The Only Light on the Island: The Apia Samoa Temple Shines Through Hurricane Val (1991)

In December 1991, one of the worst tropical storms in recent island memory, Hurricane Val, pounded Western and American Samoa for five days. The storm was uniquely cruel: after battering the islands for two days it seemed to weaken, lulling residents with a false sense of relief — then it turned a full loop and struck the islands again from a different direction with even stronger winds. The storm killed at least 17 people and damaged or destroyed more than 65 percent of the islands' homes. Roads, hospitals, a fire station, and virtually all of the islands' crops were gone, and downed telephone and utility lines cut off communication.

Every one of the Church's 69 meetinghouses in Western Samoa sustained damage, and most of those in American Samoa suffered major damage. Yet in the middle of the devastation, the Apia Samoa Temple stood protected, receiving only a relatively small amount of water damage.

Because of the temple's emergency generators, a light on the temple's tower kept shining through the entire storm. One member recalled that it was about the only light in the whole end of the island — and that it stood out as a beacon in the storm.