Standing atop most temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the angel Moroni, an ancient prophet in the Book of Mormon. The statue is not a figure of worship, but rather symbolizes his role in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The angel Moroni was first used on the Salt Lake Temple, which was dedicated in 1893. The 12-foot-5-inch statue stands on a stone ball on the 210-foot central spire on the east side.
This statue of the angel Moroni, packed tightly in a crate, was placed on the Fort Collins Colorado Temple, Wednesday, August 26, 2015.
Sprung from its crate, the angel Moroni is hooked to a cable and a crane lifts the statue to the top of the temple.
Construction workers secure the statue of angel Moroni ready for its trip skyward.
A close-up of the angel Moroni shows detail of his face, wavy hair, horn and its mouthpiece, all covered with gold leafing. Moroni was an ancient prophet in the Book of Mormon. He revealed the location of a record engraved on gold plates that gave the history of a people who lived on the American continent to the young Joseph Smith in 1823.
An audience of Latter-day Saints, construction workers and passersby watch as the angel Moroni is lifted to the top of the temple.
The statue of angel Moroni is hoisted slowly to the top of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple.
Below the angel Moroni is a post that will slide through a hole in the temple's steeple, where the statue will be secured in place.
It takes skill and team-work between the crane operator and the construction worker on the steeple to steer the angel Moroni onto the top of the temple.
The construction worker guides the statue to its permanent location on top of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple.
Still tethered to the cable of the crane, the angel Moroni is secured in place.
One of the exciting events during the construction of a Latter-day Saint temple is the placement of the angel Moroni. The iconic statue is now in place on the tallest part of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple.
This is a rendering of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple. Currently, the Church has 148 dedicated temples throughout the world with 30 other temples either being renovated, under construction or announced.