Elder Andersen Dedicates Bacolod Philippines Temple

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Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Bacolod Philippines Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, May 31, 2026.

“These houses of the Lord bring a power to the people,” Elder Andersen said. “It allows the people to covenant with the Lord and remember those covenants on a regular basis because they’re in the house of the Lord. And the Lord blesses them for keeping their covenants.”

The Apostle also paid tribute to the pioneering Villanueva and Barredos families in Bacolod, who joined the Church in 1964 and whose descendants attended the dedication.

“We honor the wonderful Saints of Bacolod and the communities within the temple district who embraced the restored gospel when the Church was only beginning in this region of the Philippines,” Elder Andersen said.

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Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets Christopher Barredo, a member of one of the pioneer families of the Church from Negros Occidental, before the dedication of the Bacolod Philippines Temple on Sunday, May 31, 2026.© 2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

“The temple here in Bacolod is a blessing and a responsibility for us,” said Bacolod Philippines Stake president Marc Barredo, a grandson of one of the pioneering families Elder Andersen referred to. “We stand on the shoulders of those pioneers.”

“We know that Bacolod is known as the ‘City of Smiles’ and we are all smiling today,” Elder Andersen said. “But more than just us, heaven is smiling, for today we will dedicate this beautiful building, and it will be our Savior’s sacred house, a house where He can come, where His Spirit will dwell.”

He said that the temple would be “a house of prayer, a house of peace, a house of power and revelation,” where sacred ordinances would bless both the living and those who have passed on.

Elder Andersen also referred to Negros Occidental, the Philippine province where Bacolod City is located, as the “Sugar Bowl of the Philippines.” He taught that the peace found in the temple is sweeter than anything the province is known for.

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Latter-day Saints, including adults, young single adults and youth, attend the dedication of the Bacolod Philippines Temple on Sunday, May 31, 2026.© 2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

“The house of the Lord brings the sweetness of peace like nowhere else, and it helps to clear our view of this life and eternity,” he said.

Newsroom Dedicatory Prayer for the Bacalod Philippines Temple

The single dedication session, translated into Hiligaynon, was broadcast throughout the temple district, comprising the Negros and Panay islands, and was rebroadcast later that day.

Elder Andersen was accompanied by his wife, Kathy; Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, General Authority Seventy and First Counselor in the Philippines Area Presidency, and his wife, Carol; and Elder Steven R. Bangerter, General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Susan. Elder Bangerter previously served in the Church’s Philippines Area Presidency and was at the groundbreaking in December 2021.

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From left: Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, General Authority Seventy and First Counselor in the Philippines Area Presidency, and his wife, Carol; Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Kathy; and Elder Steven R. Bangerter, General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Susan, in front of the Bacolod Philippines Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was dedicated on Sunday, May 31, 2026.

The Bacolod temple is the third temple in the country dedicated this year. The Alabang Philippines Temple was dedicated in January, and the Davao Philippines Temple was dedicated on May 3.

Three temples also in operation are the Manila, Cebu City and Urdaneta temples. The Cagayan de Oro Temple and the Tacloban City Temple are under construction. Six additional temples are in planning stages in Naga, Santiago, Tuguegarao City, Iloilo, Laoag and San Jose del Monte.

“The effect of these many temples in the Philippines will be the same effect as it is across the world,” Elder Andersen said. “There will be more disciples of Christ, more devoted Latter-day Saints, more families that are sealed who stay together and continue through the generations.”

More than 905,000 Latter-day Saints live in the Philippines.