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As of April 2013, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 675,166 members in 85 stakes and 84 districts, 1,134 congregations (537 wards〔(LDS Meetinghouse Locator ). Nearby Congregations (Wards and Branches).〕 and 597 branches),〔 21 missions, and two temples in the Philippines. As of August 2013, the church's Philippines Area is presided over by Brent H. Nielson, with Ian S. Ardern and Larry Echo Hawk as counselors. The previous area president, Michael John U. Teh, is the second Filipino to serve as a general authority, with Augusto A. Lim being the first. ==History== The first contact the church had with the Philippines began in the Spanish–American War in 1898, when two LDS men named Willard Call and George Seaman, who were part of the United States artillery battery, were set apart as missionaries and began to proselytize after being deployed to the Philippines. They met with little success.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.mormonnewsroom.ph/article/philippines--country-information )〕 Active proselytizing stopped on the onset of World War II.〔http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/country/philippines/〕 The first Filipino to join the LDS Church was Aneleta Pabilona Fajardo in 1945, who was introduced to the church by Maxine Grimm, who was in the Philippines with the Red Cross in the aftermath of World War II.〔 The Luzon Serviceman's district was organized during the Korean War under the Japanese Mission for American servicemen stationed in the Philippines. In August 1955, the district was then transferred to the newly organized Southern Far East Mission, which was established by President of the Church Joseph F. Smith.〔 During this time, Smith visited the Philippines. Due to legal issues, the LDS Church could not send missionaries. Missionary work, however, was done by some LDS servicemen and American residents.〔 Kendall B. Schaefermeyer, a returned missionary serving in the U.S. Navy was one in particular.〔 He had baptized four native Filipinos by October 1957 and was teaching more than 20 others.〔 During 1960, Gordon B. Hinckley, then an Assistant to the Twelve, and apostle Ezra Taft Benson, visited the Philippines.〔 The purpose of the visit was mainly to see the work of the LDS servicemen groups but they brought back encouraging reports of the missionary work being done among the native Filipinos.〔 The church obtained official recognition in the Philippines in 1961 when Robert S. Taylor, president of the Southern Far East Mission, filed the paperwork with the Philippine government.〔 Subsequently, the church rededicated the Philippines. This dedication was done by Hinckley on 28 April 1961 in a meeting with servicemen, American residents, and Filipino members.〔 The first American missionary arrived in Manila two months later. Their names are Ray Goodson, Harry Murray, Kent Lowe and Nestor Ledesma.〔 One of the first converts after official recognition was the Jose Gutierez Sr. family. After the end of the years, six more were baptized.〔 Due to growth that followed, the Philippines was organized into its own mission by 1967 with the first president being Paul S. Rose.〔 In 1969, the church spread across the islands, having the highest amount of baptisms compared to every other area of the world.〔 This led to the division of the Philippines mission in 1974 into two separate missions, the Philippine Manila Mission and the Cebu City Mission.〔 The first stake in the Philippines was formed in Manila in 20 May 1973.〔 Church president Spencer W. Kimball presided over two area conferences, one in 1975 and another in 1980.〔 During the area conference in 1980, Kimball met with the Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos at the presidential palace.〔 Afterwards in 1987, Manila became the headquarters of the Philippines/Micronesia Area of the church.〔 Augusto A. Lim, the first Filipino general authority, was called to the Second Quorum of Seventy in June 1992.〔 The Book of Mormon was translated into Tagalog in 1987. The translation is credited to Ricardo Cruz, a native of the Philippines, with the assistance of Posidio Ocampo and Ananias Bala on the final stages of production.〔http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/18233/Book-of-Mormon-in-80th-language.html〕 Translation of the Book of Mormon is now in several languages of the Philippines. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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