Temple Angels: Heavenly Help Through the Veil
By Anne Hinton Pratt · May 5, 2021
There
are incredible rewards for those who seek ancestors and do their temple work.
As we sacrifice to assist them, we become their angels, and they become ours,
and in that symbiotic process we help them and they are allowed to
bless us in many ways…
One of
the fascinating commonalities with people who do a lot of family history, is
that they are UTTERLY DRIVEN by the passionate need to do this work.
Sucked into the Vortex of Family Beyond the Veil
“The
Spirit of Elijah” by Kenneth Turner, http://kennethturnerart.com/lds.html.
Ann
Laemmlen Lewis feels like she is the only hope to a small village in southern
Germany and is one of the few anywhere who can read their old German records,
She writes,
“When I’m in my Family History zone, ‘compelled’ is the
word that keeps coming to mind. It’s one of absolute URGENCY that requires
all my attention. It’s like I’m behind a closed door, alone. On the
other side of the door are thousands of people pushing and shoving to get close
to the door. Then, I take a key and unlock the door, and crack it just a
tiny bit, but the door’s been opened and everyone on the other side heaves and
pushes with all their might to get through that door to where I am because they
know the way has finally been opened! Of course, I’m never happier
than when I know absolutely that what I’m doing absolutely matters to them and
the feeling is that there is No Other Thing more important for me to be
doing than that.”[i]
Ann is
an angel to her little German village, so far extracting 18,000 names from
there.
We most
likely don’t have the same opportunities as Ann, but when we help with the work
in any way, there are breathtaking rewards, and validations. I’d like to
share a few:
She Witnessed the Angels
Helen
Condon had a spiritual experience that she knew was orchestrated because of her
efforts to do a particular family name. She said,
“While
on a trip to my Alma Mater, Church College of New Zealand, I took my beloved
Uncle Albert’s name to the Hamilton temple and asked for a male to do his work
while I was there.
“As I sat behind a window watching his confirmation, I saw the
two mortal witnesses and at the same time felt two spirit witnesses standing on
either side of me. Truly that day I knew that what we record on earth is
recorded in Heaven.”[ii]
Helen’s
ancestors are forever blessed by her labors and so is she.
“Elder
Richard G. Scott taught that family history is a “monumental effort of
cooperation on both sides of the veil, where help is given in both directions.”[iii]
Much
effort at times to give, but oh so much to receive…
“Don’t Forget Me!”
Larry
James shared a marvelous experience that motivated him to seek out a specific
family member as he was helping with sealings in the Mount Timpanogos Temple.
He writes,
“I was sitting in one of the witness chairs when the sound in
the room became very still. I heard a female voice speak to my mind. She said,
“Don’t forget me.”
“It was the voice of my younger sister. This had never happened
to me and I began to weep. My sister had been dead for over four years.
She was baptized at the age of 8 as we all were, but she was never active in
the church. She had been married 5 times and had 6 children by different men. I
had written her off as having made her decision as to the gospel of Christ.
Well, because of hearing her voice, my wife and I had her Temple Endowment
completed in the Temple within a week.”[iv]
When
loved ones are ready, we are their angels to help them get to the next level in
their progression, and when we help them, we open ourselves to stunning
spiritual experience.
Developing a Relationship with Father After His Death
Peter
Emery never really bonded with his often-absent father, and always yearned that
they could have been closer and could have spent more loving time
together. He had that desire fulfilled in the Salt Lake Temple as he did
the endowment for his now-deceased father. Peter shares,
“This
was a time both Jan (my wife of 7 years) and I would remember because there,
that week at the temple, the veil was thin. In my case he was there
with me as I passed through the veil of the temple in his behalf.
He was there waiting for me! We touched, spirit to spirit. It
was inexplicable in every day terms yet it was so right! It was the most
powerful spiritual experience I had had until then.
“It was almost the only time that my father and I truly
genuinely communicated – normally it was receiving commands or answering
demands… an authority – subordinate way of life. It changed the way I
thought about my father forever. I finally felt that we were family.”[v]
Forever Connections
Making
eternal connections. This is what temple work is all about!
Sister
Wendy Nelson admonishes us to,
”Make
time to help those on the other side make covenants with God! As you do
so, the power of God will flow into your life in an unprecedented way.”[vi]
The
power of God does flow into those doing research and temple work for others.
There can even be unusually profound recompenses as in the following story.
“Temple Angels Can Give Us Specific Knowledge
A
few years ago, Timmi Lynn Webster had a marvelous angelic experience. Her
daughter Kylie was attending college, but learning had always been difficult
for her because Kylie was handicapped and had special needs. Timmi Lynn
recounts:
“That
morning Kylie called and asked that I pray for her (because she was going to
have a very difficult math mid-term exam). I told her I was going to the temple
right then and would do so.
As I
was getting out of the car, I remember looking at the temple card. The name of
the person I was doing was Matilda. I literally talked aloud and said,
‘Matilda, I am going to do your work. I need a favor too. Can you help my
daughter on her math test? If you aren’t good at math, could you find someone
who is?
“I have
never had such a sacred experience in the temple or ever felt so close to the
person I was doing work for.
“When I
got home, I got a call from Kylie. I was surprised because she was finished so
quickly. She told me she couldn’t believe how easily the answers came
to her and that she felt like she had done very well (which she did). She told
me she felt as though someone was sitting next to her and helping her. I
told her it was Matilda, and that one day I would tell her about it.
“This
was a turning point for me. It was the first time I believed that Kylie really
could succeed in college because I literally understood then that she could
access not only the quickening power of the Holy Ghost, but that she had angels
beyond the veil who would aid her in ways I never imagined. I also learned that when
we go to the temple it can be a two-way street. As we help those beyond the
veil through temple work, there are those who can help us as well. I look so
forward to one day meeting Matilda. I feel as though it will be like meeting an
old friend.”[vii]
Like
Timmi Lynn, many meet and reconnect with dear pre-mortal friends as well as
family members through family history work.
We Are Their Angels and They Are Ours
As we
help ancestors and friends from the other side open up to eternal connection,
they are permitted to help us have spiritual experience and intercession in our
lives. It’s a two-way street that benefits people on both sides of the
veil.
You Can CONTACT me at annehpratt@hotmail.com.
[i] Ann Laemmlen Lewis, personal
correspondence. Used with permission.
[ii] Helen Condon, personal
correspondence. Used with permission.
[iii]Richard G. Scott, “The Joy of Redeeming
the Dead,” October Conference 2012.
[iv] Larry James, personal
correspondence. Used with permission. Also in https://unexpectedmiraclebook.com by
Craig Jenkins.
[v] Peter Emery, personal
correspondence. Used with permission.
[vi] Wendy Watson Nelson, Covenant
Keepers, p. 58.
[vii] Timmi Lynn Webster, personal
correspondence. Used with permission.
https://latterdaysaintmag.com/temple-angels-reciprocity-through-the-veil/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=scot-maurine-proctor&utm_content=Thursday%2C+May+6%2C+2021
No comments:
Post a Comment