Gilbert Temple

The angel Moroni was put up on the Gilbert Temple yesterday.  I had heard a rumor that it was going up yesterday, but I never knew what time that it was going to be.  We went by yesterday evening to check it out.  It was such a good feeling to see Moroni up there, and I have to say that I am a little sad that I didn't make more of an effort to see it happen.  We took a couple of pictures from the car, but they weren't nearly as good as these pictures that I stole from http://gilbertldstemple.blogspot.com/.  It is so exciting to see the Gilbert Temple being built so near our home.  Every time that we drive by Caden gets so excited, and says "Look mommy. It's the temple!"  I know that he doesn't really understand what the temple is, but he does know that it is exciting and I'm sure that he is able to feel the spirit there.

Here are some interesting facts about the Angel Moroni Statues:

1. There are several temples including the Mesa Temple that do not have an Angel Moroni statue due to the design of the building (no spires) or building codes.

2.  The first Moroni sculptures were made of bronze, copper, or aluminum, and were very heavy. The bronze Moroni statue on the Washington DC Temple weighs about 4000 pounds.  Today they are made of fiberglass and covered with gold leaf and weigh approximately 300 pounds.

3.  In the scriptures, trumpets are used to sound warnings, proclaim news, and herald visitors. Moroni holds a horn to his lips with his right hand, symbolizing both the spreading of the gospel throughout the world and the long-anticipated Second Coming of the Savior, which will be announced by trumpet-blowing angels (see Matthew 24:31).

4.  According to scripture, at the Second Coming the Savior will come from the east (see Matthew  24:27). The Church’s guideline concerning placement of the angel Moroni figures is that where possible, they should face eastward. Sometimes, however, the angel Moroni figure may face another direction in order to align it with the orientation of the temple.

5.   The four tallest figures of the angel Moroni are:

       1. Jordan River Temple: 20 ft
       2. Washington D.C. Temple: 18 ft
       3. Los Angeles Temple: 15 ft, 5 in
       4. Salt Lake Temple: 12 ft, 5 in
Interestingly the Gilbert Temple statue is 13 ft, 8 in, so I guess that it knocks the Salt Lake Temple out of the top 4.
6.  Since gold leaf is a perfect conductor of electricity, and because the figures are often placed high above the ground atop a temple’s tallest spire, they are frequently hit by lightning. Today’s figures have a copper rod running through them vertically, which extends several inches above the figure’s head at the top, and attaches to a grounding cable at the bottom. This serves both as a lightning rod and as the mechanism for mounting the figure on the building’s tower.
7.  Adverse environmental conditions such as humidity, pollution, and extreme temperature variations take their toll on the figures, so they have to be periodically re-gilded and repaired. Sometimes, the figure is removed from the temple for maintenance work. At other times, scaffolding and tenting is set up so that the work can be done in place. Temple maintenance crews also must periodically clean bird droppings off the figures.