Myth 17 | Posthumous Addition

Myth 17 | Posthumous Addition

It goes like this:

‘Hey, did you hear that the reason Ogden and Provo Temples were so late in getting angel statues is because they waited until after the Original Architect died so they would not offend him?’

The Architect for the Provo and Ogden temples was Emil B. Fetzer. If you read the previous chapter then you already know that some of his early designs included the statue for both temples, so right away, this myth is just wrong.

But don’t take my word for it.

The Ogden Utah Temple received an Angel Moroni Statue 18 November 2002.^[1]“Ogden Utah Temple to receive improvements, Moroni statue,” The Church News, Deseret News, 14 September 2002. The Provo Utah Temple received an Angel Statue on 12 May 2003.^[2]“Statue finds home atop Provo Utah Temple,” The Church News, Deseret News, 17 May 2003. Emil Fetzer died 6 years later, on 2 November 2009.^[3]“Emil B. Fetzer,” Wikipedia Now, one possible source for this rumor might be the later renovation of the Ogden Utah Temple. This renovation gutted the temple, inside and out, and gave it a more classical appearance, a far cry from Fetzer’s modernist design. The renovation and redesign for the Ogden Temple was announced on 18 February 2010, a little over 4 months after the architect’s death.^[4]Scott G. Winterton, “Mormon temple in Ogden to get makeover,” Deseret News, 18 February 2010. While I am in no way saying that the renovation for the Ogden Temple was purposefully scheduled for after the architect’s death, I am saying the timing may have led some to believe that to be the case. Over time, this could have morphed into the Angel Placement, instead of the renovation.

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