Lightning Rods
As it is the highest point of what is sometimes the highest building for some distance around, the Angel Moroni Statues must be built to withstand lightning strikes. In the case of the fiberglass statues, which do not naturally conduct electricity, the fiberglass shell is mounted around a metal pole. Non/low conducting materials are used to attach the fiberglass shell to the central pole. A metal spike or rod is attached at the top of the pole; this rod is threaded out and replaced with an eye bolt when the statue needs to be moved or replaced. At the bottom of the pole, a woven copper fiber cable is connected and fed down through the spire to a grounding point which, in turn, leads to the bare earth under the temple. This usually safely conducts the lightning through the temple to the ground but it is not a perfect process.
Damage has happened to multiple statues over the years due to lightning strikes. This damage is expected, and as such the statues are not as expensive as one might think based on their appearance. It is better to have damage done to the statue than to the larger, more expensive spire or other parts of the temple.[1]“Bountiful Temple Angel Moroni Hit by Lightning.” Newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 June 2016. In other words, even when damaged, the statue does what it is intended to do. Following is a list of times occasions where the statue protected the temple from lightning, but was damaged in the process.
Mount Timpanogos
The original statue on the Mount Timpanogos temple had not been built to specifications required to act as a lightning rod. In this case, metal with a high level of conductivity had been used to attach the fiberglass shell to its center support. According to a Temple Engineer[2]Interview by Brian Olson of Temple Engineer on Site during the statue swap out, September 2002., during thunderstorms it was not uncommon to see sparks crackling out of the sphere, the elbow, the hand, or the trumpet during electrical storms. This problem with the conductivity caused a lightning bolt to split the statue’s face in half, vertically, roughly down the nose. The statue was replaced in 2002.
Oquirrh Mountain
In another instance, the lightning rod failed even though the statue had been built correctly. During the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house, a bolt of lightning struck The Angel Moroni statue, glanced off the lightning rod, hitting the trumpet bell. This strike blackened the trumpet, arm and face of the Moroni. It was replaced just ten days before the dedicatory service in 2009 with the addition of a second lightning rod pointing out of the top of the trumpet. All statues now feature a second lightning rod. Some feature this same style second rod, others use a metal ring embedded in the fiberglass rim of the trumpet bell flare.[3]The Associated Press. “New LDS Temple’s Angel Struck by Lightning.” Daily Herald, 15 June 2009.
Nauvoo Illinois
On 28 June 2019 a lightning strike at the Nauvoo temple did damage similar to that done at the Oquirrh Mountain statue ten years earlier. A Lightning strike hitting at a peculiar angle glanced off the top of the statue’s head, and appears to have struck the arm instead. The end result was a reddish-brown fouling across the right arm and face of the angel statue, plus the destruction of most of the trumpet between the hand and the mouth. One witness to the event said smoke was coming off the statue just after the event.[4] “Nauvoo Temple Struck by Lightning, Angel Moroni Damaged.” LDS Living, 1 July 2019. A replacement statue, the same model, was hoisted to the top of the tower on 12 November 2019.[5]Joshua Ellis, “Nauvoo Temple’s Angel Moroni Statue Replaced,” KSL.com, 12 November 2019
Bountiful Utah
One of the more spectacular and widely reported instances of damage to an Angel Moroni statue occurred at the Bountiful Utah Temple on 22 May 2016.[6] “Bountiful Temple Angel Moroni Hit by Lightning.” Newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 June 2016. Lightning struck the top of the statue, as had done many times before. This time, however, something about the strike caused the fiberglass to spilt apart. In a loud crack of thunder, a large portion of the face was blasted off, along with an oval shaped section on the statues back. Drone footage from the time shows the center pole of the statue inside the black void. The damage necessitated a hurried emergency replacement. On 1 June 2016, statue with a gold pedestal underneath the ball arrived on site.[7] Photo in article “Bountiful Temple Angel Moroni Hit by Lightning.” Newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 June 2016. The replacement had been intended for the then under construction Meridian Idaho Temple. The pedestal under the ball was sawed off, and the hole in the bottom of the ball cut to a square shape so that the new statue could slot over the top of the spire.[8]Deseret News. “Bountiful Temple Gets a New Angel Moroni.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 2 June 2016.
Indianapolis Indiana Temple
Like the Bountiful Utah Temple a couple of years prior, a blast of lightning at Indianapolis Indiana Temple caused the back of the Angel’s robe to be cast off when the statue was struck on 19 May 2019.[9]u/sweetcheesybeef. “r/LDS – The Indianapolis, IN Angel Moroni Was Struck by Lightning on May 16. Yes, That’s a Giant Hole.” Reddit.
Columbia South Carolina
On 6 April 2022 the statue on the Columbia South Carolina Temple was hit by a lightning strike. The statue was whole, compared to some other lightning struck statues, but was still determined to be damaged enough to replace. The swap was made on 27 June 2022.
Chapter 5 Navigation
References
| ↑1 | “Bountiful Temple Angel Moroni Hit by Lightning.” Newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 June 2016. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Interview by Brian Olson of Temple Engineer on Site during the statue swap out, September 2002. |
| ↑3 | The Associated Press. “New LDS Temple’s Angel Struck by Lightning.” Daily Herald, 15 June 2009. |
| ↑4 | “Nauvoo Temple Struck by Lightning, Angel Moroni Damaged.” LDS Living, 1 July 2019. |
| ↑5 | Joshua Ellis, “Nauvoo Temple’s Angel Moroni Statue Replaced,” KSL.com, 12 November 2019 |
| ↑6 | “Bountiful Temple Angel Moroni Hit by Lightning.” Newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 June 2016. |
| ↑7 | Photo in article “Bountiful Temple Angel Moroni Hit by Lightning.” Newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 June 2016. |
| ↑8 | Deseret News. “Bountiful Temple Gets a New Angel Moroni.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 2 June 2016. |
| ↑9 | u/sweetcheesybeef. “r/LDS – The Indianapolis, IN Angel Moroni Was Struck by Lightning on May 16. Yes, That’s a Giant Hole.” Reddit. |