Salt Lake Temple renovation crews are working this morning to remove the angel Moroni statue along with the capstone on which the angel stands.
A statement by Church spokesperson Daniel Woodruff released on Monday, May 18, noted, “This has long been planned as part of the temple renovation, but the timeline to do so was accelerated following the earthquake in March.”
The 5.7 magnitude earthquake, which shook the Salt Lake Valley on March 19, caused minor damage to several Church-owned buildings in the Salt Lake Valley. The Salt Lake Temple sustained minor damages including the trumpet falling from the angel Moroni and the displacement of some small spire stones.
Work to remove the damaged statue and spires began on April 2 when a new crane was installed on the south side of the temple’s construction site.
In the latest statement regarding the temple construction updates, Woodruff said, “The statue and capstone will be preserved and refurbished before being reinstalled at a later date. Work also continues to remove stones from the upper spires of the temple for preservation during the project. Those stones will be reinstalled in the future.”
Construction on the Salt Lake Temple began on Dec, 29, 2019, and is expected to take roughly four years to complete.
