The Cedar City Utah Temple, located along the I-15 corridor, has taken a step toward completion with the placement of the angel Moroni, an iconic figure on most temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The statue of Moroni is not a figure of worship but rather one of respect for his role in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Moroni was a real person, an ancient prophet in the Book of Mormon who Mormons believe revealed the location of golden plates to the young Joseph Smith in 1823 from which the sacred book of scripture was translated.
Though there was no formal announcement of the statue’s placement, Latter-day Saints and neighbors to the new temple gathered to watch the process from uncrating the statue to lifting it high into the air; workers guided the gold-plated figure onto the top of the temple.
The statue was placed on a picture-perfect day in the southern Utah town of Cedar City, famous for the annual Utah Shakespeare Festival and several natural scenic vistas.
The temple was announced at the Church’s April 2013 general conference and is located at 300 South Cove Drive.
After completion, open house dates will be announced so the public can tour the temple before it is dedicated. Dates will be announced for the dedication as well as for a cultural celebration, an event that highlights the completion of the temple and the history of the area through song and dance.
Most angel Moroni statues are patterned after the one on the Salt Lake Temple, which was completed in 1893.
The statue's sculptor, Cyrus E. Dallin, who was not a member of the Mormon faith, wrote that working on the project “brought me nearer to God than anything I ever did. It seemed to me that I came to know what it means to commune with angels from heaven.”