Temple

Just a quick post before I go to bed because I cannot contain my excitement and joy about the newly announced Urdaneta Philippines Temple! 

Urdaneta is the closest large city to Villasis, my mother's hometown.  I remember going to the grocery store in Urdaneta when my family last visited the Philippines!  (I liked going to the grocery store while we stayed in Villasis because it was one of my only opportunities for air conditioning as well as flushing toilets.) 

I am so grateful for the faithfulness of the church members there.  They are such beautiful and humble people and they need the blessings of a temple just as much as anyone.  I think of the proximity of the Provo Temple and the Houston Temple (when I'm at home) and wonder just why I was so blessed to live where I have lived and always have a temple nearby and transportation to make the travel easy.  Even though Manila (where the nearest temple is currently located) is only a little over 110 miles from Urdaneta, I'm sure many of the Saints in the Pangasinan province (where Urdaneta and Villasis are located) do not have the means to travel to Manila.  The blessings of a temple in Urdaneta will be innumerable.

These are images of the two temples already in operation- Manila and Cebu City (which was just dedicated this year!)  The Manila Temple District actually includes many stakes and districts in the Philippines as well as Guam and Micronesia.  These are beautiful edifices. 

Manila Philippines Temple 

Cebu City Philippines Temple

I vaguely remember my first trip to the Philippines (being scared of a boat in Baguio and getting a yarn marionette) but what I experienced from my last trip instilled in me an intense love of that country and the people.  The deep emotional ties I have to that country cannot be explained (I don't even understand them.)  When I learned of the announcement of the Urdaneta Temple, tears of gratitude and joy came to my eyes almost immediately.  (Note:  I have a tendency to cry about happy things including but not limited to: sweet elderly couples, small children and babies, and a lot of stories in General Conference talks.)  I can't explain my joy and excitement about this announcement.        

We still have family in Villasis whom I hope to visit again someday.  I want to take Brenden to the Philippines to see the beauty of that land and experience the generosity of those people.  I love the Philippines so much.  Brenden and I will go there someday.  We will visit the Urdaneta Temple and take part in the blessings that so many Filipinos will soon have access to.

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To learn more about Latter-Day Saint Temple worship and why temple building means so much to me, watch this short video and check out this website.