples — are in operation. Three are under construction. Six are in planning and design stages. And two — the Alabang Philippines and Davao Philippines temples — are scheduled for dedication.
Additionally, the Church News has reported that the growing number of temples in the Philippines has made it the nation with the fourth-most number of temples, after the United States (156), Mexico (27) and Brazil (24).
The Philippines’ 14 temples also mean the nation has more temples than any U.S. state, except for Utah, which has 32.
These 14 temples will help serve the nearly 900,000 Latter-day Saints in roughly 1,400 congregations that call the island nation home.