Halo Tracing: How to Be an Angel
By Anne Hinton Pratt · November 3, 2021
I’ve written
a lot about angels and the help we receive from them. What I haven’t yet
mentioned is the joy and wonder that can also be ours by seeking this errand of
angels; to be a miracle in someone’s life…
Poignant Awareness
Years
ago, I was concerned about a special friend. I prayed a lot for her and
asked the Lord to send angels to help her through a difficult time she was
having. That day, I went to the temple, and while there, I again offered
a fervent prayer for angels to help her. This time as I was praying, I
heard the surprising words in my mind, “YOU are one of the angels helping her!”
I was
stunned! What a beautiful awareness! I was taught that when we
sincerely and fervently pray for others, we become their “angels,” and often
through us they receive blessings they wouldn’t otherwise receive.
Merging with Angels
In a
similar account, I had a dear friend share a very sacred dream. She had a
daughter that had estranged herself from their family and God. One night
my friend had a dream where she saw an angel in white bending over and kissing
her wayward sleeping daughter. Suddenly, the picture changed, and that
angel transformed into my friend. Now it was she that
was bending over her daughter in the loving gesture, and then she woke up being
filled with the glory of the spirit. It became clear to her that she was
in a partnership with angels to help her daughter.”[1]
Adding Substance to our Souls
I love
Annie Henrie Nader’s inspiring painting (above) of “an angel tracing a halo
around a woman in thought as a gesture of gratitude for the woman’s kindness
and thoughtfulness…”[2]
Spencer
W. Kimball echoes this concept when he said,
“The
more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance
there is to our souls.”[3]
“Angel
work” is JOYFUL and literally adds to our essence! How wonderful is that?
Are
angels metaphorically “tracing” halos around you? I bet they are.
An “Angel” Who Learned from Angels
As we
seek to be angels in this sphere, we can be used in countless ways. The
following is unusual but shows the variety of our angelic possibilities.
Barbara
Lee spent her entire life giving service. When she was 85, her body
limited her to be in bed most of the time, and she felt it was time to die and
return to God.
Her
daughter Carolyn Allen shared how one day, her mom began to look very pale and
still. Carolyn thought her mother was dying, but several hours later, her
mother suddenly opened her eyes and began to speak saying, “It’s not time for
me to die!”
Barbara
explained that she had experienced something truly wonderful. She
described heaven and how beautiful it was. Over the next few years, she was
allowed to visit the other side several times. Each time she would come back
from heaven with more information. She said, “Angels are all around us;”
and “The veil is very thin.” She described many new insights and
understandings to her family.
When
grandchildren came to visit, she told them things she had learned that were
specifically for them. Talk about service! Barbara served as an
“angel” who had been taught by angels.[4]
We most likely won’t have the experience of going to the other
side before our time, but we CAN bring the spirit of Elijah to our family, by
telling the spiritual stories of the family and bearing our own testimonies…
We can
share our angelic substance with others…
BRING PEACE
Many
years ago, I made what I thought was a big effort to go to the temple. I
was feeling harried and jangled because of the time it took to get there and
the many projects I had left behind.
While
there, I remember looking into the eyes of a temple worker. Her eyes were
pools of peace. She didn’t say anything to me, but I could feel the peace
radiate from her, and it entered into my soul, calming all my fears and
worries. I could feel the Lord through her. At that moment she was
my “angel.”
Can
others feel peace through us?
Becoming Ministering Angels
Elder
Carlos A. Godoy stated,
“Brothers
and sisters, I believe in angels…I promise that if we are willing to serve,
the Lord will give us opportunities to be ministering angels. He knows who
needs angelic help, and He will put them in our path.” [5]
Be Someone Else’s Miracle- Taking Initiative
Jim
Raines became an “angel” one day and was “put on the right path.”
It was
1970 and Jim was waiting for his mission call. He lived in Los Angeles,
California and his grandmother wanted him to drive her to visit Thatcher,
Arizona to visit family. Since he had nothing pressing to do, he drove
her there.
After
he dropped his grandmother off, he set off to do a couple of errands. At
some point Jim needed directions to get to his destination. He saw an
elderly man with the hood up on his truck and stopped to ask directions.
In chatting with this man Jim noticed that the man was working on his
transmission but was quite clueless how to fix it. Jim knew how he could
help, because he had just put a transmission in his car back home. As Jim
left he said, “I’ll be back and help you do this.”
After
returning hours later, Jim found the old man still working on his truck,
without making any progress. Jim rolled up his sleeves and after an hour or so,
got the transmission installed and working.
After
they cleaned up, the man’s wife invited him to dinner. As Jim was
leaving, the man’s wife privately told him,
“Last
night when I prayed the family prayer, I prayed to the Lord to have someone
come help my husband with his truck. He needs that truck and he had no
one to help him. YOU coming along was a direct answer to prayer!” [6]
Jim was
their angel that night and through this act added to his essence as well as
theirs.
Be Illuminated and Enlarged
Lorenzo
Snow taught,
“When
you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is
in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is,
then try to remove it with the wisdom the Lord bestows upon you;
and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel the light,
the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated.” [7]
When we
look for ways to become someone’s miracle, as Jim was, the Lord illuminates and
enlarges our spiritual core.
So, BE the
“angel” that opens doors for others, listens intently, redirects toxic
conversations to positive, visits the lonely, shares testimony, prays and fasts
for others, and your goodness will be “traced” into your countenance by
adding substance to your soul!
How can
you be an “angel” today?
You Can CONTACT me directly at annehpratt@hotmail.com.
[1] Friends experience, name
withheld. Used with permission.
[2] Annie Henrie Nader, https://altusfineart.com/products/annie-henrie-nader-angels-gratitude-woman-finishing-halo
[3] The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball,
ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 254.
[4] Carolyn Allen, personal
correspondence. Used with permission.
[5] Carlos A. Godoy, “I Believe in
Angels,” October Conference 2020
[6] Jim Raines, personal
correspondence. Used with permission.
[7] Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, Apr.
1899, 2–3.Italics added.
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