Moroni, Angel

The statue of the angel Moroni, which is situated on the top of scores of temples, stands large and visible to millions who view the temples throughout the world. Moroni conveys the idea of a herald to the world that the gospel has been restored to the earth. President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote, “John the Revelator ‘saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth. . . .’ That angel has come. His name is Moroni. His is a voice speaking from the dust, bringing another witness of the living reality of the Lord Jesus Christ.”203

Furthermore, Moroni’s trump, which blows loudly and clearly, calls each of us to attend the temple. Sister Elaine S. Dalton edified us with these words: “From my window in the Young Women office, I have a spectacular view of the Salt Lake Temple. Every day I see the angel Moroni standing atop the temple as a shining symbol of not only his faith but ours. . . . I feel somehow he stands atop the temple today, beckoning us to have courage, to remember who we are, and to be worthy to enter the holy temple—to ‘arise and shine forth,’ to stand above the worldly clamor, and to, as Isaiah prophesied, ‘Come . . . to the mountain of the Lord’—the holy temple.”204

Here are several details about the angel Moroni statues:

The first temple to feature an angel Moroni statue was the Salt Lake Temple.

Most of the Moroni statues are oriented eastward, looking toward the rising sun and also looking forward to the Second Coming; exceptions include the Manila Philippines, Nauvoo Illinois, Seattle Washington, Spokane Washington, and Taipei Taiwan Temples.

Moroni with trumpet, Salt Lake Temple.

Several of the temples feature Moroni holding gold plates, including Jordan River Utah, Los Angeles California, Mexico City Mexico, Seattle Washington, and Washington D.C.

Some of the temples feature Moroni holding a scroll, including Anchorage Alaska, Bismarck North Dakota, Caracas Venezuela, Columbus Ohio, and Kona Hawaii.

Most Moroni statues depict Moroni wearing a robe (Joseph Smith described Moroni’s robe in JS–H 1:31), which is belted at the waist. The Los Angeles California Temple is an exception; it features Moroni depicted in a Mayan robe and having facial features of a Native American.

The Moroni statues of the Salt Lake and Nauvoo Temples face each other in a symbolic manner. President Hinckley explains, “Today, facing west, on the high bluff overlooking the city of Nauvoo, thence across the Mississippi, and over the plains of Iowa, there stands Joseph’s temple, a magnificent house of God. Here in the Salt Lake Valley, facing east to that beautiful temple in Nauvoo, stands Brigham’s temple, the Salt Lake Temple. They look toward one another as bookends between which there are volumes that speak of the suffering, the sorrow, the sacrifice, even the deaths of thousands who made the long journey from the Mississippi River to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.”205