Church begins removal of damaged Salt Lake Temple statue

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has started work to temporarily remove a damaged statue from the church’s Salt Lake Temple.

The Deseret News reports the removal of the Angel Moroni statue with a crane began Monday as part of a four-year project to renovate and restore the temple.

Work crews on multiple levels of scaffolding secured the statue, which is 210 feet above Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

The statue was damaged during a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck near Salt Lake City March 18.

The statue's trumpet fell and several smaller spire stones were displaced.