Angels that Intervene with Children By Anne Hinton Pratt

 Angels that Intervene with Children

By Anne Hinton Pratt · February 10, 2022

Some of the most beautiful and touching stories told are those about angels protecting children. Several months ago, I shared several of these in an article. I’ve since received additional amazing and inspiring experiences from readers like you that you’ll want to feast on.

Miraculously Rescued from Fire

Kenny Mazzanti, a retired Sergeant on the California Highway Patrol had several experiences where he saw firsthand where angels protected children.  He writes,

“I was patrolling southbound I-5 near Lebec (between Los Angeles and Bakersfield CA) when I saw the backend of a motorhome burst into flames. The driver pulled over to the right shoulder of the freeway and the family piled out of the motorhome. Most of the motorhome was fully engulfed by flames when I approached the family.  The mom was counting heads. 1,2,3,4…

“Where’s little Johnny?” 

“One of the children said that he had been asleep in the back of the motorhome. I had the family move further away and prepared to go in to find the child. (It’s not the heat that will kill you; it’s the poisonous gasses from the burning plastics that will get you first). The door handle was too hot to open, so I used my handkerchief to open the door.  I took a deep breath and pulled the door open to charge in and retrieve the child. That wasn’t necessary.  There stood little Johnny holding his teddy bear as flames swirled all around him. I grabbed him by his sleeper and pulled him from the fire that took all the hair off my forearm, and then closed the door behind him. 

“We got away from the burning motorhome, and Johnny’s mother did a thorough inspection of her child.  Not a hair was singed, not even on the teddy bear.

“One of the other children asked how he got out?  Johnny told them very matter of factly that ‘The man in white’ had awakened him and led him to the door. Then, pointing at me, Johnny said, ‘And then HE grabbed me.’ [1]   

What an extraordinary rescue! When God and angels intervene, such amazing things happen. This next experience that Kenny relates will take your breath away.  He continues:

“Back about 1979, one of the Officers that I supervised was patrolling Interstate 5 near Newhall, CA saw something of concern.  A young couple had stopped for lunch at the Denny’s Restaurant in Newhall and had resumed their journey entering southbound I. 5.  The Officer pulled ahead of them, activated his overhead lights, and slowed his and their cars bringing the young coupe to a stop on the freeway shoulder.  The Officer approached the driver’s window.  The driver defensively questioned why the Officer had stopped him.  He was doing nothing wrong, and in his mind, this was obviously an abuse of power… 

“Without a word, the Officer reached up on top of the car and took down the car seat that secured their newborn baby and handed it to the young father. Apparently, they were not yet accustomed to having a baby with them when they travelled.”[2]

What kept that unattached baby from falling off the top of the car as it picked up speed on the freeway?  God is so good…

I love the scripture that talks specifically about children’s angels:

“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”[3]

Yes, these angels are often directed from the Father to protect small children.  Sometimes they protect them from their own lack of judgment…

Angel Protects From 12-Foot Drop

Janet Johnson remembers a beautiful experience she had with a young son being protected from a greater injury.  She wrote:

“My youngest child of four, a six-year-old boy, had climbed up into an open loft, twelve feet above our garage floor. He was leaning over the edge of the loft dropping army guys onto the floor below.  He leaned too far and toppled out of the loft headfirst. His shoulder hit a shelf on his way down, and he landed on the floor screaming in fear and pain.

“When I rushed into the garage and found him, his shoulder was bloody and the skin was torn, but I was shocked that his head had not hit the garage floor. I was so amazed as I held him in my lap that I commented on that fact. Although we had never taught, or even talked about guardian angels, or the possibility of loved ones who had passed being angels in our lives, he looked at me through his tears and said, ‘It’s because I landed on the angel. He was soft.”[4]

Isn’t it interesting that this child was protected from a severe head injury, but not saved from all pain?  The angel provided an intimate sweet experience for the child and his mother.  What a gift!

Angel Saves Two Girls from Accident

Allison Dunlap recounts a harrowing tale of angelic aid to two of her young daughters.

She writes,

“This happened when I was a young mother of 4 daughters. We lived on the corner of a busy street, but going the opposite direction was a lovely little neighborhood park that my girls loved to play in.

“One day I was nursing my baby when I heard a knock at the door. There stood my neighbor Sister Fredley with my two little towheads. She was nearly in tears as she told me what had just happened. Maddy and Rachel had noticed the front door unlocked and had quietly slipped out and wanted to walk up to the park to play. Sister Fredley was backing out of her driveway that had a slight slope on it, making the bottom of it not visible from her rearview mirror. She heard a man’s voice holler to her to “STOP”! She wondered what man would be yelling to her as we had very few that actually lived on our street. After she put her car in park and got out to look around to talk to the man, she noticed my two little girls in her driveway walking up the street towards the park.

“She looked everywhere for the man who had hollered to her to stop but found no one out in their yards on either side of the street. She realized then she had been helped by an unseen angel to protect my little girls from being hit by her car as she blindly backed out.

“As she related to me on my porch what had just happened, I was flooded first, with embarrassment at my negligence, but then an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to the Lord for protecting my innocent little daughters and sparing them and her and me from the devastating sorrow that would’ve beset us all. I thank the Lord for all the help He gives to us as we strive to bring souls into the world and do our inadequate best to raise them.”[5]

What a blessing!  It wasn’t the plan for the girls to die that day, and an angel and an “in-tune” neighbor helped God’s will to be.

Angelic Hope during Abuse                                                                                               

Sylvia was a child in an abusive home and growing up she felt very unloved by her parents.  She told me that one day, when she was a young girl, an angel came to her and said,

“Don’t worry Sylvia, things will get better!”  

She held on to that promise for many years, and after she left home and started life on her own, things went in a beautiful direction, but it was the memory of that day that pulled her through.[6]

Why?

Why was an angel instructed to visit Sylvia, or the boy in the fire, or protection for the boy on the loft and the two little girls, but not sent to other children in similar conditions? Somehow, these visits were part of these children’s’ specific plan.  It was God’s GIFT to them.  Other children receive other good gifts such as learning how to overcome trauma or how to circumvent their own difficulties.  God gives us ALL gifts. 

In scripture Moroni asks a profound question,

“…have miracles ceased?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men…”[7]  

Do we believe Moroni? God knows the life plan of all children down to the details. He knows what gifts they need.  The fact is that angels protect and succor MANY, if not all children from time to time.   In my mind, these are the inspiring stories that are worth retelling…

Feel Free to CONTACT ME with your stories at annehpratt@hotmail.com

________________________________________

[1] Kenny Mazzanti, personal correspondence.  Used with permission.

[2] Kenny Mazzanti, personal correspondence.  Used with permission.

[3] Matthew 18:10.

[4] Janet Johnson, personal correspondence.  Used with permission.

[5] Allison Dunlap, personal correspondence.  Used with permission.

[6] Sylvia [last name withheld], personal conversation.  Used with permission.

[7] Moroni 7:29

https://latterdaysaintmag.com/angels-that-intervene-with-children/

Lorraine's Story

 For twenty-five years before Alzheimer’s took away her memory, my wife Madeline worked pro bono and tirelessly to help hundreds of friends and strangers , who became friends, turn their hearts to their parents and prepare books of remembrance “worthy of all acceptation to present in many temples. She had many miraculous experiences from both sides of the veil. Just as Madeline began to be affected by Alzheimer’s we had an experience that shown an unmistakable spiritual light on the meaning of Malachi 4:6.

While working in the Los Angeles Temple we were surprised to see our beloved friends the McKinnon’s from Fillmore,CA were we used to live. They invited us to witness Lorraine be sealed to her deceased husband John, then stand proxy for her mother and father to be sealed along with other family.

Twenty years before Madeline had helped Lorraine complete the paper work necessary to seal her mother and father together with the children an eternal family. But for twenty years Lorraine refused because of her fathers drinking problems and the yelling matches that ensured. She said, “mom would not want to be sealed to him for eternity. “

Madeline encouraged her to do this work because her parents could alway reject it. More importantly Lorraine might not know the full story and may not understand how the Saviors Atonement may heal such wounds within families.

So here was Lorraine in the temple with her children ready to complete the sealing. Madeline was thrilled that it had finally happened. Lorraine explained afterward that her mother appeared to her in a dream and insisted that the sealing be completed. They were happy with each other now she said.

The McKinnons had other miracles having to do with the healing power of the atonement. Madeline told me of many other similar experiences involving the healing power of Christs atonement in family relationships which help and prompt the living relative to complete this great work.

When Angels Speak By Catherine K. Arvseth

 

When Angels Speak

By Catherine K. Arveseth · December 15, 2022

 

I put the last of my grocery cart items on the conveyor belt and nudged my cart forward. As the cashier scanned my stack of necessities, I watched the bagger swiftly fill bags and then my cart, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see another shopper had joined the line. She began unloading her cart, and without thinking, I turned for a better look. I recognized the woman immediately as a friend of my Mother’s.

I didn’t know her well. Growing up in a predominantly Mormon neighborhood, there were just a handful of families that were not LDS. Hers was one of them. But my mother had a way of making those families some of her closest friends. I remembered how much my Mom cared about this woman. I remembered going with my Mom once or twice to take dinner to her when she was not well. I remembered my Mom reminding us to be kind to her children.

Should I say hello?  The thought dangled in my mind.

She’ll never remember me. Or recognize me… It’s been over twenty years since we’ve seen each other.

The cashier announced the total of my purchase, so I inserted my card for payment and tried to dismiss the idea.

But the idea didn’t leave.

Maybe I should say something.

And then I felt it. A touch on my shoulder. My right shoulder. As if my mother were standing next to me, her hand gently brushing against my clothing.

Then I heard her voice. There was no mistaking it.

“You need to say hello to her,” she said. “You need to tell her that I love her.”

The cashier handed me my receipt and I hesitated, knowing it was now or never.

Reluctantly, I turned back to the woman behind me and spoke her name. Before I could make my excuse that she would never remember me, her hand was on my arm and she was saying my own name.

“Catherine. I was so sorry to hear about your Mom. It was so sad.” There was genuine sorrow in her eyes and in her words.

“Thank you,” I said. “We really miss her.”

“She was a great lady. She never judged me. There was never any judgement. No judgement at all.”

“I know,” I said. “She was good at that. I actually wondered if I should say something to you and when I hesitated, it was like she tapped me on the shoulder and told me to say hello, because she wanted me to tell you how much she loves you.”

Her face softened and so did her smile.

“She was kind to me. And you and your brother did more for us than you know.”

There was not time to say much more. I asked about her children. We swapped brief details and then again in the parking lot, we talked for a couple more minutes, about her family, how everyone was doing. It was a happy conversation and the connection was easy, unrestrained, and seemed to fill us both.

We said goodbye and I finished putting my groceries into the back of my car then climbed in and started the ignition. A glowing warmth and gratitude settled around me.

If I could have seen my Mother’s spirit with my very eyes, in all its shimmering essence, I would not have known with more surety that she was sitting next to me in the passenger seat than I did in that moment. So I spoke out loud.

“I did it Mom. I did what you asked me to do. I was your voice.”

And then I cried. And together we made the drive home.

Days later I was telling my friend Kara about the experience. How my mother’s words had felt so similar to the Holy Ghost when He speaks to me. The same kind of knowing and fire and peace. All at once. And yet it wasn’t the Holy Ghost. It was my Mother. She was the messenger.

Kara pulled out her Book of Mormon and reminded me of this verse in 2 Nephi 32. I’ve read it dozens of times. So many times. And never before had it made so much sense. One phrase rang out with perfect clarity.

“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Since my Mother passed away, I’d been trying to figure out this new place of communication with her. I was trying to differentiate between her voice and the voice of the Spirit. And now I understood.

By the power of the Holy Ghost, I could discern her voice. Her message. And through the Holy Ghost, she was given means to communicate. This is the pattern angels use. This is how they speak.

They do speak. And when they do, similar to the Holy Ghost, they have a message for us. Instruction, illumination, a truth to confirm, a warning, a witness, and sometimes, simple but matchless comfort.

 

In this season of angels, when we speak of angelic annunciations and angels filling the skies over shepherd’s fields – this season in which we hang angels on Christmas trees, place their art on our walls, I can no longer think of them as distant floating figures. The word angel has personal, even tangible meaning to me now. They are family. Joseph F. Smith taught us this. Loved ones who care about us. And they are thick around us. Speaking to us, walking next to us, teaching us.

President Ezra Taft Benson said,

“Visitors, seen and unseen, from the world beyond, are often close to us… There is no veil to the Lord.” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.35)

No veil to the Lord. How often do we consider His perspective? How he views this mingling of worlds?

I made my scripture study this month about angels. In almost precise verbiage, here are their capabilites.

They can stand by us, come to us, go before us, speak to us in dreams, speak by the word of the Lord, speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, talk with God, talk with us, carry us, tell us not to fear, testify, bear us up, have charge over us, minister to us after great temptation, stay with us through the night.

As I write these words, a new death is fresh in our family. Last night my Dad’s brother, Richard, passed away. Cancer commandeered his body at a tragically rapid rate in recent weeks, and his going was sooner than expected.

Sweet Richard. Always kind. Always gentle. How my Dad loved this comrade from his childhood. His oldest brother.

I wept for my Dad. He has experienced so much loss this year.

But then I thought of those who had likely come to carry Richard home. The Grandmother I adore, the devoted Grandfather I never met, Richard’s daughter Fiona, and my own Mother. Surely she would have been there. And once again, I felt that spark of her feet touching the earth, the sensation of air moving as she passed by.

I didn’t hear her speak, but I knew she was near.

 

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Evidence of the Afterlife By Daniel C. Peterson

 

Evidence of the Afterlife

By Daniel C. Peterson · October 30, 2022

 

To read more from Daniel, visit his blog: Sic Et Non. 

One of the most consistently interesting books that I’ve read on the subject of near-death experiences—and I’ve read quite a number of them—is Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences (New York: HarperOne, 2010), by Jeffrey Long, M.D., with Paul Perry.  Dr. Long is a practicing radiation oncologist and the founder of the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF).  Early in the book, he lays out his basic methodology and summarizes his chief arguments as follows:

“By scientifically studying the more than 1,300 cases shared with NDERF”—that was the total in the Foundation’s still-growing archive at the time the book was written more than a decade ago—”I believe that the nine lines of evidence presented in this book all converge on one central point: There is life after death.

“The convergence of several lines of evidence—like the nine presented in this book—builds a much stronger case than only a single line of evidence.

“For example, suppose we had only two lines of NDE evidence.  We may not be 100 percent convinced that these two lines of evidence prove an afterlife, but perhaps each line of evidence by itself is 90 percent convincing.  Combined, these two lines of evidence by mathematical calculation are 99 percent convincing that the afterlife exists.”

As for Dr. Long’s nine distinct lines of evidence, here they are, in his own summarizing words:

1.      The level of consciousness and alertness during near-death experiences is usually greater than that experienced during everyday life, even though NDEs generally occur while a person is unconscious or clinically dead.  The elements in NDEs generally follow a consistent and logical order.

2.     What NDErs see and hear in the out-of-body state during their near-death experiences is generally realistic and often verified later by the NDEr or others as real.

3.     Normal or supernormal vision occurs in near-death experiences among those with significantly impaired vision or even legal blindness.  Several NDErs who were blind from birth have reported highly visual near-death experiences.

4.     Typical near-death experiences occur under general anesthesia at a time when conscious experience should be impossible.

5.     Life reviews in near-death experiences include real events that took place in the NDErs’ lives, even if the events were forgotten.

6.     When NDErs encounter beings they knew from their earthly life, they are virtually always deceased, usually deceased relatives.

7.      The near-death experiences of children, including very young children, are strikingly similar to those of older children and adults.

8.     Near-death experiences are remarkably consistent around the world.  NDEs from non-Western countries appear similar to typical Western NDEs.

9.     It is common for NDErs to experience changes in their lives as aftereffects following NDEs.  Aftereffects are often powerful and lasting, and the changes follow a consistent pattern.  (199-200)

In “Evidence of the Afterlife,” Dr. Long sets those nine converging lines of evidence forth in some detail and provides substantiating cases, evidence, and analysis that I, at least, find compelling.  I’ll offer just a few specimens here in this short space, and for only some of his lines of evidence:

With regard to Dr. Long’s first evidential line, patients who are unconscious, comatose, under sedation, or even clinically brain dead shouldn’t be perceiving anything at all and then recalling vivid memories, let alone reporting enhanced perception.  They shouldn’t be accurately perceiving persons, events, and conversations not only in the room where they’re located but in other locations, sometimes at a distance.  And yet they continually report precisely such experiences: “I am slightly hard of hearing,” says one.  “During that time, I could hear everything.  Super hearing would be a better term.”  “Colors,” says another, “were electric, smells fantastic.”  A third reports being able to see “360 degrees.”  “I had never been more alert,” says yet another.  “The colors on the other side,” declares one account in Dr. Long’s collection, “are the brightest colors; our most fluorescent colors on this earth are muddy (compared) to the brightness and vividness of the colors that are in Heaven.”  “I saw colors I could never explain,” remembers one account.  “A shade of red that I will never forget.”  “I was taken to a beautiful meadow with the most gorgeous plant life and colors so vibrant that I’ve never seen anywhere; it was amazing!”  “I was sensing, seeing, feeling, on another plane.  It is like trying to explain the colors of the rainbow to a blind person.”

Dr. Long’s third line of evidence represents the extreme case of such enhanced perception:  Highly visual near-death experiences not only among those with significantly impaired vision but among the legally blind and, astonishingly, among those blind from birth.  He calls this “blind sight.”  (The classic treatment of this subject is Kenneth Ring and Sharon Cooper, “Mindsight: Near-Death and Out-of-Body Experiences in the Blind,” the first edition of which was published in 1999.)

“Everything was very bright and sharp.  I am legally blind without my glasses, but the nurse took my glasses before they took me to the delivery room, but I could see clearly what the doctor was doing.”  “Clarity, bright lights.  Looking back, I had perfect eyesight (I am terribly nearsighted); everything was solid.”

Of course, skeptics might challenge such claims by saying that they reflect mere pleasant dreams—though those reporting what happened to them in these cases regularly push back, insisting that the clarity and lucidity of their experiences is completely distinct from dreaming.  Even more problematic, though, for those who would reject these accounts is that many experiencers recount with remarkable accuracy events (such as their own resuscitation) that happened in and around their accidents or their operating rooms.  Typically, these are events that they were in no position to observe, commonly seen from vantage points quite separate from the locations of their physical bodies.  This is Dr. Long’s second line of evidence:

One example: “Suddenly, my consciousness rose above (my bed in) the ICU. I remember having told myself that I had not had an out-of-body experience so this could not be happening. As I rose, I told myself ‘Well, here it is.’” Another: “Lying on my back. Awake. Suddenly I am looking down at myself from the ceiling.  \My position is reversed; that is, my head is opposite to my feet on the bed.  I see myself very clearly.”

Yet another:  “The next thing I knew I was a hundred feet above the river, looking down at the raft stuck against the rocks below.  I saw the two men in the raft looking for me to come out from underneath.  I saw the other woman, who had been in our raft, downstream, clinging to a rock.  I watched my husband and my teenage sister . . . come running back up the hill to find out why all the debris was floating down the river. . . .  From above, I watched my husband climb onto a rock in the river. . . .  He looked as if he wanted to jump in to try to find me, and I suddenly found myself at his side, trying to stop him because he wasn’t much of a swimmer and I knew there was no point.  When I reached out to stop him, my hand went right through him.  I looked at my hand and thought, oh, my god, I’m dead!”

(A remarkable and similar story of apparent drowning—her own experience in the rapids of a South American river—is told by the orthopedic surgeon Mary C. Neal in her 2012 bestseller, “To Heaven And Back: A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again.”)

The near-death experiences of very young children constitute the basis of Dr. Long’s seventh line of evidence for the survival of human consciousness and personality beyond death.  Why?  Because young children haven’t usually been indoctrinated with specific concepts of death or an afterlife and almost certainly haven’t carefully studied the literature on the subject.  Thus, their reports are about as uncontaminated by preconceptions as we can hope to find.

Five-year-old Paul was struck by a passing van.  “I felt like a hydrogen balloon floating in the air.  I was going upward.  I slowly opened my eyes, and I saw my body lying on the roadside.  I got really frightened.  I felt . . . paralyzed and I was going upward, but I felt . . . someone was carrying me very lovingly.”  Eleven-year-old Jennifer saw her “limp and lifeless body” below after being involved in a serious car accident.  She didn’t want to go back, but a spiritual being not only told her that she must but gave her specific instructions for helping a man who had been severely injured in the same crash.

Three-year-old Katie choked on a cashew.  Her grandfather, a firefighter, desperately tried to revive her but couldn’t, and pronounced her dead.  “When I died,” she later recalled, “I rose above my body and saw my grandfather working on my body.  My body was of no interest to me; instead, I moved out of the room toward a presence I felt in the living room area.  I went toward this presence, which was within a brilliant, sun(lit), bright, space. . . .  The presence was unbelievable peace, love, acceptance, calm, and joy.  The presence enveloped me, and my joy was indescribable—as I write this, I am brought back to this emotion, and it delights me still.  The feeling is spectacular.  I did not experience this presence as God (I was too young to understand the concept), but I did experience this concept as that which made me.  I knew without a doubt that I was a made creature, a being that owed its existence to this presence.”

Near the end of the book, Dr. Long reflects again on his argument:

“If each of two lines of evidence from near-death experiences (NDEs) is 90 percent convincing of the existence of an afterlife, then the combination of these two lines of evidence may be considered as follows:  The probability that either of these lines of NDE evidence individually is not convincing of the existence of an afterlife is 10 percent, or 0.1.  The probability that the combination of these two lines of NDE evidence is not convincing of the existence of an afterlife is (0.1 x 0.1), or 0.01, which is 1 percent.  Thus the combination of two lines of NDE evidence, each of which is 90 percent convincing of the existence of an afterlife, gives 100 percent minus 1 percent, or 99 percent confidence that the afterlife is convincingly felt to exist.”

I’m not sure that I care much about the specific numbers above, or that I’m entirely comfortable with the calculation by which Dr. Long arrives at a confidence level of 99% after just two arguments.  But it seems intuitively obvious to me, whether one assigns precise numbers to the probabilities or not, that an argument that has largely convinced you of a particular conclusion is strengthened, not weakened, by adding a second convincing argument to it.  And that to add a third corroborating argument to it, and a fourth, and eventually a ninth renders your conclusion all the more plausible and secure.

“All men know that they must die,” said the Prophet Joseph Smith.  “And it is important that we should understand the reasons and causes of our exposure to the vicissitudes of life and of death, and the designs and purposes of God in our coming into the world, our suffering here, and our departure hence.  What is the object of our coming into existence, then dying and falling away, to be here no more?  It is but reasonable to suppose that God would reveal something in reference to the matter, and it is a subject we ought to study more than any other.  We ought to study it day and night, for the world is ignorant in reference to their true condition and relation.”

I’ve been able to give you only the barest flavor here of Jeffrey Long’s “Evidence of the Afterlife.”  But I hope that it’s been enough to interest at least some of you in taking a closer look.

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Angels That Bring Life-Changing Knowledge By Anne Hinton Pratt

 

Angels that Bring Life-Changing Knowledge

By Anne Hinton Pratt · August 14, 2022

 

Angels from the other side are allowed to bring us specific knowledge from time to time that can help us in many ways.  It is so inspiring to hear the many methods and ways they are allowed to impart this knowledge to us.  Read about a few…

“My Ancestors Come to Me at Night”

Some time ago in a fascinating discussion with one of my dearest friends, (I’ll call Jan), I was told a marvelous experience that she had.  She was actually visited from the other side by a Great-Great Grandfather telling her that she should do work for a particular line.  He told her that her cousin Jenny had already found the names but the temple work wasn’t getting done.  Jan followed his angelic directive and contacted Jenny.  Jan was astounded to find that Jenny had hundreds of family name cards already printed (but not completed), and hundreds more family names reserved – so no one else could do their work.  Jan curiously asked Jenny how she was able to find so many family names.  Jenny told her,

“Well I do it a bit different than others.  Most people research until they find a name, but for some reason, my ancestors come to me at night, and tell me where their names are.  I go look where they tell me, and they are there.”[i]

What a powerful on-going gift that Jan was given. All her angelic information checked out, and with Jan’s help the work was completed.

Generally the gifts of knowledge that angels bring us are just one-time events as in the following story.

Amazing Angelic Answer to Prayer

While on his mission in Brazil, Elder Melendez was serving as a Branch President over the Posse Goiás Branch.  One Sunday night he desperately needed guidance from the Lord in his calling.  At church he had a perplexing conversation with a member.  She had not come to church for a long time because of bad things that had happened to her.  He didn’t know what to tell her, and was frustrated. He wrote,

“After our conversation I came home and knelt in my room to pray.  I asked the Lord if He could please guide me as to what I should do and where I could find the information I needed.  I had the church manuals and looked through them constantly but could NOT find the answer I was seeking.  At the end of the day when we returned to our house I looked again and still could not find it, so I prayed and went to bed.

“That night I will never forget.  As I slept, it felt as though someone came to me and they said that they were sent to get me.  This person was dressed in pure white, so I followed him.  He took me to a room that was pure white and then the room became brighter and brighter, I looked at the person who had brought me, but I could not see his face; I just saw him point toward the source of light as if beckoning me to go ahead and ask.  So, I explained what was going on and that I was looking for some guidance as to what I should do.  The light didn’t say anything.  All it did was extend its hand and point to the church manuals.  I explained that I had looked and couldn’t find what I was seeking.  The hand then grabbed a piece of paper that had a number written on it.  I took the number, and the person who brought me there took me by the hand and brought me back.

“As soon as I woke up, I ran to my desk to find both books laid on my table.  (The night before I had placed the books in my room on my bag).  I remembered the number and opened the book immediately.  As I read the page it was exactly what I was seeking.”[ii]

Elder Melendez was extremely blessed to receive this blessing of knowledge from an angel.

Angels Will Tell You All Things You Should Do

I love the scripture that says, “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ…the words of Christ [and angels and the Holy Ghost] will tell you all things what ye should do…this is the doctrine of Christ…” [iii]

Angels often echo the words of Christ in holy circumstances and environments…

Surrounded by “White Angels”

A woman shared a sweet yet profound story of an experience she had with her grandson…  She wrote,

“I am raising my grandson and he once asked,

‘Why are there so many angels around the temple?’

“It was in Manti during the week of the pageant. As we talked about the angels and what they were doing, I asked him what he knew about angels. He said,

‘The ones dressed in white surround me when the ones dressed in black are nearby.”

And before I could ask him any more about it, he ran off to play with the dog. Tears of gratitude and love still fill my eyes.” ^[iv]

What a tender and honest statement from a precious child.  We can learn so much from them… because of what they learn from angels.

In my final account is the story of a woman who also received powerful life- changing knowledge.

Angel Grandmother Came from the Other Side to Deliver Message

Bonnie Heidenreich was an extremely talented young mother that became very frustrated with her life as she was compelled to wash dishes, wipe noses, shop, clean up spills and do laundry instead of the “substantive” projects she wanted to do.  A deep depression set in… With exasperation she vented,

“Is this what I was born to do?   Why did the Lord give me all this imagination if I can’t use it?  And why am I trying to help my children grow up to be creative individuals if when they are grown, they’ll spend all their time clearing the table, vacuuming and washing faces?  What a waste!  And this is life?  Yuck!”

It was with this aggravated attitude that Bonnie began to fold laundry.  She writes,

“It was about 10:30 one night and I was in the laundry room folding my next to the last batch of clothes. I was very unhappy.  I closed my eyes and offered a silent plea for help…

“Suddenly, I felt the presence of my Grandma Andersen, and I sensed she wanted to communicate with me.  “Well, go ahead,” I thought, still somewhat bitterly, “if you can say anything that might help, I sure need it!”

“The next few minutes are difficult to describe.  It was a type of PURE COMMUNICATION where thoughts and ideas are sent and understood instantly. First, she said,

‘Bonnie, I speak to you with empathy and with authority because I have already lived through this life.  I had ten children.’

“A brief view of her ten children and their beautiful lives flashed through my mind. Then she said,

‘Bonnie, there is nothing that will bring you more celestial joy than your children.  No creation, no book, no song, no job, no success can begin to touch the joy of children, properly raised.  The things which concern you are mortal and will come to an end.  Your children are eternal.’

“Secondly, she said,

‘To the Lord, the most important work in this life is bringing His children to a knowledge of Him so that they might live with Him again. You can be a part of that great and glorious work, Bonnie, and you must start with your children!’

“Again a picture of Grandma’s children flashed through my mind, with their children and grandchildren.  They blessed many who in turn blessed others, who then went on to bless and serve more and MORE people…multiplying! Growing! Expanding! Exploding!…until there were millions of God’s children all over the world who could link their love of God and their desire to be faithful followers of Christ back to my one grandma; one mother in one little home… 

“But most importantly, she told me that if I lived the valiant life and achieved the crown, an eternity would await me with opportunities for “creating” which I could not begin to imagine yet!

“She was gone, and I stood there alone, getting my clean laundry all wet with my tears.  I don’t think the whole experience lasted more than a minute, but that’s all it took to turn me around and head me in the right direction.  I thanked the Lord for answering my prayer.” [v]

What powerful, magnificent knowledge was given to Bonnie! It was brought by a beloved grandmother angel to purposefully change the course of her life.

Life Changing Information Imparted by Angels

Jan and Jenny were given temple names and dates; Elder Melendez was given critical information he needed for his calling.; A child was taught that angels surrounded and protected him, and Bonnie was visited by her grandmother to let her see from a Celestial perspective.

It is likely all of us, at one time or another, will receive angelic knowledge, (whether we realize it consciously or not). As we ask[vi] and follow through in what we receive, we will have knowledge distilled upon us so that we can know all things that we should do.[vii]

You Can CONTACT me with your stories at annehpratt@hotmail.com

[i] “Jan”and “Jenny” (names changed), personal correspondence.  Used with permission.

[ii] David Frederick Babbel, Mine Angels Round About You, p. 67-68.  Used with permission.

 

[iii] 2 Nephi 32:3-6

[iv] Bonnie, in comment in my article https://latterdaysaintmag.com/angels-that-aid-and-sustain-children/

[v] Bonnie Heidenreich, personal correspondence.  Used with permission.

[vi] Wendy Watson Nelson, Covenant Keepers, p. 31. “So, does your child need help? Is your husband in trouble? Does your wife need more support? Does your aunt need comfort? Does your best friend need direction?  If so, ask for angels to be assigned to help them? As a covenant-keeping man or woman, you can do that!”  Italics added..

 

[vii] 2 Nephi 32:3-6

 

https://latterdaysaintmag.com/angels-that-bring-life-changing-knowledge/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=scot-maurine-proctor&utm_content=Monday+Aug+15%2C+2022

The Less Loved Wife? By Andrea Erickson Lindsey

 

The less loved wife?

 

I am not a spokesman for the LDS Church, but I am a member of it. I would like to introduce this blog post with a disclaimer and an invitation. First the disclaimer, at times the language that I use to describe my experience may be confusing or practices that are briefly mentioned need more detail. I am happy to answer questions if you choose to submit them, or you can visit Lds.org and Mormon.org to find out more about my faith. Lastly the invitation, if you know someone that needs to here this message please share this post with them.

 

 1.       My Preparation for an Eternal Marriage

 

As a student of the scriptures I intensely studied the book of the Old Testament. Some of the Biblical accounts that were of great interest to me were of plural marriage. Plural marriages were much different at that time than the brief period of time that it was lived in our own history because biblical accounts show a societal caste system. There were handmaids who were of lesser social standing and would bear children to their mistress who was a full-covenant wife. This was a recipe for all sorts of human drama. Even among these covenant women of the same social standing there was earthly inequality, jealousy, pride and favoritism. These marriages were marriages formed in mortality and being mortals they have human frailty. While their marriage was different the purpose of all marriages was the same. Marriages are to work towards a celestial state where there was no inequality, pride, favoritism or jealousy.  I suppose my interest in their stories was my first preparation for the marriage that one day I would be a part of. I am a faithful Latter-day Saint married to a widower for all time and eternity. I hold the non-coveted and even feared position of most married woman in the Latter-day Saint community; I am a sealed 2^nd wife. So why am I okay with it? I would love to share with you my struggle with and faith in this principle and share my experience of how I was able to make the choice to be in the marriage I am in today and plan to be in forever.

 

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I hold firmly to the beliefs of our Church that marriage does not end in death but lasts for eternity. I was 36 years old and I made this decision to marry a widower with faith, understanding and complete trust in my Father-in-Heaven’s plan for me. Since the Church ended the practice of Polygamy over a century ago the only marriages that can have this element happen in the afterlife. Our history is rich with examples of those who were asked to live this way while in mortality. They are not all good examples of what marriage will be like when we have reached the point where we are perfected and new creatures in Christ forever changed by his atonement. They do give a very true look at what the practice was like who were dealing with human weakness. From my experience in Religious Education and Church service I would say most members look upon their ancestors who lived this practice with reverential horror.  The only reason why I don’t feel that way is because I have felt of God’s love for me and I know he only seeks the best for me and that truth is not independent upon any one principle of the gospel it is dependent on all true gospel principles and doctrines. I have also prayerfully sought for an understanding of eternal marriage. I have come to understand in those quiet and reflective moments that for Cici and I our lives required something different in order to perform the work that we needed to perform while on the Earth. We as Latter-day Saints believe that we lived long before we came to Earth and that we will live an eternity after. Because we do not remember our life before and we cannot see what our life will be after this mortal testing time, we must ultimately trust God and follow His spirit to accomplish what we need to accomplish here.

 

After I served an LDS mission I felt more prepared for an eternal marriage which I saw as the next logical step in life. The Lord had other plans for my life and looking back I can see the wisdom and generosity in which he gently helped me to gain greater blessings than I could have ever anticipated. I led a rich single life filled with amazing people who have changed me for the better. I worked as a trainer of missionaries for 2 ½ years before becoming a full-time seminary teacher, which position I held for 10 years. While I was blessed in my employment there was always heartache when it came to relationships. Please allow me to flash back to my 24^th year while working as a missionary trainer when my dreams of marriage were dashed for the first but not the last time. I had hoped for a friendship to develop into something more and I could remember praying to my Heavenly Father that perhaps this man was a good choice.  I had been given the answer in prayer that the man whom I had hoped to marry was a choice that God approved of, but alas it was not meant to be. I approved of his choice in marriage, and inside I knew that God would make this disappointment up to me.

 

I will save you all the gory details of the three more hopeless romances that I recounted for my General Authority worthiness interview to be hired as a full-time seminary teacher, but I will tell you this, one of the young men that I hoped to marry actually hoped back for a time and even asked me to marry him.  That engagement ended shortly after it was made and broke my heart. I prayed to heal and not to become a part of the ever growing group of the bitterly disappointed. I sought for direction from Heaven and read my scriptures diligently. Teaching the scriptures everyday was also a blessing and sometimes answers my prayers would come as I sought to help my class understand the gospel. Some of my friends were helpful too and approached me with new perspectives that helped me see that perhaps I could make a better match for me. One such friend was Cici, my husband’s first wife. She thought this young man was a little young for me and didn’t seem very excited when we were dating. This helped me to adjust my thinking when I looked back on the experience and see that I was getting a lot of signals that this wasn’t right, but I just wanted to be married so much it was clouding out these more subtle helps. This last experience may spark your curiosity so I will just tell you, I knew my husband and his first wife for six years before I would become a part of that family. Looking back on this I see it as such a tender mercy. I was able to know my friend Cici and come to care for her family before I even knew I would be a part of it.

 

2.       Choosing a Marriage with an Eternal Plural Connection

 

At 36 I was starting to feel a little old and rejected when it came to the whole marriage thing. I was dating a man in all worldly measurement was the “perfect catch.” He was a tall, had all his own hair, as he described himself, and he was rich. Most women must of thought I was crazy not to marry this model, yep he really he was a model, and take trips to his little cottage in Switzerland. Something just didn’t feel right as we dated.  We got a long great and I could feel myself falling for him. The closer I came to making the choice the more dark I felt inside. In looking back on the experience I can see clearly now that all of my disappointments and research I did with the doctrine of my faith was leading me to the point where I would be unable to accept the marriage prospect I currently had and be able to accept in faith the marriage that was approaching. Believing these truths I was understanding more deeply was making me different. What I believed was also changing how I saw life in general.  I had become more confident in my ability to feel and recognize when God was leading me. This in turn gave me more confidence in just trusting that feeling. I felt good about letting go of old attitudes that, while socially acceptable, were not in alignment with where my life’s direction needed to go.

 

 It was during this time of great confusion I experienced while seeking to know if I should marry this man that my friend Cici faithfully finished her battle with cancer and passed away. Cici was and is a beloved woman. She touched so many hearts with her quiet and strong devotion. When her sweet son told me of her passing I couldn’t help crying. I admired and loved her. Her husband was also my friend and I felt keenly for him in his agony. As I went home that night contemplating whether or not to marry the man I was currently dating mixed with the tender emotions of losing my friend I heard clearly in a voice that was unmistakably Cici’s, “You can marry Guy.”

 

Now some of you don’t believe in angels. Let me testify to you, angels exist. I prayed to know if this experience was from God directly after it happened because I was a little disturbed by the message. I also knew that emotion can cloud out inspiration from heaven.  I knew that prayer was what I needed to do because of countless prior experiences. Prayer always helped when I was confused and needed God’s direction and help. I ask God if that experience I had was from him. I was confident that he would tell me through the Holy Ghost if it was. I was given a confirming witness from the spirit of God that it was. It was so real yet seemed so strange. I have also found that strange to me is quite normal for God. I recollected that it was not unlike when God sends angels in scripture. They come to give a loving message of faith and repentance and usually shocked and even frighten those they appear to. I think of the Shepherds in the field at the time of Christ birth. They beheld an angel and were very fearful yet the angel told them not to be afraid.

 

This experience happened a few days before her funeral, which I attended. As I was there I wept for my friend and her grieving family.  I prayed… “If there was anything I could do to ease their suffering please let me know and I would do it”.  I hugged my friend, her husband, and her sweet son. During the services they played a recording of Cici’s son’s testimony who was at that time faithfully serving a LDS mission. It was all I could do to handle the emotion and feelings of the spirit that were so powerful and I cried even harder. The bitter sweet experiences of celebrating a life of faith and devotion was all I could handle, I couldn’t even attend the graveside burial I was so overwhelmed with emotion. THERE WAS ONE THING I UNDERSTOOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT, I left knowing that Guy was the kind of man I needed to marry.

 

3.       The Courage to Listen and Follow God’s Direction

 

With all I knew and had experienced, it seems silly now looking back on it I decided to keep dating the man I had formed an attachment with. The heavenly experiences of promptings through the spirit that were changing my understanding didn’t end and they were helping my heart to change. I realized through dating the man to whom I hoped to marry that he wasn’t ready for a temple marriage.  Compromising temple marriage or even putting it off until later was not an option I could take. I had been told in my patriarchal blessing, which is personal counsel given through a priesthood ordinance that I needed to choose a man that loved the Lord and would take me to the temple. The line from my blessing had kept me single more than once so it was not surprising that it would happen again. Now I was much more humble and willing to submit whatever the Lord was bringing into my life.  There was something wonderful in surrendering my will to the Lord. I felt like everything would be fine and better than I could imagine. Little did I know that my now husband was also having heavenly experiences that led him to call me. He asked if he could call me again. It was important that he came when he did, even though doing so gave him quite a bit to deal with in his family relationships, I am so proud of him for coming. Him coming at the time he did gave me the ability to let go of the hope I had carried for the wrong man and get my head on straight.

 

During the first week we spoke on the phone and began to get the courage to divulge some of our heavenly experiences with angels and dreams to one another. It was quite apparent to us that we were a part of a “Heavenly Arranged Marriage.” This seems strange … since our culture where that is not the norm… and it felt uncomfortable. It also may seem like we had no choice in the matter, but we did. We had the choice to follow the Lord will or not. I was ready to follow this course and it felt right. We both had a desire to be faithful to whatever the Lord required of us because we knew he had the power to do more with our lives than we could without his help. By the end of the week of phone conversations we had unofficially decided to marry all before the first date! The speed at which this occurred looked suspicious to anyone who didn't know our character and were not privy to the spiritual experiences we had. Our engagement and subsequent marriage was a seed bed for suspicion and rumors. Another thing that was different than I had not anticipated was the newness of our affection. Our marriage didn't begin without any love or attraction. Our love was a young and friendship based love, there were beginnings of attraction that most people have in the beginning of a courtship.

 

Due to intense grieving and doubt there were times that both of us were ready to back out of the engagement. My poor husband was grieving deeply for his Cici and I was overwhelmed with the thought of much more than I anticipated in the thought of getting married. Not to mention I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that interrupted my career prematurely. "When it rains it pours" is I believe the statement best describing my environment,  but every time I prayed there was peace. Miraculously we were even supported by close and tender family and friends. I remember one friend Robin upon hearing the news was immediately supportive. She felt the spirit of it instantly and even added, and there is a child waiting. (This is a common way of saying in our faith that you have children who are waiting to come to earth, not that I was pregnant.) She not only confirmed our experience we had shared with her she also confirmed one we hadn't shared yet. This was very comforting to us. As for the family, my side of the family was much more eager for the match to take place, I believe that was partly because for two years or more my family fasted for me every month. They fasted for the blessings that I needed to come into my life to come and when they did they had already gained the spiritual insights they needed to accept the match. My husband’s family on the other hand had very little time to adjust and their worries and concerns were well founded. But heaven again came through in answer to my prayers and our families supported us and attended our sealing in the Temple.

  

4.       Bringing the family together…Our First Year

 

I thought the hardest things were over. I was now married! Anyone who is married knows I was only at the beginning of the trials. There was no happily ever after when we married. There were fears and doubts and misunderstandings that needed to be worked out. All of our challenges were compounded by the speed of our courtship and insecurity we both felt in our new marriage. They were also complicated with many other stresses of moving our home, huge medical expenses, building up the my husband's acupuncture clinic, strained family relationships, I had to go on disability and quit teaching, my grandfather passed away and more but I am going to stop now. We were busy preparing for Christmas and a missionary coming home to our new family which occupied our time. Why we were able to pull through these difficulties was because we didn’t make this decision lightly nor did we esteem our covenants we made before God to be a light matter. There was also sweet and gentle help that came from God in the form of his servants both angels on earth, or mortal angels, and angels from heaven. Often times we could feel Cici there and we knew she was sent from a loving Heavenly Father who heard our pleas for help. The comfort and following the counsel we received got us through all the hard times. I was constantly encouraged and given a heavenly light to guide what I was to do.

 

The first year was the hardest. We moved into the family home with the boys, who were actually grown men. It was both bitter and sweet. Every hall and room had a memory of Cici and my presence was a painful reminder of their loss. I had learned a valuable lesson years earlier from my dear friend Nancy. Nancy had lost both her parents in her youth. She said when he step-father remarried his new wife, her step-mom, took down the pictures of her mother.  This made my friend feel like her mother died all over again. I was so moved by her experience I had decided when I heard that experience I could never do that to anyone. I committed that if I ever had the chance I would respect the children’s grief and the loved one who had passed on. Shocking to me this opportunity arose.  There was no decision that needed to be made. I knew just what to do.

 

I decided that wherever possible I would leave the house like Cici had left it. We even set up a glass display cabinet that became what we called a “memory box” that contained some of her cherished belongings, family photos, awards and such. This insured that there would always be a place in our home where Cici was honored and remembered. We gathered her belongings and preserved those we would want to give to her grandchildren and thought of ways we could teach them about her life. We have a beautiful little trunk all prepared. This will also be important for all the additions to the family to get to know her as well. This memorializing did present some difficulties for my family of origin, since this was done before my picture was up, I just tried to help them understand that my husband and sons needed time to grieve and I was seeking to help them grieve and bring our fractured family together.

 

I think another thing that was really hard for my grieving family was every holiday was such a keen reminder to the family they once had which was never going to be the same again. Everyone carried their grief in losing Cici differently and I tried to be understanding and not take things personally, although sometimes in my heart I felt overlooked and misunderstood. One such experience was not in our first year, but rather the 2^nd Mother’s day, my first real Mother’s day. I had waited 37 years to have a child so to me this was a big deal.  There was still so much grief for the mother that was lost on that day for my family I felt forgotten.  What should have been one of the happiest days was one of the saddest. I did my best to forget myself and go to work. It was nice to be remembered that day by my family of origin. They really helped so much by being excited and happy for me.

 

We continued to work to help our little family come together. Another choice my husband and I made through counseling with each other was to carry on the traditions and favorite family dishes.  I just did everything I could to make matters better, but it didn’t always work. I learned that I couldn’t always make things better but I could love them during the pain. I am so thankful now that I followed the Spirit’s direction. I know that is because of my Savior’s sacrifice for us that we overcame all the difficulty we were experiencing, we only needed to be willing to exercise our faith in patience and prayer.

 

5.       Universal Truths We are Learning from Living in an Eternal Marriage with a Plural Connection

 

Now we look at all that we have experienced together and the trials that have strengthened our faith. There is a deepening sweetness in our relationship and we are now stepping out of the darkness and grief we were encompassed by in the beginning of our marriage.  The spirit and love in our home has brought healing to our hearts. We have also had two sweet additions to our family, our baby boy born 5 days before our 1st wedding anniversary and a lovely daughter-in-law who came the next year. Our understanding has grown and with that the pain of the former days are fading. The lessons that we have learned have left us forever changed. I am beginning to see even more today why my husband was the best and only man for me. Now there is a deeper love where there was once insecurity. I know that all the darkness this world has to offer is only temporary trial.  I know that the spirit of the Lord leads us to greater happiness, but the path of greater happiness is not the path with the easiest life. I have come to know my Heavenly Father and Savior in a way that I could have ever known them through these challenges and I have come to trust more fervently in the Spirit’s promptings. The family that felt uncomfortable and awkward when we gathered together now feels loving and happy. The mourning for Cici hasn’t ended but there is now a greater atmosphere of love and trust to handle it. God lives. There is nothing to hard for the Lord. He can and always will be there for us.

 

These things I know;

 

1.       Trials provide what is needed to strengthen our faith in Christ.

 

2.        Love deepens and grows with time and faithful effort.

 

3.       Grief will heal and open us to greater joy.

 

4.       God has given us families to help us come to understand him and what we can become.

 

5.       Perfect love casts out fear.

 

6.       Our mortal experience is temporary. One day we will rest from affliction,.

 

7.       The Spirit of the Lord will always lead us as we choose to follow God in righteousness.

 

8.       Greater happiness does not mean having an easy life.

 

9.       Loving and teaching correct principles to our families provides a perfect environment to become our best selves.

 

10.   Because of the tender watch care of the Lord we can mourn and be happy at the same time.

 

 

 

https://ericksonlindsey.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-less-loved-wife-lds-perspective-on.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR3hXbN53TH00Mj57yIzF72uVuX1icOdzkSicEHMpW1odtKkuzdLOYpooa4