Troy is the temple prep teacher in our ward. We have had some really neat blessings and experiences that have come of his calling. The DeSpain's are a fabulous couple in our ward that took the class, and it just so happens that his father is THE guy who does the gold leafing on all of the Angel Moroni's. Who knew? Such a small world! Anyway, this last April, he invited us and few others to tour the place where the statues of Angel Moroni are made. It is right here in the valley over in the Taylorsville/Kearn's area. It a warehouse building in a back out of the way place that you would never imagine, and they have made all the statues for the temples for years.
What made this particular Angel Moroni so special is that it is going to the Philippines to be placed on the Cebu temple. I thought this was really neat since we obviously have a interest in the Philippines right now. Mom and Dad might even go back to the Philippines (after the retirement is official) to attend the Cebu temple dedication.
A few fun facts that we learned about the Angel Moroni that day:
1- There are 2 sizes of statues. They started making a smaller size to
accommodate the smaller temples that are being built.
2- All gold leaf is put on by hand with a brush.
3- There is less than 1 oz. of gold that is put on the entire Angel Moroni. It
seems like it should be a lot more doesn't it?
4- They have to repair the statues in some places where it gets blasted by sand
more frequently. Or perhaps hit by lightening. They do a lot of the repairs
also.
The room is surprisingly small and Moroni pretty much takes up the whole space. It was a little tough getting a full length photo of him. On the right you can see the tip of his horn, which they gold leaf separately and attach when he is put in his rightful place at top the temple.
The detail is amazing! It looked so real. I really loved his feet.
The hole where his mouth should be made him seem a bit surprised. Of course this is where his horn will eventually go.
This is the cute little man, Mr. DeSpain, who does the gold leaf by hand. He started doing this after he retired. Just wanted to keep busy he told us.
Troy really wanted me to take his picture "shaking" Moroni's hand. They were really patient with him there. He was in true "Troy" form and he must have asked 100 questions about everything!
Just us with Moroni.
This is the whole gang. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot also. They do not do tours for the public so we feel very lucky to have had this opportunity.
2 comments:
That is why Cameron likes Troy - he asks a lot of questions. Those nerds! Gotta love them.
interesting. I hit up your page on my facebook to send some traffic your way. I just realized there are some Moroni's w/ the plates in hand on a few of the temples. Cool!!
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