Angels that Comfort
By Anne Hinton Pratt · June 17, 2020
During
this time in our lives when our world as we know it seems to be collapsing
before our eyes, we’re all looking for comfort. Make no mistake; there
IS comfort to be found. There is a holy team in the heavens that
pushes for our good. It includes our Father, Christ, the Holy Ghost and Angels.
Today I want to focus on the angels that God dispatches to bring His solace and
support to His children.
Angels Are Near Us
On an
especially difficult day years ago, I was feeling despondent and anxious about
something that had happened. Slowly into my consciousness, I began to
“HEAR” a line from a well-known hymn. The music and lyrics looped over
and over in my mind with the words:
“O
know ye not that angels are near you?” [1]
It
really spoke truth to my soul and was the first time that I realized that angels
had anything to do with me. I’ve come to realize how integral they are in
ALL of our lives, at times bringing powerful messages of love and comfort from
God. I’d like to relay a few of your stories that have touched my heart…
Walking with an Angel
Vicki
Hinton had an amazing angelic experience when she was only 15 or 16 years
old. She had just spent Christmas holiday with her family in the States
and was returning to Austria to continue her schooling. Her flight was
arriving very late that night in a small airport in Germany, and she wouldn’t
be able to connect her flight to Austria until the following day. It was
nearly midnight and she was told that the airport was shutting down soon.
Oh no! She hadn’t expected that! What should she do? She asked an airline
employee if there was someplace that she could spend the night. The lady
gave her directions to the nearest bed and breakfast that was supposed to be
close by, and Vicki started walking.
Vicki
writes:
“She
assured me that I didn’t need a taxi as the place was within walking distance,
but to my absolute dismay, the “road” she told me to walk along was a highway,
with no sidewalks or lights. I didn’t see any buildings, or homes, or anything.
I wondered if I had gotten my directions wrong, but the airport was closed now
and there was no one to ask.
“It was
raining and very dark and I could hardly see one step in front of me. I worried
that I might come across a transient. I started to feel terribly upset, alone
and SO vulnerable…
“And then I felt it! I felt the presence of an unseen being
walking with me. Even after I noticed it, it still took me a minute to calm
down. And then we walked together quietly. I was filled with peace, and I
did not feel afraid anymore. Eventually, I saw
my destination. After I arrived, and the door
was opened to me, the presence that I had felt left.
“When I
entered my room and sat upon my bed, I pondered a little of what had just
happened. I wondered if the angel was still with me, maybe always was
with me? I did not know. What I did know was that in a time
of great anxiety and fear, I was given the awareness and comfort of an angel
with me. I am forever grateful that in my moment of need, I was given
exactly the kind of help that I needed.”[2]
Vicki
felt she was given the gift of knowing that someone was
walking with her. Angels may have been with her many times before, but on this
occasion, she KNEW she was walking in the presence of God’s loving minister.
Elder
F. Enzio Busche explained
“…there
are powers surrounding us, trying to help us… We do not
understand what is happening – that someone from the other
side who loves us dearly is watching over us, trying to bring us to a state of
awakening and wanting to help us.” [3]
Vicki
“awakened” to someone helping her that night, although she didn’t know who it
was. Sometimes, we are blessed to know who the angel is that blesses us, as in
the following three stories.
Overcoming Anxiety and Fear
Kristen
Openshaw had a time in her life where she felt alone and desperately
needed comfort during the cancer operation of her young daughter. She
writes:
“During
my 11-year-old daughter’s cancer surgery, I was overcome with fear. While
waiting for a doctor to come to the waiting room to tell us the results, I
felt a soft hand on my cheek, gently cupping and patting my
face.
“When I
was a teenager, my mother had been sick with breast cancer, and had died, but I
remember how she always patted and comforted us. I knew that she was
there with me in the hospital room, waiting with me.”[4]
Kristen felt God’s love brought directly to her by the touch of
her mother.
Powerful Sustenance
My
husband’s great great grandfather Elder Parley P. Pratt had a similar
experience to Kristen’s. During a period of terrible distress and
suffering, he felt supported by a loved one from the other side.
Parley
had been held captive for months in a Missouri dungeon, and was downcast and
dejected. He had been fasting and praying for several days to receive
hope and solutions when he received a beautiful and very welcome answer to his
prayer. He writes,
“A
personage…stood before me with a smile of compassion in every look, and pity
mingled with the tenderest love and sympathy in every expression of the
countenance…. A well-known voice saluted me, which I readily
recognized as that of the wife of my youth, who had for nearly two years been
sweetly sleeping where the weary are at rest.” [5]
Parley’s
wife came back from the spirit world to give him the powerful sustenance that
he needed to make it through. Sometimes all we need during hard times is
to receive reassurance from someone who understands our plight.
Appearance in the Temple
A dear
friend of mine, I’ll call Janice, had a very sweet experience of angelic
comfort during an extremely upsetting and disappointing time in her life.
She lived quite a distance from all her seven siblings (one deceased), and she
decided to plan a family reunion where everyone and their families would come
to where she lived and participate in the historical sites and amusements
available in her area. As she was planning it, everyone agreed to
come.
Janice
spent a lot of time making arrangements and was excited to see everyone.
As the time for reunion approached, however, one by one, each of her siblings
had something come up and were not able to come! Janice was so
disappointed and was crestfallen because she had put her heart and energy into this
project, and in the end…nothing. She decided to go to the temple for
comfort.
During
the session, she suddenly became aware that her deceased brother stood
beside her. No words were spoken, but in a moment of awareness, Janice
realized that he was there because of the reunion. No one else was able
to come, but HE came. This brought her great consolation. [6]
Vicki,
Kristen, Parley, and Janice all learned what God wants ALL of us to learn; that
we are loved. Sending angels is one way for Him to accomplish that
objective.
Because of Who We Are
Jeffrey
R. Holland explained that,
“Occasionally
the angelic purpose is to warn. But most often it is to comfort,
to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult
times.”[7]
Yes,
our times are difficult, but as Children of the Most High God we are entitled
to a member of the Godhead or one of His angels to help us through, because we
are HIS. As we turn to the Lord seeking spiritual altitudes during these
trying circumstances, angels are frequently dispatched to bring comfort and
support. Yes Angels ARE near us…
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