How Angels Show Us They Care
By Anne Hinton Pratt · January 16, 2020
Has an
angel ever helped you? The answer is yes! The thick veil surrounding us
generally prevents any awareness of our cherished pre-mortal associations and
their frequent aid to us, but there are times when the veil thins, and we
become conscious of these loving beings helping us on our mortal journey.
“You Have to Go Through
This”
Over 25
years ago, I was facing a set of circumstances that were overwhelming for me,
and I remember praying my heart out for certain things to change. At that
point in time, I vividly recall sitting on the side of my bed quietly
pondering. Suddenly, a man was standing at the foot of my bed who seemed to be
in his mid-30’s with dark hair and bushy eyebrows. As if he knew what I
had been thinking and feeling, he spoke with great tenderness, saying:
“I’m SO sorry that you have to go through this, but this is
something that is crucial for you to experience!”
Again,
he compassionately echoed how sorry he was that I was suffering in this
situation, and then, he was gone.
There I
was still sitting on my bed, filled with amazement and wonder! Even
though it was a very peculiar interaction, I never felt alarm. His presence
felt so natural, and almost familiar. Even though he was there no more
than a few seconds, I felt only love and concern from him, and gained the
profound inner knowledge that difficult circumstances are often carefully
orchestrated for us to go through for our personal growth and progression. I
began to know that somehow everything would be ok, because I had those on the
other side of the veil that would help me.
Joseph F. Smith Sheds Light on Angel
Experience
President
Joseph F. Smith wrote a letter to his son, Hyrum, answering a poignant question
that Hyrum had asked him while he was serving a mission. The question
was, “To what extent do our relatives and friends who have died have cognizance
of us and our actions?” President Smith responded with profound understandings
for his son and for all of us. He wrote:
“Now,
if our departed kindred and friends are just (righteous) spirits, exalted
to this greater and more glorious work, they may be very near us,…
observing actions of our thoughts, feelings, and actions, rejoicing because of
our virtues and integrity to the truth, or sorrowing and weeping over our sins
and transgressions. And not only so, but able to render assistance,
when our spirits are susceptible to the power they wield….” (Hyrum M.
Smith, From Prophet to Son: Advice of Joseph F. Smith to His Missionary Sons.
37-39, Italics added).
Turns
out, my experience was not so unusual. I have had many people share
experiences with me where they were “susceptible to the power” that angels
wield. These angels come with concern and compassion to help in some
way. I’d like to tell a few of those experiences to you:
Angel Saving Two Lives
Kayetana
Aguado tells how an angel saved both her life and that of her
mother’s. She writes:
“My mom
was in the hospital, going through a very long labor. At one point she
was alone in her room when she started having extreme pain and knew something
was wrong but couldn’t reach the nurse call button.
“The nurse later told mom that she was just walking down the
hall when she felt someone grip her upper arm, (leaving the imprint of a hand
there), and pull her into my mom’s room to discover her distress. There wasn’t
another person in the hall or the room at that time. Both my mother’s and my
life were saved.” (Kayetana Aguado, Story used by permission)
Who was
this angel? A long- lost friend or a family member? When these
experiences happen, we most often don’t know who it is, but eventually we will
understand.
President Ezra Taft Benson explained:
“God
loves us. He’s watching us, he wants us to succeed, and we’ll
know someday that he has not left one thing undone for
the eternal welfare of each of us. If we only knew it, there are
heavenly hosts pulling for us- friends in heaven that we can’t remember now, who
yearn for our victory.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ–Gifts and Expectations,”
1974 Italics added)
“I Need Help!”
Alice
G. Bustamante had a similar traumatic event in her life that resulted in an
angel intervening. She wrote:
“I had
my only child at age 33, over thirty years ago. I had a c-section
delivery and was left alone by my husband due to work. It was my third night
alone at the hospital. I was feeling unloved, and was in so much
pain. I could not move due to how swollen I still was, and the nurses
would not answer my cries or beeps. I remember crying out to the Lord to
help me by sending someone to help me get up and go to the bathroom. It was in
the wee hours of the morning when someone finally came in.
She was dressed in a nurse’s uniform, had red hair worn up in a
bun, with the bluest eyes, and soft hands and voice. She told me she was
there to help me. She helped me get up, go to the bathroom, and get back
to bed while murmuring endearments about how special I was. I told her
about pain in my back and she got some cream and massaged it. It felt heavenly!
“Later,
I asked a nurse who my nurse was that had come in during the wee hours. I
described her red hair, blue eyes, and soft voice and she looked at me kinda
funny and said: ‘There is no one on this staff that looks like that.’
When I gave a questioning look, she assured me that no one who looked like that
worked there.
“It
wasn’t until decades later that right ‘out of the blue,’ I saw her in my mind.
I then realized my kind angel nurse was a nurse friend with whom I had worked
in college, but who had passed away before I had my baby. I know
Heavenly Father answered my prayers and sent me my friend to help me when I
felt so unloved and alone.” (Alice G. Bustamante, Email used with permission)
Heber C. Kimball taught,
“Angels
are our associates, they are with us and round about us, and watch over us, and
take care of us, and lead us, and guide us, and administer to our wants in
their ministry and in their holy calling unto which they are appointed.
(Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, 2:222)
Seeing Departed Grandma on the Bed
Some of
the strongest bonds we have are with departed family members. They
continue to love us over time and space.
Sister
Wendy Nelson relates a time as a fifth-grader, when her baby brother died. She
was overcome with grief. She writes:
“That’s
when my grandmother took me into a private room where she and I could be
together to talk and to cry. She told me that she had been inconsolable
when her grandmother Sarah had died. Then, several months later, Sarah –now
living on the other side of the veil—visited Grandma. Sarah sat right on
Grandma’s bed. She told my grandmother to stop grieving and get on with her
life. Sarah was very much alive and well.” (Wendy W. Nelson, The Heavens
are Open, p. 8)
Sister
Nelson’s grandma was deeply touched by her grandmother’s visit. Sarah blessed
both a granddaughter and great granddaughter in their times of need.
Deceased Grandfather Returns to Give A Blessing
Charles
Harper tells of two sweet experiences where he and his family members were
blessed by their departed Grandfather. He writes:
“In a
retirement community where mom lived, my two oldest sons and I gave a
priesthood blessing to their grandmother before she had cancer surgery.
My hands were on her head, and my oldest son’s hands were on top of his younger
brother’s. Later, my oldest son said that during the blessing he could feel
hands on top of his, and felt it was his grandfather helping us from the spirit
world.”
In
another tender experience, Charles relates:
“My dad
always interviewed each of our boys before they got married, but our youngest
son, David, wasn’t going to have this blessing because his grandfather had
passed away before he could enjoy this loving event. One night, however,
David had a dream in which his grandfather interviewed him and gave him
counsel.” (Charles Harper, stories used by permission)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland wrote these
significant words:
“One of
the things that will become more important in our lives the longer we live is
the reality of angels, their work and their ministry. I refer here not alone to
the angel Moroni but also to those more personal ministering angels who are
with us and around us, empowered to help us and who do exactly
that.” (“For a Wise Purpose,” Ensign, Jan.1996, 16-17).
Have Angels Helped You? Oh yes, without
question! You’ve known and loved them for eons in the world of spirits,
and they’re anxious for your welfare in this sphere.
Angels
do all they can do to support us in ways that we can hardly grasp. They help
and care for all of us in extraordinary ways, and sometimes when the veil
thins, we notice!
