Plate 5.—Statue Surmounting the Capstone of the Great Temple
The stonework of each of the six towers ends in a sphere of granite. The termination of the east center tower is the highest stone in the building and constitutes the capstone. Anchored to this granite globe is a figure wrought in copper over-laid with gold; it stands over twelve feet high, and represents Moroni, an ancient Nephite prophet, who as a resurrected being visited the boy-prophet, Joseph Smith, in 1823, and afterward delivered to him the ancient record since published to the world as the Book of Mormon. The design is that of a herald with a trumpet at his lips. The statue is the work of C. E. Dallin.
The capstone on which the statue stands is one of the record-stones of the Temple. In a receptacle within the granite mass are a number of books and other records.
See pages 175, 176; also 151, 152.
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