I want to talk to you about angels. who are they, and what do they do?

In particular I'm thinking about my grandfather coming to my mother to comfort her about the son that she thought was in danger. I was the son. I was in the U.S. Navy serving in the Far East during the Vietnam conflict. My sister ship had just been captured by the North Koreans, and the crew was being held captive. My mother was worried sick about me being in that dangerous part of the world, and all that she could do was to pray for my welfare.

I was not aware of her worries, but she was praying nonstop. She was living in the house where I now live, and was sleeping in the very bedroom that I now occupy. One night her deceased father came, stood by the bed, and said, "You don't need to worry about Jamie. He's going to be all right."

She ceased to worry, and this event became the spiritual highlight of her life. It's a highlight for my life, too, since it concerns me. Here was my non-member grandfather, an outstandingly good man in life, appearing as an angel to his daughter, comforting her, and possessing knowledge about my future.

How could he know? How could he be an angel? He had not yet been baptized. He was not a member of the Church. How did he know that his daughter was in distress? How close to us are our deceased family members? Was he the only angel concerned about my mother, or were there others? How close to us are they, and how aware? Who are the Lord's angels, and what is their purpose? What is it that we do when we go to the other side?

I am of an age where some morning soon I'll awake on that side of the veil and will see and experience these things for myself. My understanding will be quickened, and these things will no longer have to be wondered about.

I spent three years and nine months in the U.S. Navy. I was privileged to receive my endowment in the temple at the one-year mark of my membership in the Church. That was also the one-year mark of my military service. My next opportunity to go to the temple was my marriage a year and a half later. We were then sent to Africa where there were no temples. It was not until my discharge from the U.S. Navy, and my arrival in Provo to attend BYU, that I was in a position to finally do my grandfather's temple work. From the time that he came to my mother to the time of his endowment was three years. I feel badly that he had to wait so long. It is apparent that he was very anxiously awaiting that day.

4 March 1967 My baptism

17 March 1967 Beginning of my naval service

10 March 1968 Ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood

16 March 1968 Endowment in the Oakland Temple

23 September 1969 Marriage in the Salt Lake Temple

December 1970 Discharge from the U.S. Navy

3 January 1972 Endowment of both grandfathers in Salt Lake Temple

Had he been idly twiddling his thumbs during that time? Not on your life! Joseph Smith said concerning the righteous dead that "They are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions and are often pained therewith." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 326).

In life Grandfather was very much taken with, and involved with, his grandchildren. He had 12 of them, and proudly and frequently exclaimed: "And not a dumb one in the lot!" Once each year he would get on the train and come see us. He'd stay a week, and he'd sleep in the extra bed in my bedroom.

Do you suppose that he lost interest in us when he died, or do you suppose that his interest was heightened?

The answer is only too obvious. He stayed near his daughter and knew her concerns. He helped where he could. He stayed near me. He helped where he could. He was busy learning. Missionaries were teaching him the gospel. He was thereafter being a teacher and a missionary himself.

He was in the same situation as Alvin Smith, the prophet's eldest brother. Alvin died before the organization of the Church, but was an ardent believer in and supporter of what Joseph was called to do. On his death bed he told Joseph to "Be a good boy, and do everything that lays in your power to obtain the records." He died just two months after Joseph's first interview with Moroni. Joseph next saw Alvin in a vision which Joseph had of the Celestial Kingdom in 1836. Joseph saw his parents there. They had not yet died. He saw Alvin there. Alvin had not yet been baptized. Joseph himself still did not know about baptism for the dead. "And (I) marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.

"Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;

"Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;

"For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts." (D&C 137:6-9).

That was my grandfather's situation when he came to my mother. He had not been baptized, but was a very good and kind man, a devoted father, concerned about his children and grandchildren, was near to them, and was permitted to play the part of an angel to his daughter.

That is very instructive for me.

Just down the hall from my bedroom is another room where another angel appeared. My mother-in-law occupied a hospital bed there. She was bedridden, a total invalid, had dementia, and hadn't said anything sensible for many months. My wife was caring for her. She fed her, bathed her, dressed her, and kept her comfortable. She cared for her mother for nine years. For four or five of those years her mother was an invalid lying there in that bed.

And then one day Marjorie realized that she was expecting a baby! She was 46 years old, hadn't had a baby for six years, was caring for her other nine children and an invalid mother, and was pregnant! The thought and the worry were overwhelming. How would she do it? Blessings ultimately poured in from all sides, but first she had to have the trial.

Helping her mother each day sometimes became something of a wrestling match. Her mother would resist Marjorie's efforts to bathe and dress her. One day as she worked with her mother, Marjorie felt something rip in her abdomen. The next morning as Marjorie prepared to go through the whole routine again she paused outside the bedroom door with her hand on the door handle. She was gathering the strength to face the ordeal again. She opened the door and was surprised to see her mother looking at her lucidly.

She said to Marjorie, "Dave was here last night. He tells me that you're pregnant! I didn't know you were pregnant. He says that I have to help you."

"Dave" was Marjorie's deceased father.

Help immediately came from Marjorie's sisters and nieces, and Marjorie was relieved of her care giving duties. Blessings poured in from those mortal angels, but my focus just now is on that immortal angel who was Marjorie's father. Dave knew of his wife's situation. He knew all about his daughter's care giving. He knew about her pregnancy and about her concerns. I have no doubt but what he was intimately acquainted with that special spirit who would become his 28th and last grandchild. After all, we're told that in the pre-earth life we made covenants with those individuals who would in life be our progenitors and posterity. We have been intimately associated with one another as best friends for eons. It is ludicrous to think that we'd lose interest in them once we've passed to the other side.

I really like Elisha's account of the Syrian army that came to get him. You can read about it in 2 Kings, chapter six. Elisha's servant went out one morning and discovered that the city was surrounded by that army. He ran back to Elisha and cried, "Alas, my master. How shall we do?"

Elisha answered, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

"And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." (2 Kings 6:15-17).

My very favorite scripture comes from D&C 84:88. "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up."

We're blind. We can't see those angels round about us bearing us up, but if we're trying to be good and do good, they're there. When necessary there's even a mountain full of them, for they that be with us are more than they that be with our adversaries. You can count on that.

As Joseph Smith dedicated the Kirkland Temple he prayed: "And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them." (D&C 109:22).

If we weren't so blind we'd see ourselves and all temple goers leaving the temple in the company of angels.

Who are they?

I have not a doubt in the world but what we help create those angels when we go to the temple. I don't think we have any conception of the depth of gratitude that those feel whose work we do in the temple. And they are there. And they are surely eager to return the favors done for them.

Melvin J. Ballard, an apostle, was being witness for 1,000 baptisms for the dead which were being performed in the Logan Temple. He wondered how that work was being received by those on the other side. A staircase appeared on the other side of the baptismal font with hundreds of people dressed in white. As each name was read in the font, and a person was baptized, an individual would leave the group, climb the stairs, watch the baptism, smile, and then move on. Elder Ballard testified that there was someone there for every name that was baptized. He thereafter went throughout the Church testifying that when work is done in the temple for the dead, that they are there.

President Wilford Woodruff said that "There will be few, if any," who reject this work that is done for them.

Joseph Smith said that when we get to the other side these people will "embrace our knees."

I don't think their gratitude waits until then. I think they're near, and helping much more than we can possibly know.

Jeffrey R. Holland says, "There are scores of angels, your families, your predecessors, progenitors, who are watching out for you, ministering to you and providing angelic protection, care, and nurturing ... Believe in angels and believe in them forever because they are working with us. Perhaps if we had more faith, more devotion, a little more commitment, we would see the hand of angels more and more in our lives. They are there, and we need to trust and believe and invite them to be there. We can't be negligent. We can't be unresponsive, We shouldn't be oblivious to the fact that God sends angels to direct our lives, bless our lives, and care for our lives." (Dec. 19, 2024 Facebook page Christmas message).

He says that we should "Ask for angels to help you."

Do you know who holds "the keys to the ministering of angels?" Doctrine and Covenants, section 13 says that it's the Aaronic Priesthood. That's repeated in Doctrine and Covenants, section 84. Why the Aaronic Priesthood?

Dallin H. Oaks explains that "We cannot overstate the importance of the Aaronic Priesthood ... All of (the) vital steps pertaining to the remission of sins are performed through the saving ordinances of baptism and the renewing ordinances of the sacrament. Both of these ordinances are officiated by holders of the Aaronic Priesthood." (Dallin H. Oaks, general conference, October 1998).

He says that "In general, the blessings of spiritual companionship and communication are only available to those who are clean ... Through the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we are cleansed of our sins and promised that if we keep our covenants we will always have the Spirit to be with us. I believe that promise not only refers to the Holy Ghost but also to the ministering of angels ... Those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels." (Ibid).

Joseph Smith taught that "If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 226).

If you have faith and desire, and are striving to be good and do good, you are never alone. God never leaves us alone.

Always there are those angels.