DO YOU BELIEVE in angels?
There are many accounts of angels in the scriptures.
Jacob sees angels ascending to and descending from heaven (Genesis 28:12).
Gideon saw an angel face-to-face and spoke with him (Judges 6:22).
Luke records, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-11).
Angels ministered to Jesus (Matthew 4:11).
An angel whose countenance was like lightning and his clothing white spoke to Mary Magdalene, saying, “Fear Not. I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen” (Matthew 28:3-6).
The gospel will be preached to all the world and when Jesus Christ returns, “They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24: 30-31).
A more contemporary account is from the prophet Joseph Smith, who described a visit by an angel as this, “His whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God.”
The prophet Mormon declared, “Have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men” (Moroni 7:29).
Jeffrey R. Holland, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, remarked, “Not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with — here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.”
Have miracles ceased? I believe that God still sends angels from heaven with a specific purpose. More often, we can be as Holland said, angels from this side of the veil.
From the song by Alabama, “Oh I believe there are angels among us. Sent down to us from somewhere up above. They come to you and me in our darkest hours. To show us how to live, to teach us how to give. To guide us with the light of love.”
Sometimes we might be prompted to do something kind for a neighbor, a family member or even a stranger.
Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
How might we become someone’s angel this Christmas season? Who comes to your mind? Is this not the spirit of Christmas? How might we light the world like the star of Bethlehem? How might we share the light of Christ to those around us?
May your Christmas be merry and may there be peace on earth, right here in the port of angels.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Bishop Jason Bringhurst is the leader of the Mount Pleasant Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Port Angeles, ComeUntoChrist.org. His email is jasonbring@gmail.com.
