Seeing an Angel Moroni statue atop the temple can be awe-inspiring. But not every Moroni is the same. In fact, there are eight different Moroni statues in use by the Church today!
But Angel Moroni statues did not always top temples. The earliest LDS temples had weathervanes, and it wasn’t until the 6th temple — the Salt Lake Temple — that the Moroni statue was introduced. The next Moroni statue wouldn’t be placed on a temple until 1956!
1983 marked the turning point. The Atlanta temple featured an Angel Moroni statue, and of the 126 temples dedicated since then, only 2 did not receive an Angel Moroni before dedication, and even those got a statue within a year.
Of the 15 temples that had originally been built without a statue, seven have been retrofitted with one. Of the fifteen not yet dedicated temples for which designs have been released, all have Angel Moroni statues planned. With one exception.
The Paris France temple made a design choice to have no spires, and consequently no Angel Moroni will be placed. Could this mark a new direction? Or is it a single blip on a thirty year tradition?
Of the Angel Moroni’s in use, each has an interesting and unique history that tells us something of the time and conditions of where the temple was built.
To read about the history of and differences between the Moroni statues, visit Lds.net by clicking here.
