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Tongan American Former NFL Player Invites People to Visit Temple

Vai Sikahema: "We're anxious to show people how peaceful and serene a place it is"

Vai Sikahema, former Tongan professional football player and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is encouraging friends of the Church to tour the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple open house in the U.S.A.

Sikahema played American football in the National Football League and is a current morning news anchor at NBC10.

He was the first Tongan ever to play in the NFL where he was a running back and kickoff return specialist for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played in the league for eight seasons, from 1986 to 1993.

The Church’s Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple is currently open for all to tour. The First Presidency of the Church announced the open house will be held from Wednesday, August 10, through Friday, September 9, 2016, and run every day except Sundays (August 14, 21 and 28 and September 4).

Those wishing to make a free reservation for the open house can visit www.philadelphiamormontemple.org or call 1-855-537-2000.

After Sikahema and his wife participated in one of the open house tours and personally appreciated the experience, he recommended others do the same in a story from the The Philadelphia Inquirer web site, philly.com.

“There's a lot of bucket-list things people have, and there's a bunch of things you just can't do," he told the newspaper. "Walking into a Mormon Temple anywhere in the world is one of those things you just can't do.”

“The second reason is people often think our faith is secretive. It's not secretive—it's sacred. Once they've dedicated the building, it's sacred, so everything that happens inside stays inside. We're anxious to show people how peaceful and serene a place it is.”

Read more about Vai Sikahema and the temple open house at philly.com and at the global edition of Mormon Newsroom.

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