Friday, April 12, 2013

MINISTERING ANGELS

Picked this off of LDSFF.  Great stuff:


Here are some more quotes on ministerings of angels:

President Joseph F. Smith:
“When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from among our kindred, friends, and fellow-beings and fellow-servants. The ancient prophets who died were those who came to visit their fellow creatures upon the earth. They came to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; … such beings … waited upon the Savior and administered to him on the Mount. … Our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, or reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.”

Bruce C. Hafen talk, "When angels do come."

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=5b3f94bf3938b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

The veil between heaven and earth usually hides the angels from our sight. Yet often in the early stages of our spiritual development, we may experience unmistakable contact with the angels of the unseen world. These experiences may move our sense of belief to a sure sense of knowledge, as we exclaim with Alma, “O then, is not this real?” And Alma replies to us, “Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible.” (Alma 32:35; italics added.)

History of the Church:

But first the angels came. Indeed, the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in March of 1836 represented the greatest spiritual outpouring in modern Church history. Joseph wrote that, shortly after the dedicatory prayer was offered, “Frederick G. Williams arose and testified that [during the prayer] an angel entered the window and took his seat between Father Smith and himself. David Whitmer also saw angels in the house.”

Later, “Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; … and I beheld that the Temple was filled with angels. … The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple,) and were astonished at what was taking place.”

Oliver Cowdery concerning the appearance of John the Baptist:

On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the ‘blaze of day’; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!

“But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’

“I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease.” —Messenger and Advocate, vol. 1 (October 1834), pp. 14—16.


Blaine Yorgasen, "Adam's quest to obtain messengers, once he had entered the lond and dreary world of his wilderness experience, is no idle tale. Beginning with him, all who sought the face of the Lord anciently also sought for such visitations.

"And if they remained faithful in Gospel study, strict obedience, mighty prayer, and the proper attitude during both the hard times and the Bountifuls, they grew stronger and stronger in the Spirit, and closer and closer to the Lord, until they were blessed with what the Lord calls the ministering of angels."

Moroni 7:22, 25:
For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing...

Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.

Moroni 7:27-30
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.

And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.

For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.

Moroni 7: 36-37:
Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

Alma 32:23
And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given to them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.


I did not relate this story earlier but I feel impressed to do so now:

When I was a teenager, my friends who were forced to go to public school had the day off and they invited me to come play a game of football. It was great, there ended up being some other people at the field that were playing before we got there but they suggested we join them and have bigger teams. Everyone seemed to be down with that idea and had a great time. My ride that I came with had to leave early because he got paged (yes paged, it was like 14 years ago and pagers were more popular then) to go to work. After we were done playing I ended up catching a ride with another kid who lived next door to me. He had a truck and I ended up riding in the back with another guy because he had the cab full with other people. As we were driving down the road something happen which I still am not sure what the real story was, but the driver ended up needing to break quickly and ended up locking up the tires. The moment I heard the tires lock up I turn and looked at the guy next to me, the coolest thing happen. I looked and he was not there! Immediately I heard, what I believe an angel telling me to jump. Without thought I did just that. I still remember being in mid air and being at peace and enjoying the sun shining on me. Thinking back on the moment it seemed if time slowed down. I remember looking down at the ground and landing of my feet, I had to run to a stop because of the momentum I had. Once I had control I quickly turned around and saw the truck crashing into a ditch and flipping over. I ran over to the wreckage and helped the guy up who was a moment ago sitting next to me and had disappeared. I had asked if he jumped out of the truck, he said he did not but fell out of the bed when it was flipping. He said he remember me jumping. He was okay, just a little scraped up and shaken. Every one in the cab was fine but the truck was scrap. I remember the fire dept. came and checked every one out and when they took the pulse of every one the asked me several times if I was in the wreck because my heart rate was that of someone who was resting comfortably and not of some one who was in a wreck. I remember telling them I was not involved because I jumped out of the truck before the wreck happen. The look on the fireman’s face was one of disbelief.

I know it was an angel who told me to jump and then safely put me on my feet. I have been promised that I will be surrounded by ministering angels through out my life. I know Heavenly Father is mindful of his children; I am living proof of this. This is the only physical instance I can remember having an angel ministering to me. I know I was wondering earlier in this thread why I had not had more ministering angel experiences. I have been thoughtless about remembering the protection I have received. Looking back I can see numerous times when I had help from beyond the veil. Take it from me; always give credit to the Lord who is the giver of every good gift.

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