Tri-Temple Setting

Tri-Temple Setting

On 21 September 2001, The Church celebrated the 178th anniversary of the appearance of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Three temples received an Angel Moroni statue on that day.^[1]“Moroni Statue Placed atop Trio of Temples.” Church News, Deseret News, 29 Sept. 2001.

Nauvoo Illinois

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple was then under construction. 155 years earlier the church was forced to abandon it and flee Nauvoo. Not long after that, the original temple was gutted by arson. Shortly after that, 3 of the 4 sides of the temple were demolished by a tornado that did little damage otherwise to the surrounding area. Now however, they were nearing completion of the exterior of the new temple, and on that day a new upright Angel Moroni statue was placed to an overjoyed crowd of about 500 people.

The Hague Netherlands

The Hague Netherlands Temple received its angel as a small crowd including local leaders looked on. The workers wore wooden shoes, a tradition known as “het hoogste punt” (the highest point), a celebration of reaching the highest point of construction.

Boston Massachusetts

At the Boston Massachusetts Temple there was no public notification and no ceremony. The temple had already been dedicated but a five-year long lawsuit, started well before the temple’s dedication, had prevented the church from completing the spire.  The lawsuit had recently been resolved in the Church’s favor and no time was wasted in completing the spire as had been originally planned. Over the course of several days crews placed 2 prefabricated spire segments, one completing the stone portion of the tower, the other adding a smaller tower segment and spire in tin to the top of the tower. At the end of the work, the crew intended to quietly add the Angel Moroni statue. Despite the lack of public announcement, about 200 people showed up for the occasion.