Elder Hinckley’s 1961 Prayer for the Philippines Is Fulfilled: 800,000 Saints and Seven Temples
Published October 2, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
In 1961, then-Elder Gordon B. Hinckley stood at the American War Memorial Cemetery in Manila, Philippines, and prayed: “We invoke Thy blessings upon the people of this land, that they shall be friendly and hospitable and kind and gracious to those who shall come here, and that many, yea, Lord, we pray that there shall be many, many thousands who shall receive this message and be blessed thereby. Wilt Thou bless them with receptive minds and understanding hearts, and with faith to receive, and with courage to live the principles of the gospel” (dedicatory prayer, April 28, 1961).
Sixty years later, that prayer has been fulfilled on a scale few could have imagined. Reporting on the miracle at the October 2021 General Conference, Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr. of the Seventy — a native of Mindanao who was six years old when his parents joined the Church, at a time when there was only one mission in the entire country and no stakes — declared: “Today there are 23 missions and more than 800,000 members of the Church in 123 stakes. There are now seven temples in operation, under construction, or announced. This is truly a miracle.”
Elder Revillo taught that the growth is also the fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Nephi 10:21: “Great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea.”
“Beyond the many, many thousands of faithful Latter-day Saints, the miracle of the gospel has brought positive changes to the country and its people,” he said. “I am a living witness of this. … I am eternally grateful for my parents’ courage and commitment to follow the Savior. I honor them and all the pioneers of the Church in the Philippines. They paved the way for the succeeding generations to be blessed.”
In Their Own Words
“We are witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Nephi 10:21: “Great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea.” This miracle is also a fulfillment of the prophecy given in a prayer by then-Elder Gordon B. Hinckley in Manila in 1961. In that prayer, Elder Hinckley stated: “We invoke Thy blessings upon the people of this land, that they shall be friendly and hospitable and kind and gracious to those who shall come here, and that many, yea, Lord, we pray that there shall be [many,] many thousands who shall receive this message and be blessed thereby. Wilt Thou bless them with receptive minds and understanding hearts, and with faith to receive, and with courage to live the principles of the gospel” (dedicatory prayer at American War Memorial Cemetery, Philippines, Apr. 28, 1961). I was six years old when my parents joined the Church. At that time, there was only one mission in the entire country and no stakes. Today there are 23 missions and more than 800,000 members of the Church in 123 stakes. There are now seven temples in operation, under construction, or announced. This is truly a miracle. Beyond the many, many thousands of faithful Latter-day Saints, the miracle of the gospel has brought positive changes to the country and its people. I am a living witness of this. I have seen how the gospel has blessed the lives of my family and many others. I am eternally grateful for my parents’ courage and commitment to follow the Savior. I honor them and all the pioneers of the Church in the Philippines. They paved the way for the succeeding generations to be blessed.”
— Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., “Miracles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” October 2021 General Conference
Sources & References
Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., “Miracles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” October 2021 General Conference — https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/56revillo?lang=eng (quoting Elder Gordon B. Hinckley’s dedicatory prayer at the American War Memorial Cemetery, Philippines, April 28, 1961) Full first-person account: Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., “Miracles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” October 2021 General Conference https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/56revillo?lang=eng
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