PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MARY GRACE DELOS SANTOS AND TOBY CLAUDIO TODAY

Mary Grace, left, with Toby Claudio, right, and Sherwin Managil.

Photo taken inside RUNNR Ayala in November 2009.

Mary Grace Delos Santos, fresh from her second place finish in the women’s 21k category of the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon in Malaysia last week, will meet the press today at Mooon Café in Ayala.

Beside her will be RUNNR founder Toby Claudio, who was the brain behind the participation of Mary Gace in Kuala Lumpur.

Mary Grace should be able to tell her story of what transpired during the race. I had the chance to talk to her after she arrived in Cebu Monday morning but wouldn’t dare to preempt her. She will tell it the way it happened.

Meantime, let me say that there was nobody as excited when Mary Grace won than Toby Claudio.

Sir Toby called me past noon of June 28 and asked if heard about Mary Grace. I told him that I received a text that she won second place but is waiting for an e-mail from her. He was excited over the phone and congratulated me! In my mind, I was saying, “No, Sir, we have to congratulate you for believing in Mary Grace!”

As was written in the papers, Sir Toby went to say, ““I was thinking that if Mary Grace could finish the race with a good time, I’d be more than happy. Her winning second place truly exceeded expectations!”

I won’t be able to attend the press conference because I’m flying to today to Manila but I know it’s gonna be a blast!

HOUSE OF THE LORD

Runners who would pass by it still wonder what that “beautiful building” is. To those who would listen, I’d tell them it is a “House of the Lord.”

It is. On its façade, it declares, “Holiness to the Lord, House of the Lord.”

On June 13, 2010, that “beautiful building” along Gorordo Avenue was officially dedicated (offered) to the Lord by President Thomas S. Monson, the prophet, seer and revelator in these modern times.

President Monson offered the dedicatory prayer in all three sessions that day. He personally wrote the dedicatory prayer.

The Cebu Philippines Temple then became the 133^rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will serves some 200,000 members of the Church in the Visayas and Mindanao area.

It is also the second temple in the Philippines. The first is the Manila Temple that is located in a similarly hilly portion of Greenmeadows Subdivision in Quezon City.

A day before the dedication, more than 3,000 youth from Visayas and Mindanao performed at Cebu Coliseum and through dances and presentations depicted the history of the Philippines before President Monson, President Eyring, Elder Oaks, Bishop Burton, Elder Walker, Elder Edwards, Elder Ko, Elder Teh and many other leaders of the Church.

For two weeks, from May 21 to June 5, the temple was opened for public viewing. At the end of the open house, more than 45,000 came to visit.

My family and I participated in these activities. My children Jason and Kiyo were involved in the cultural show while my wife and I acted as tour guides in two days that our stake was assigned to the open house.

Having a temple here in Cebu makes it easier for members (from Visayas and Mindanao) to perform sacred ordinances that could only be performed in the temple. Some of these ordinances include temple marriage, family sealing, endowment and baptism for the dead.

On a personal note, I’d never expected that I’ll be part of another temple dedication. I was in Manila when ground was broken for the temple there. I volunteered labor during its construction, covered the open and dedication for the Tambuli Magazine (now called Liahona) and even sang in the choir during one of the dedicatory services.

I would be delighted, if in another 26 years (the Manila Temple was dedicated in 1984 and the Cebu Temple was dedicated in 2010) another temple will be built in the Philippines. I should be able to live long enough to come to the dedication of that temple.

The prophet Isaiah described it centuries ago…“And it shall come to pass in the ^alast days, that the ^bmountain of the Lord’s ^chouse shall be ^destablished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all ^enations shall flow unto it.

I’m a living witness and I’m happy to say that this scripture has been fulfilled!

TEXT OF DEDICATORY PRAYER OF THECEBU CITY PHILIPPINES TEMPLE
By President Thomas S. Monson, June 13, 2010

Our Eternal Father in heaven, Thou great Elohim, who liveth and reigneth from everlasting to everlasting, who created the heavens, the earth, and all things thereon, we bow before Thee this day in this beautiful edifice to dedicate it unto Thee.

We thank Thee for the gift of Thy Beloved Son, who came into the world according to Thy divine plan to show us by His example how we should live. We express our profound gratitude for the infinite love manifested in His atoning sacrifice as He gave Himself a ransom for all mankind, breaking the bands of death and opening the gates of salvation. We praise His holy name, our Redeemer and our Lord.

Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving unto Thee for the light of Thy everlasting gospel, restored to earth in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We are grateful that Thou didst restore, by heavenly messengers, the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods and subsequently all of the keys of the priesthood ever held by Thy prophets from the days of Adam through Abraham and Moses to Malachi.

We are grateful for the faith of those who, nearly half a century ago, first came to the Philippines as missionaries of Thy Church. We thank Thee, as well, for the great and faithful service of the thousands of missionaries who have followed in their footsteps, sharing Thy message with those willing and ready to listen and to receive the gospel.

We thank Thee for the promise found in the Book of Mormon that in the latter days Thou wouldst remember Thy children on the isles of the sea. We are in a nation of many islands, whose people love truth and whose hearts are responsive to the message of the eternal gospel. We thank Thee for their faith. We thank Thee for their spirit of sacrifice. Bless them that neither they nor the generations which follow them will go hungry or be without shelter from the storms that beat about them.

We are grateful for the completion of this Holy House. Wilt Thou bless those faithful members here and throughout the world who have contributed their tithes which have made possible this magnificent edifice for Thy name's honor and glory and for the blessing of all who enter herein.

We ask Thee to bless all who walk in righteousness and faith and obedience to the commandments Thou hast given. Wilt thou provide comfort to them when they face adversity. Wilt Thou sustain and strengthen them when the winds of opposition blow against them. Wilt Thou bring joy and peace into their hearts and the assurance of Thy everlasting love.

Father in Heaven bless, we pray Thee, those called to lead Thy Church here upon the earth, that they may have Thy guiding influence and inspiration. May they have the vitality, the wisdom and the spirituality necessary to accomplish Thy purposes.

Bless the temple president and his counselors, together with their wives, and all who assist in the operation of this temple.

Help the youth of Thy Church stand firm for truth and righteousness. Open wide to their view the gates of learning, of understanding and of service in Thy kingdom. Build within them strength to resist the temptations of the world. Give them the will to walk in virtue and faith, to be prayerful and to look to Thee as their constant anchor.

Now, our Beloved Father, acting in the authority of the Holy Priesthood which comes from Thee, and in the name of Thy Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, we dedicate this, the Cebu City Philippines Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as Thy house and the house of Thy Son. We dedicate it for the administering of those ordinances and covenants which are eternal and everlasting. We dedicate it for the performing of sacred service for both the living and the dead. We dedicate the baptismal font, the facilities used for the initiatory ordinances, the endowment rooms, the sealing rooms and the altars found therein. We dedicate this beautiful celestial room, and every other facility in this, Thy holy house.

May Thy watch care be over this beautiful temple, that it shall be holy to all who shall enter it. May those who enter to serve here leave the world behind and reflect on the things of eternity. May no one who is unworthy cross the threshold of this, Thy house. May its sanctity never be violated by those with unclean hands or evil designs. We pray that none shall interfere in any way with the sacred work for which this structure has been erected.

We dedicate the ancillary buildings and the ground on which the temple stands. We dedicate this beautiful structure, from the unseen footings to the majestic figure of Moroni crowning its highest point.
May this House provide a spirit of peace to all who observe its majesty, and especially to those who enter for their own sacred ordinances and to perform the work for those beyond the veil. Let them feel of Thy divine love and mercy.

As we dedicate this sacred edifice, we rededicate our very lives to Thee and to Thy work.
And now we dedicate this temple as an abode for Thee and Thy Son. Let Thy glorious light ever shine upon it. Wilt Thou place Thy ratifying seal of approval upon this dedicatory service and upon all we have done and shall do in this, Thy Holy House, which we now present to Thee.

May we, Thy children, merit Thy bounteous blessings and Thy watchful care, we pray, in the name of Thy Beloved Son, even the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, amen.