Angel Moroni placed on Pocatello Temple

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - People in Pocatello and Chubbuck were surprised Wednesday morning to see the Angel Moroni being placed on top of the new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint temple.

Most LDS temples have the statuette on one of the spires.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says the Salt Lake Temple, dedicated in 1893, was the first temple topped with the statuette.

Several temples have received angels after their dedications. The first was the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, which had an Angel Moroni statue added in 1983, almost 40 years after its dedication.

Many people came out today to watch the statuette be placed.

"It's a beautiful thing. I cannot wait to have the open house," said Shanni Miller of Pocatello. "I've heard that the open house is going to be opening up in October of this year, so I cannot wait for all members and non-members that can go through to see the beautiful building inside."

The temple in Pocatello is still under construction and is expected to be for most of this year.

The temple features a three-story, 67,696-square-foot temple with a center spire. It will occupy a 12.77-acre site on the city’s east side, and once completed, the temple will serve more than 64,000 Latter-day Saints from southeastern Idaho.

This will be the sixth temple in Idaho. The temple was first announced in April 2017 by then-Church President Thomas S. Monson.