Spheres and Pedestals
While all the Angel Moroni Statues are casts of one of 8 models, (6, really, as two of those statues are on-of-a-kind,) There has been, at time, some liberties taken with the sphere and ornamentation underneath.
Jordan River
The first temple to include significant ornamentation around or under the sphere was the Jordan River Temple. The top of the spire features a series of stacked partial domes with edges cut into various reuleaux triangles. The assembly is about 1/3rd the height of the statue itself, and sits directly under the sphere.
This ornamentation has been included in some measurements of the statue’s height, and has caused many to state that the Jorden River statue is the tallest. However, from head to foot, the statue is still shorter than the Washington D.C. Statue.
Provo City Center
The Provo City center takes a bit of a different angle on being unique. This temple’s Moroni has extra ornamentation on the sphere itself. A wide expanded band around the equator of the sphere, and stepped sections on the bottom half make the sphere atop the center spire of the former Tabernacle match the finials on the other four spires.
Unlike at Jordan River, where the ornamentation is under the statue, the unique sphere here is an actual part of the fiberglass statue.
Philadelphia Pennsylvania
The Moroni at Philadelphia Pennsylvania is another temple that features a unique sphere. In the case of Philadelphia, the fiberglass casting has no sphere at all, and instead stands upon a stone ball placed atop the spire. This makes it only the second temple in the world to do so, the first being the Salt Lake Temple. Unlike the Salt Lake Statue, which has a curved metal plate under its feet, the Philadelphia statue stands directly atop the stone.
Meridian Idaho
The placement of the Statue atop the Meridian Idaho Temple brought another new twist to the run of the fiberglass statues. Included as part of the mold for this statue is an 8-sided pedestal that flares outward as it drops away from the bottom of the sphere.
Tucson Arizona
Like the Meridian Idaho Temple, the Tucson Arizona temple features a unique pedestal molded into the base of the sphere underneath the statue. This molded pedestal compliments the gilded dome that the statue sits atop.
Bountiful Utah’s Changing Mount
As has already been discussed earlier in this chapter, on 22 May 2016, the Bountiful Utah Temple was struck by lightning destroying the fiberglass statue. Days later, a replacement statue arrived on site.
The replacement statue had been intended for the then under construction Meridian Idaho Temple.[1]“Damaged Angel Moroni on Bountiful Utah Temple Is Replaced.” Church News, Deseret News, 2 June 2016, As such, it had the 8-sided pedestal attached to the bottom of the sphere. This presented a problem.
The spire of the temple had a flat spot at the top, and from this flat spot a post rose that went through the bottom center of the sphere. However, on the replacement Moroni, the pedestal was 8 sided. The fiberglass pedestal was cut off the bottom of the spire, but the remaining 8-sided hole was much larger than the post it was intended to fit over.[2]Deseret News. “Bountiful Temple Gets a New Angel Moroni.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 2 June 2016,
The decision was made to cut the hole to be square, and to lower the statue to slide over the very top portion of the pinnacle, hiding the original mounting point within the sphere.
The following year, from May through December, the spire on the Bountiful Temple was dismantled. The 20-year-old structure had some issues with moister, and rust was beginning to form on the interior framework of the spire.[3]Rick Satterfield, “Spire Repairs Continue at the Bountiful Utah Temple,” ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org, 26 June 2017. As part of the renovation, the statue was removed so the spire could be rebuilt above it.
Near the end of the renovation, a new statue was placed atop the pinnacle on 24 0ctober 2017.[4]Rick Satterfield, “Angel Moroni Makes His Landing atop Bountiful Temple” ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org, 24 October 2017. This would be the third statue to grace the top of the spire in just 2 years. The new statue had a small open bottom pyramid molded onto the bottom of the sphere, with the point of the pyramid removed and fixed to the bottom of the sphere. This additional piece was gilded like the rest of the statue. This pyramid slips down over the top of the pinnacle, hiding the connection point and protecting it from the weather.
This addition to the sphere makes the statue more unique, like the others discussed in this section.
Chapter 5 Navigation
References
| ↑1 | “Damaged Angel Moroni on Bountiful Utah Temple Is Replaced.” Church News, Deseret News, 2 June 2016, |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Deseret News. “Bountiful Temple Gets a New Angel Moroni.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 2 June 2016, |
| ↑3 | Rick Satterfield, “Spire Repairs Continue at the Bountiful Utah Temple,” ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org, 26 June 2017. |
| ↑4 | Rick Satterfield, “Angel Moroni Makes His Landing atop Bountiful Temple” ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org, 24 October 2017. |