Church Jubilee in the Philippines as recorded by Larry

I thought you should read what Larry wrote; he was so touched by the activities of this weekend, and it is so seldom that he writes. His feelings and testimony are very evident in his "shortened" version. Mary

April 30, May 1, 2011—Church Jubilee as recorded by Larry

In 2009 the Philippines started to prepare for their Jubilee Celebration. The members of the Church were supposed to donate 1,000,000 hours of service to their communities. I think they did more than the one million hours. Plans were made and preparations were carried out for the celebration that is happening all over the Philippines. Stakes and multiple stakes are dancing, singing and presenting the history of 50 years of the Church in the Philippines. President Hinckley, then an Assistant to the Twelve, dedicated this land to missionary work in 1961. In the past 50 years the Church has grown to an amazing 630,000 members which is the fastest growth ever in the history of the Church in one area. And in conference today Elder Michael John Teh, a member of the First Quorum of Seventy, said he had received direct revelation from the Lord while preparing for this conference that we have seen nothing yet as to the growth of the Church in the Philippines. The Church in the Philippines will burst forth and will expand beyond belief and we must prepare ourselves spiritually to be ready for this when it happens. We need to do this by studying, not just reading, but studying the scriptures. As I think about the last two days, I become so emotional that it is hard for me to write. I am so thankful to be here at this time and to actually be part of this history with the dedication and opening of the Cebu Philippines Temple. I could not contain my emotions as I watched the presentation of the dancing, singing, and history, by these beautiful people that was televised to every stake center in the Philippines, also going to district centers and chapels. When the program was over I felt like I just wanted to start hugging all the Filipinos but I only hugged one!