The Angel Moroni statue that sits atop the Star Valley Wyoming Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Afton was replaced early Tuesday morning after being struck by lightning this spring. Crews operated two cranes to complete the work, with one crane moving the statues, and one crane hefting crew members who released the damaged statue from its perch on the spire of the temple and secured the new one in its place.
“A couple of months ago, we had a thunderstorm and lightning struck the statue, which blackened part of the backside of the statue,” said President Kirk Hathaway, President of the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, in an interview with SVI Media last Friday. “You can hardly tell where it is unless you’re looking for it… When our Temple Facilities Manager looked closely, he noticed that there was blackening on it, and so it was determined by the church’s Temple Facilities Department that we should replace it.”
Crews and cranes were scheduled to arrive on the temple grounds by Monday morning, August 5, but unavoidable delays pushed the arrivals back to 2 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Setup went smoothly into early evening, but the weather delivered an unexpected thunderstorm, complete with lightning, which further delayed the installation process. By the time the storm passed, it was too late for crews to safely complete the installation in daylight, so officials determined to try again early Tuesday morning.
RELATED: PHOTOS AND VIDEO OF ANGEL MORONI REPLACEMENT ON THE STAR VALLEY WYOMING TEMPLE –
The temple was closed on Monday, but rescheduling the installation to Tuesday presented a few challenges for workers and patrons as the temple remained open and operating on Tuesday morning. As installation procedures began promptly at 6:30 Tuesday morning, the front doors to the temple were inaccessible. Workers and patrons entered the grounds through the east gate and then entered the temple through the South-East rear entrance, where all temple recommends were checked manually.
Installation was completed by 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, and crews began the process of removing cranes and equipment from the grounds.
Bruce Wallgren, whose company, 3-D Art, is commissioned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to create the Moroni statues for temples all over the world, was on the grounds to oversee installation of the new statue. His son Brian, and Brian’s father-in-law, Frank Chidester, who lives in Afton, manned the basket and performed the installation, releasing the damaged statue and securing the new statue in place.
“It came off just the way it should have,” Bruce told SVI Media after the installation. The only challenge they faced in the process was the need to grind some of the oxidized metal from the base of the grounding pole on the statue before they fed the pole into the spire.
“The Star Valley temple is such a significant landmark in our community,” said Hathaway. “People traveling through Afton immediately notice its majestic spire and stop to ask about the significance of the Angel Moroni. When the Angel Moroni statue was damaged by lightning, I think we collectively wondered how it could be repaired and regain its original polished gold appearance. Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints replaced the old statue with a new one with the help of two large cranes. We are so grateful to see the Angel Moroni gleaming from the temple once more and hope that everyone in our community continues to feel his invitation to come unto Jesus Christ.”
