The Day My Family Visits The Temple

I remember it was sometime in the month of September 1986 when the whole member of my family visited the Manila Philippines Temple somewhere in Greenmeadows Subdivision, Quezon City.

Manila Philippines Temple

I brought along with me my six children, Dondon, Dona, Gingging, An An, Gigi and Toto Jun, our youngest son. It was the first time that my family went to Manila especially in going to the Temple of the Lord to do some temple ordinances.

In my case, I had already gone there sometime in 1975 when I underwent a two-training at the Central Bank of the Philippines in the Savings and Loans Department of the said agency and I was temporarily residing at the residential house of the owner of the bank where I am about to work with. I had no idea that the present Temple would be built in that area.

I remember I had to take three rides in going to the Central Bank. While in the case of my family in going to the Temple, they had to take two rides from Baclaran to St. Corinthians Gardens (White Plains Avenue now).

I could imagine the difficulty which my family had to undergo by traveling 20.7 km, passing along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Since transportation was almost full of passenger it is already seven or eight in the morning, So they'd to wake up as early as four in the morning and prepared themselves to get a few-passenger bus. They'd to sacrifice for there's no transportation service given to us.

My wife and Me at the Temple

Blessing Out of Sacrifice

After my wife and I received our personal endowment and were sealed for time and eternity in an ordinance conducted by a priesthood in authority inside the Temple, my children's sealing to us as a family followed.

This is the blessing that we considered from our Heavenly Father that we could live forever as a family for time and eternity too after all the things we sacrificed like our time, efforts, money to serve the Lord and to magnify and strengthen His kingdom here on earth.

This Temple ordinance is too difficult to comprehend to perform  if you're not worthy members of the Church. A worthy member has to pass an interview in order to have a temple recommend which would be approved by his Bishop and finally be approved too by his Stake President.

Now we have another Temple in Cebu. We don't need to go to Manila Temple anymore to do some temple ordinances like baptism for the dead by proxy.

Baclaran, Pasay to Quezon City (route) to Temple

35 Years of Membership

I took the series of lessons successfully on the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel like faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and committed myself to abide with the commandments and teachings of Jesus Christ from the standard book of the Church like The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Holy Bible, and passed the baptism interview by an Elder who is assigned as Zone Leader.

It was a Filipino full time missionary, Elder Tolentino who baptized on April 20, 1980 and in June of the same year my wife was also baptized. After I received my Melchizedek Priesthood, I was able to baptize my own children when they reached their age of 8 years, the age of accountability,

It is our testimony then that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. As a family, we are happy indeed that we belong to this Church for we know that family is forever. If you want to know more about our Church, you may visit our Church nearest to your place.