In December 1989, combat associated with a military coup in the Philippines came dangerously close to destroying the Manila Philippines Temple. As the coup erupted, heavy fighting took place at Camp Aguinaldo, a military base neighboring the temple grounds. The small Filipino staff still inside the temple complex at the time could hear confusion closing in as rebel troops attacked the government loyalists at Camp Aguinaldo, dropping bombs and firing rockets. On the second day of fighting, rebel soldiers breached the temple gates and occupied the grounds. Members throughout the Philippines prayed that the temple might somehow be spared.
