Myth 9 | Nauvoo Statue ended up on Assembly Hall
This is a fairly easy myth to identify the probable origins. There are some older photos of the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake that show an angel weathervane, lying horizontal is if in the action of flying, with a trumpet and a book. Someone saw these photos and drew the conclusion this must be the angel described as resting atop the Nauvoo Temple, not knowing the history of that ill-fated weathervane. In a preceding section we discussed the history and likely end of the Nauvoo Angel, but what is this weathervane then seen in the photos of the Assembly Hall?
First thing to understand, is that the Weathervane is there in some images, and not in others. This is because, unlike the Nauvoo Angel, this was a flat 2-dimensional weathervane that would disappear if viewed edge on from a distance. The Nauvoo angel being a full formed 3-dimensional figure, this was not that angel.
It is not known what happened to this particular flat weathervane, but of interest, though, is where this angel possibly came from. Images of this statue show that, unlike the Nauvoo weathervane, it held a book in a hand pointing down towards the ground. While the Nauvoo angel held the book high in the air, we do have record of one weathervane, already mentioned, that held the book down.
It is my opinion that the angel on the Assembly Hall was made as a demonstration or prototype for the angels originally planned for the top of the Salt Lake Temple.