If I visit another religion’s place of worship, will I go to hell?

Questions such as this hounded me when I was a kid, raised in a Catholic family and educated in a school run by Spanish Catholic priests. 

“Outside the Church, there is no salvation” was one of the things I remembered from library books that piqued my interest. I didn’t know this was a centuries-old exclusivist doctrine that already evolved to be inclusivist — more tolerant of other beliefs — after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. 

Certainly, my grade school self never imagined he would be a journalist reporting on different faiths — including what was known as the “Mormon Church.”

Many of us have stereotyped “Mormon” missionaries through the years: Caucasian men in white collared shirts with neckties, bringing books and leaflets as they visit communities to share their beliefs. 

In Quezon City, their 115-foot temple along White Plains has been an icon, a landmark, for the past 40 years.

And who hasn’t noticed their chapels for their basketball courts?

At this point, we have to admit: We tend to be afraid of strangers. And, in obvious or subtle ways, we have been cautious about dealing with religious minorities.

Why not give them a second look?

The people once called “Mormons” (a name they’ve stopped using since 2018) are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Christian church organized by Joseph Smith and five others in New York on April 6, 1830. 

The Church of Jesus Christ describes itself as the “restoration of the true Church of Jesus Christ.”

Must Read

[The Wide Shot] FamilySearch and treasures from other churches

In the Philippines, it began with a few members in the 1940s and 1950s, then its membership “accelerated quickly” after missionary work went full swing in 1961.

They now have nearly 868,000 members in the Philippines. They’re a small minority compared to more than 85 million of the Roman Catholic Church in the country, but still a powerful force when it comes to engaging other faiths. (At least four of the interfaith events I attended this year were organized by the Latter-day Saints.)

I learned more about their church on Friday, November 29, when I attended the Christmas lighting ceremony of their Manila Philippines Temple along White Plains.

The Manila Philippines Temple is a 2,479-square-meter facility in a 1.4-hectare site, dedicated in September 1984. Located at a street now known as Temple Drive, it is the first Latter-day Saints temple in the Philippines and the second in Asia. 

The Christmas lighting activity at this temple has been an annual tradition since 1986.

Play Video

During the dinner prior to the lighting ceremony, I was seated with Elder Michael Strong of Salt Lake City, Utah, his wife Sister Cristin Strong, broadcasters Paolo Abrera and Suzi Entrata-Abrera, and Father Richard Babao of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. 

Elder Strong has been assigned to be the second conselor in the church’s Philippines area presidency since August 1. The Strongs, who wore the traditional barong Tagalog and terno that evening, have been living in the Philippines for a few months. 

Elder Strong and Sister Strong, who were assigned to Peru from 2018 to 2021, told us they have never seen Christmas the way it is celebrated here.

“You should see our Simbang Gabi,” I told them, referring to the Filipino Christmas tradition of attending nine consecutive dawn Masses in preparation for Christmas. Others at the dinner table said they should try the puto bumbong, a purple rice cake traditionally sold outside churches during Simbang Gabi. 

But however unique Simbang Gabi is, Christmas is still Christmas. 

“We have more similarities than differences,” Elder Strong said.

Before Friday’s event, I was actually unsure if the Latter-day Saints celebrate Christmas. I even had to google “Christmas” and “Latter-day Saints,” to make sure I was writing our stories correctly. And yes, like Catholics, they do celebrate Christmas — and they also put up Christmas trees.

Despite many differences in doctrine, Christmas is one of the things we Catholics, in this predominantly Catholic country, share with Latter-day Saints. 

That’s why, for me, the most powerful symbolism at the Manila Philippines Temple that evening was not the actual lighting, but the presence of a particular set of guests.

Wearing white cassocks, nearly 20 Roman Catholic seminarians from the Holy Apostles Senior Seminary (HASS) in Makati City attended the Latter-day Saints temple-lighting activity, led by their dean of seminarians and my seatmate that evening, Father Babao. 

Play Video

At dinner, the Catholic seminarians serenaded the guests and, minutes later, joined missionaries from the Latter-day Saints — the Philippines Quezon City Mission Choir — in performing a Christmas song.

Blending the voices of Catholics and Latter-day Saints, it was one of the most beautiful “Joy to the World” renditions I have ever heard. 

Play Video

Babao, assistant minister for ecumenical and interfaith affairs of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila, said it was the second time that HASS seminarians were invited to sing at the Latter-day Saints’ Manila Temple Lighting. 

The Church of Jesus Christ was a donor of HASS in the past, having made a “generous contribution” to renovate the Catholic seminary’s Saints Peter and Paul Gymnasium in June 2023.

Babao, in a text message to Rappler, said the seminarians’ presence at the Latter-day Saints event “fosters friendship and harmony” among people of different faiths. 

“We share what is common with us and learn about their faith and way of life, and hopefully enrich each other to be better Catholics or better Latter-day Saints,” he said.

Elder Carlos Revillo Jr., Philippines area president of the Church of Jesus Christ, said Friday’s activity went beyond “the beauty of the lights” at their Manila Philippines Temple.

“Tonight is about reflecting on the light of the world: our savior, Jesus Christ,” said Revillo, adding that “no matter how dark the world may seem, the light of Christ shines brighter.” 

When people celebrate similarities even while maintaining differences, visiting another religion’s place of worship can be a peek at heaven. – Rappler.com