By FRED SWIFT
The County Line
What’s the story behind that huge Mormon church at 116th Street and Spring Mill Road topped by a gilded statue with a horn?
In the first place, it is not a church. It is Indiana’s only Latter-day Saints’ temple, and the statue atop the 96-foot tower. Sometimes mistaken for Gabriel with his horn, it is actually Maroni, an ancient prophet and angel in Mormon tradition.
No regular Sunday services are held in the temple. Services are held in a more modest church immediately to the south. The temple, dedicated in 2015, is essentially for the 46,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Indiana.
The white limestone building is considered a holy place where members may visit to pray and meditate. Wedding ceremonies and certain types of baptisms are performed there. Non-members are generally not permitted to enter, while regular church services next door are open to anyone.
The interior of the 34,000 square-foot temple is elegantly appointed with a great deal of marble, fine woodwork, stained glass, original artwork and oriental rugs. But, perhaps surprisingly, there is no large sanctuary or auditorium such as found in most churches.
There are 161 LDS temples worldwide and 10 more under construction to serve 16 million Mormons. Indiana is not a Mormon stronghold. Most American members have traditionally been found in the western U.S., especially Utah and other western states. And, Mormon is not an official name for the church – in fact some prefer the term not be used.
Church membership is growing, especially overseas, but the church does almost no commercial advertising, relying on social media and its young missionaries. There are 65,000 missionaries serving worldwide. About two dozen are found here in Hamilton County at any one time.