Streets near the Mount Timpanogos Temple were clogged July 17 as throngs of people watched a statue of the Angel Moroni being lifted atop the building's 190-foot spire. The American Fork Police Department estimated the crowd at 20,000 people.
Cranes hefted the 200-pound, 13-foot-3-inch-tall fiberglass statue, covered with gold leaf, to crown the building. As the statue came to rest in its permanent position, the watching thousands broke into applause and spontaneously sang, "The Spirit of God."The crowd witnessing the event numbered as many as those attending the groundbreaking ceremony held Oct. 9, 1993, according to Pres. Steve Studdert, vice chairman of the temple committee and president of the Highland Utah East Stake.
"It speaks for the interest and faithfulness of the Latter-day Saints in the area," said Pres. Studdert. "They literally clogged the streets, but it was done in a wonderful spirit."
He said he believed that the singing was similar to that of more than a century ago, when a statue of the Angel Moroni was placed on the top spire of the Salt Lake Temple in 1892 and unveiled before a large gathering.
"This was a moving demonstration of an outpouring of faith," he said. "It was very touching."
The building is nearly two-thirds complete, with the granite-faced exterior expected to be finished by December. Landscaping and most of the parking areas are completed. Sheetrock has been placed in the basement floor, and sheetrock work is proceeding on the main and second floors.
