moroni

[celticgirl2000]

On temples does moroni have to be facing a certain way?

[CrimsonKairos]

It depends on the alignment of the planets at any given time.

Seriously though, the tradition is to face East, but I remember hearing of one temple whose entrance and angel statue weren't facing East for some reason.

It's not like ordinances performed in temples without Moroni statues facing East are invalid. Just symbolism.

[AnthonyB]

CK,

Why don't they point to where LDS believe Christ will return? (The symbolism being to remind people that Christ will return physically to the earth one day and set up his kingdom.)

Congrats on being a "super" moderator! The old site from memory only had mods and adv mods, a "super" mods sounds even more powerful than an adv mod.

[CrimsonKairos]

Hahaha, yes, the intoxicating power available to me as a super moderator is amazing. LOL, j/k.

I think the tradition to face the statues East symbolizes a few things, notably that the sun rises in the East, and Christ is symbolized by the sun among other things.

[WillowTheWhisp]

I vaguely remember reading something when the Temple was constructed here in the north of England about the statue having to be realigned because of some interference being caused with radio waves or something. (Sorry about the vagueness of this. It may have been satelite TV or phone signals!) The point which I'm trying to make is that it can't be that important which direction Moroni faces if they were quite willing to turn him around to a better position.

[Elgama]

a temple doesn't even have to have a Moroni - the London Temple doesn't

-Charley

[HiJolly]

a temple doesn't even have to have a Moroni - the London Temple doesn't

-Charley

Neither do the Arizona, Hawaii(the first one) and Calgary temples.

HiJolly

[Canuck Mormon]

Neither do the Arizona, Hawaii(the first one) and Calgary temples.

HiJolly

Last time I check, there wasn't a Temple in Calgary. There's one in Edmonton and one in Cardston. Both are about 3 hrs away from Calgary, and myself. I'm not sure about the Edmonton Temple (mini), but the Cardston one doesn't have a Moroni either.

[HiJolly]

Last time I check, there wasn't a Temple in Calgary. There's one in Edmonton and one in Cardston. Both are about 3 hrs away from Calgary, and myself. I'm not sure about the Edmonton Temple (mini), but the Cardston one doesn't have a Moroni either.

Ooops. Yeah, I meant Cardston.

HiJolly

[Jbs2763]

does the manhattan one have a Moroni?

[HiJolly]

does the manhattan one have a Moroni?

I'd be surprised if it did, considering where it is. How about the Hong Kong temple? It's sorta in the same boat...

HiJolly

[a-train]

Manhattan:

Hong Kong:

-a-train

[WillowTheWhisp]

a temple doesn't even have to have a Moroni - the London Temple doesn't

-Charley

That's a point. Was it intended to have one but it would have cause a problem with the flight paths over head or is that an urban myth?

[Stampede]

the Angel Moroni Point towards the spot where christ will return. In the US it points east towards the Mount of Olives in the middle east. On the other side of the world it faces the opposite direction.

[bbbrhatt]

I never heard whether Moroni was supposed to face any one cetian way but I do remember when the Wahington DC temple was built the people of the of the area were saying that the angel was pointing in the direction of the CIA headquarters....

[sixpacktr]

I had always thought that the temple and the Angel Moroni faced East, as a symbol of welcoming Christ when he returns. However, when watching the programs on BYUTV after the passing of Pres Hinckley, he mentioned that the Nauvoo temple faced West (and I presume the Angel Moroni, but I'm not sure of that) as a symbol of the Saints leaving Nauvoo for the West, and the SLC temple facing East towards Nauvoo. He mentioned something like it being like bookends, etc.

[WillowTheWhisp]

the Angel Moroni Point towards the spot where christ will return. In the US it points east towards the Mount of Olives in the middle east. On the other side of the world it faces the opposite direction.

Where did you get that information from Stampede? I'm really curious because I'm sure the one on our temple has been changed. I'll have to take a compass with me next time I go. if I can remember.

[TheMightyQuinn]

the Angel Moroni Point towards the spot where christ will return. In the US it points east towards the Mount of Olives in the middle east. On the other side of the world it faces the opposite direction.

Moroni faces WEST on the Seattle Temple.

(The front of the temple faces west.)

I've heard it said that he faces toward Jerusalem, but I don't think that's true either.

BTW, someone knows the spot where Christ will descend from the sky during the second coming?!

[sixpacktr]

With TMQ's post, and the posts of others, I guess this just shows that the direction that the Angel Moroni faces is not doctrine, but rather tradition and possibly symbolic in nature. It would be interesting to find out why most, if not all, of us thought that 'east' was the way the statue is supposed to face, and what that was based upon (a quote by someone, etc)...

[inthearmsofsleep]

I'm pretty sure it's just all symbolism. As the Lord's house, that kind of symbolism seems appropriate, but I guess it's not always necessary (as with the Laie Hawaii temple). I really never noticed that it didn't have the angel Moroni... I've only been there twice though.

[reefcoop]

Angel Moroni Statues

The London Temple is getting an Angel Moroni added before the end of this year in line with many other retrofits since the early 80's

Interesting Facts About LDS (Mormon) Temples

1. Nine (9) temples do not have an angel Moroni. They are the St. George Utah, Logan Utah, Manti Utah, Laie Hawaii, Cardston Alberta, Mesa Arizona, Hamilton New Zealand, London England, and Oakland California Temples.

2. The Sydney Australia Temple and Boston Massachusetts Temple were both dedicated without an angel Moroni due to pending litigation. In both cases, rulings allowed for the angels to be installed about a year after dedication.

3. The Monticello Utah Temple is the only temple to have had a white angel Moroni. White fiberglass statues were to decorate the "smaller and remote-area" temples, but the Monticello statue proved too difficult to see. It was replaced about a year later by a larger, traditional gold-leafed statue, which remained the standard.

4. "Twin" temples, the Ogden Utah Temple and Provo Utah Temple, had angel Moroni statues added to the tops of their spires—painted white as part of the project—over 30 years after their dedications.

5. The Nauvoo Illinois Temple, The Hague Netherlands Temple, and Boston Massachusetts Temple participated in a tri-temple setting of the angel Moroni on the 178th anniversary of the day that Moroni first appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

6. The Nauvoo Temple was the first to have an angel (though not identified as Moroni), and it is the only temple to have a horizontal or flying angel (which functioned as a weathervane). The angel was inspired by Revelations 14:6, which says, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."

7. The first temple to have a standing angel Moroni was the Salt Lake Temple.

8. A short time after receiving a review of the Atlanta Georgia Temple from the Faith & Values section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Church revised its plans for the temple to include a spire and angel Moroni. Every temple built since has featured an angel Moroni statue (except for the Freiberg Germany Temple, which received an angel 16 years after its dedication).

9. Unlike most temples, the Seattle Washington Temple, Nauvoo Illinois Temple, and Taipei Taiwan Temple all have angel Moroni statues facing west.

10. The trumpets of the angel Moroni statues on both the Santiago Chile Temple and the Tokyo Japan Temple have been lofted out of Moroni's grasp during earthquakes.

11. Due to its height and conductivity, it is not unheard of for an angel Moroni statue to be struck by lightning during a thunderstorm just like a lightning rod.

12. Only five temples feature an angel Moroni statue holding the gold plates. They are the Los Angeles California Temple, Washington D.C. Temple, Seattle Washington Temple, Jordan River Utah Temple, and México City México Temple.

LDS Church News Archives

'In 1976, another large and highly visible temple would be constructed, this one outside the nation's capital. Prominent LDS artist Avard Fairbanks, while still in his youth, had worked on the bas relief frieze for the Church's temple in Laie, Hawaii, depicting scriptural events. That work featured separate figures representing the angel of the Restoration and the angel Moroni giving the plates to Joseph. Brother Fairbanks now was commissioned to design the Moroni statue for the Washington D.C. Temple. The 18-foot statue subsequently would be the basis for bronze castings for the Seattle Washington, Jordan River Utah and Mexico City Mexico temples.

"Now, we've got some momentum going for the idea of angels on temples," Brother Oman said of that post-1976 period. "It doesn't totally take over yet. We build temples after that with no statues."

But by then, the Moroni statue had become a visual cue immediately communicating to onlookers from a distance that a building is a temple constructed by the Latter-day Saints.

More recent temples — and earlier ones that have been retrofitted with Moroni — feature angel-statue designs made in 1978 and 1998 by Karl Quilter. The tell-tale Book of Mormon plates have been discontinued, but that is of little consequence, as an angel atop a temple has long since been clearly established in the public mind as a representation of the resurrected Moroni, who fills the role of the angel of the Restoration in John's vision.

For Brother Oman, the angel figure on the temples reflects an interesting characteristic of Mormonism: "We latch onto an idea, bring it into our culture and religious faith and, in essence, Mormonize a secular idea."

Thus, a weather vane angel was used at a time when weather vanes were common features on public buildings. Statuary on top of buildings was a familiar custom in the 1860s and thereafter, exemplified by the figures atop the nation's Capitol in Washington D.C. and the one on the Salt Lake City-County Building.'

(The full article gives much more interesting information on the whole Angel Moroni question if you want to read it all - It can be found in the LDS Church News Archives for 20th September 2008, called 'Another Angel'. Hopefully the link works too)

Hope that helps more accurately answer peoples questions and avoid myths.

[tubaloth]

Seriously though, the tradition is to face East, but I remember hearing of one temple whose entrance and angel statue weren't facing East for some reason.

Yes most temples have Moroni Faceing east to show when way Christ well come. On the Navuoo temple Moroni faces west, from what I remember Pres. Hinckley wanted this as "book ends" to where the Pioneers start (in Navuoo) and where they ended (in Salt Lake City).