SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH
Families and other onlookers gathered outside the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Aug. 11 to witness an unusual site: one angel Moroni statue be swapped for another.
The original statue that stood atop the soon-to-be-dedicated temple was struck by lightning during a June 13 storm. The strike left the gold-leafed 13-foot-8-inch statue charred across the face, arm and trumpet area.
The lightning strike did not damage any other part of the new edifice.
The replacement statue is designed to be a bit more lightning friendly. Like its predecessor, it has a lightning rod protruding from the head — but a second rod-like cable extends from the familiar trumpet.
Both points are tied by grounding cables that run through the statue and spire tower and connect into the temple's lightning protection system.
The replacement project took three hours as crews used cranes to extract the damaged statue and secure the new representation of the Book of Mormon prophet.
Church leaders opted to replace the damaged statue after considering the cost and difficulty that would be necessary to repair the original.
The dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain temple is scheduled for Aug. 21-23.
