President Gordon B. Hinckley, having had personal experience 45 years earlier with the fledgling Church in the Philippines, spoke of the progress made since then and the requirements to have a temple in the area in an address broadcast live by satellite from Salt Lake City to southern Philippines stake conferences on Sunday, April 24.

Courtesy Office of the President

President Gordon B. Hinckley, seated right, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, center, his wife, Kristen and, standing, Elder H. Bruce Stucki and his wife, Cheryl, spoke to Philippines members.

Speaking to members of 27 stakes and 11 districts in the islands of the southern Philippines, with a membership of 104,975, President Hinckley told of visiting the Philippines in the early 1960s, finding only one Filipino who was a member of the Church.

"From that one member who was present with us in 1961, the membership of the Church has grown to include more than half a million on the rolls of the Church," President Hinckley said. "I think there is nothing to equal it anywhere. It has been a miracle. In the Book of Mormon we are told, 'Great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea.'

"There are more than 7,000 islands in the Philippines. Surely the Lord God has remembered His people upon the isles of the sea as evidenced by your presence this morning in this great conference."

President Hinckley noted that he was witness also to the expansion of the Church to the southern Philippines in 1967. "My journal for April 14, 1967, indicates I was there and noted that it was gratifying to see the 'opening of the work in the south, where branches are now functioning (although the numbers are small) in Cebu and Iloilo.'

"There is now great strength among you, great capacity, great faith and devotion."

He said, "You have expressed a desire to have a temple in Cebu. It is a long distance and a very expensive journey to go to the temple in Manila. But temples are very costly to build and to maintain. Per square foot, they cost three times as much as a beautiful stake center. We must be sure that there will be enough patrons to justify another temple before we build one."

He then challenged all the adult members to qualify for a temple recommend and spoke at length about what is required to receive one.

Then he said, "If enough of you can do this, we shall be obliged to build another temple in the Philippines more convenient to where you live. There is nothing more beautiful than to see Latter-day Saints serving in the house of the Lord. When that happens we know that they are faithful and true, that they are devoted and righteous, and that they wish to do the right things."

Referring back to a meeting in Manila on May 21, 1961, President Hinckley said, "In the prayer that I offered on that occasion I said: 'What we begin here will affect the lives of thousands and thousands of people in this island republic and its effects will go from generation to generation for great and everlasting good.'

"I believe that prayer was prophetic. I see its fulfillment in the lives of you people. May heaven smile upon you is my prayer today. May you have the faith to walk in the ways of the Lord. And may your prayers be heard and blessings of abundance come upon your heads."

Speaking with President Hinckley were Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve and his wife, Kristen, and Elder H. Bruce Stucki of the Seventy, and his wife, Cheryl. Elder Stucki conducted the broadcast portion of the conference. The addresses originating in Salt Lake City were delivered by satellite to more than 30 meetinghouses in the Philippines. Participating stakes and districts had local openings and closings to their conferences.

Elder Oaks, who served two years as president of the Philippines Area beginning in August 2002, reported on the progress of the Church there.

He expressed hope that more members would be full tithe payers in 2005 but said that the amount of tithing paid in the Philippines has increased significantly.

"This thrilled me," he said, "because for the past two years, your area presidency has told you truthfully that if you want a temple in the southern part of the Philippines, you need to pay your tithing so the Lord and His servants will see that you are ready for a temple. The Lord will not build a temple to stand vacant. And until we have enough members who can qualify for a temple recommend — and that includes being a full tithe payer — we cannot have a temple in the southern part of the Philippines where it is needed so badly."

He complimented the members on positive success in several areas and said, "I could cite other examples of progress in our Church activities in the Philippines, but what I have described is probably sufficient to show why I always tell people that the leaders and members in the Philippines are making great progress as they respond to the challenges of our prophet and their area presidency."

He also complimented the members on aspects of Philippines culture and tradition that are in keeping with the commandments of God.

"Modesty is one of them," he said. "I plead with our youth in the United States to be as modest as the young people I saw in the Philippines. We also hope for our members in the United States to be as loyal and as loving as our Philippine brothers and sisters and to work for the strong family culture you have in the Philippines."

He told husbands and wives to avoid separation for long periods of time, such as for employment. "Too many eternal covenants are broken by the strains of such separations," he said.

Sister Oaks spoke of how much they miss and love the members in the Philippines where they lived for two years.

At one point she said, "Elder Oaks and I learned so many lessons from you. You taught us about humility and joy and kindness and service, and especially about brotherly love. Brothers and sisters, as we try to follow the prophet and be obedient, we begin to have more in common with active members of our Church in all the nations than we may even have with non-members of our own culture. This is because in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are of one culture and one house, and that is the house of Israel. And we are a covenant keeping people regardless of where we live."

Elder Stucki spoke about missionary work, using the example of a man from Phoenix he dealt with in business. The business acquaintance joined the Church with his young daughter after his wife died. Elder Stucki said the man and his daughter had several missionaries: their neighbors; Primary leaders, teachers and children; the full-time missionaries; and the priesthood brethren and the sisters and the children of his home ward.

"I think it is just great that the Lord works through His children to accomplish His work here on earth," Elder Stucki said.

Sister Stucki recalled, while her husband was in the West Africa Area presidency, helping train women in auxiliary leadership there and seeing them show up to the sessions with enthusiasm and in great numbers. She said, "We should all be as excited and concerned about our gospel training and knowledge as our African sisters are."

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