Angelic Assistance in Priesthood blessings
By Anne Hinton Pratt · January 13, 2021
Cover image via Gospel Media Library.
As
beloved children of the Most High God we have profound connections and
privileges that at sacred moments are revealed to our awareness. One of
these occasions comes when priesthood blessings are bestowed. Sometimes
these blessings are assisted by angels…
Room Filled with Angels
Charles
Harper shared a poignant experience of being succored by angels in giving a
priesthood blessing. He wrote,
“My
parents were on their way to visit my father’s family when dad had a heart
attack. We are converts to the church, and dad and I were the only ones in the
family who were blessed with the priesthood. I received a phone call asking
that I come and give dad a blessing.
“I felt
so alone in the hospital room as I laid my hands on his head to give the
blessing, but as I did, I became aware that the room was filled with
priesthood holders who were there to be part of the blessing.
“My mother’s efforts to find ancestors had resulted in the
ordination of several departed family members who were there to help me anoint
and bless dad. I didn’t see them, but I could feel them and knew they were
there.” [1]
Authority of Departed Family Members to be Involved in our Lives
When
angels come help or succor us in any way, it’s because they have been given
God’s divine authority to do so. Thomas S. Monson quoted Joseph F.
Smith’s witness about angels when he wrote,
“…authority that
has been given in this day in which we live by ministering angels and spirits
from above, direct from the presence of Almighty God.”[2]
The
fact is our family is “family” whether on this or that side of the veil.
They seem to keep tabs on us and in our extremities and are often given
permission to succor and help us.
“Looking
for Something,” Brian Kershisnik, 2016. Used with permission.
Departed Grandfather Giving Blessing to Concerned Granddaughter
A good
friend Matt Hill told me about a time his sister asked him to give her a
priesthood blessing. She was not yet married and was preoccupied that she
was getting older with no spouse. She wanted direction. As Matt
put his hands on her head and began the blessing, he strongly felt their
grandfather give the blessing through him to her. He
writes,
“The message was simply to relax, and that in due time things
would play out, and she WOULD find her mate. Eventually
that is what happened, and she did get married. The message, however, at that
time was exactly what she needed to hear to bring her hope and it was delivered
by her loving grandfather from the other side.”[3]
How
touching for her to know that her Grandfather cherished her enough to give her
specific words for her life through her brother.
Angels in Priesthood Circle
Bill
Brough shared an intimate awareness he had during his son’s priesthood
ordination. He wrote,
“Over
the last twenty years or so I have had numerous experiences where I have felt
the presence of a family member at spiritual times. In one, I was ordaining my
teenage son a priest. That was an occasion I would have wanted to share with my
own father, who had ordained me, and so whose priesthood lineage was also mine,
and was likewise my son’s. But my father had recently passed away, as had my
son’s maternal grandfather a few year’s prior. As I stood in a
priesthood circle, with one hand on my son’s head and the other on another
priesthood bearer’s shoulder, I suddenly realized that his two grandfathers
were, in fact, part of that circle as well, invisible to my eyes but present
nonetheless.
Somehow, I could feel them, in a way that can’t be explained, and
made a point of saying so in my son’s ordination, so he would know that his
relatives on the other side were involved in his life.[4]
These
are experiences that are poignant and tender and are forever emblazoned in the
memory of those who are blessed to have them.
In the
following account, a preborn spirit witnessed a priesthood blessing that aided
him in fact, coming to mortality.
Son Observing Priesthood Blessing Before He Was Born
Ronald
Barnes told me about an unusual experience he had. He wrote,
“My
wife, Colleen, and I had two daughters, Tara and Laura, when she was pregnant
with our third child. Several times during the pregnancy, Colleen felt that
there was something wrong with the baby. Each time I blessed her with a
priesthood blessing that everything would be alright. When our son, Michael, was
born, it was discovered that there was a knot in his umbilical cord. Had it
tightened; he might not have survived.
“When
our son, Michael, was about 6 years old he told us about an event that happened
before he was born. At first, he said he was surrounded by a pink
light, then he was in our living room, observing the rest of us. We
were dressed in our church clothes. Michael’s sisters were sitting on the
couch, and I was standing before Colleen with my hands on her head
as if I were giving her a blessing.
“I believe that he saw one of the times that I blessed his
mother-to-be because she knew something was wrong with him. I feel that the
blessing he saw actually saved his life.”[5]
Although
Michael apparently wasn’t a part of the blessing, he as a pre-mortal being, was
there as a witness. Pre-mortal as well as post-mortal family members want
to be a part of our lives.
Healing Blessing from Deceased Brother
Debra
McCracken told me about a marvelous realization she had during a
priesthood blessing. She said,
“Several
years ago I tripped and fell while walking back from lunch where I worked. It
was extremely painful and I had to have surgery to partially replace my right
shoulder. I had several setbacks and extended hospitalizations and rehabs.
During my second rehab stay a close family friend and my husband came to give
me a blessing one night. I was tired and in pain and wondering how I was going
to continue with recovery. As they laid their hands on my head, I felt
the blessed and familiar feeling washing down through my body that the Holy
Ghost can
give, and I sensed four men standing behind me, not two. I
felt that one of them was my father, who had passed away a few years
previously,–but who was the other man? Suddenly I was
overwhelmed by the realization that it was my baby brother who died the same day
he was prematurely born many years ago. I had never seen him, but
always thought of him as a baby. I realized it was him; an adult in the
spirit world, and he was assisting in my blessing. This has been one of the
most spiritual and comforting experiences of my life.”[6]
Loving Associates on Both Sides of the Veil
A
beautiful quote from Elder Holland gives an echo to these stories when he said,
“…the
Holy Ghost, angels in Heaven, family members on both sides of the veil…All of
these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey…”[7]
They
are given to us as spiritual companions, and sometimes, we can feel them with
us…
In this
final moving story, a departed father comes directly to keep a promise…
Departed Father Comes to Keep His Promise and to Heal Son
Don
Woods relayed a stunning experience of his departed father returning to give
him a priesthood blessing. He and his father had been very close. On the
night before he died, his father came to him at 1:30 in the morning telling him
several things he needed to be doing in his life and informing him why he had
to die at that time. He told Don that he would be with him and help when
he had medical emergencies. Later Don became extremely ill with cystic
fibrosis and had a severe bowel blockage. He wrote,
“In
August 1992, when I was in so much pain… (morphine shots administered every two
hours were not helping), one night at three in the morning, I cried
out: ‘Lord, what did I do wrong?’ I also cried: ‘Dad, you promised you would be
here!’ Suddenly my father was at my bed and I felt him put his hands on my
head. Within a few seconds, there was a feeling as if someone were pouring
something warm over my body. It cascaded from my head to my toes, and the pain
left. My father smiled and then he left. The next day I began passing the
stones.”[8]
I loved
each of these profound stories. It appears that events that are important to
us, especially life-threatening ones, alert the angelic realm. Consider
the possibility that your departed love ones have and will come from beyond the
grave to observe and strengthen you in your times of need. It’s one of
the privileges we can live up to as beloved children of the Most High God.[9]
You can CONTACT Anne at annehpratt@hotmail.com
[1] Charles Harper, personal
correspondence. Story used with permission.
[2] Thomas S. Monson, “Willing and Worthy
to Serve,” Ensign, May 2012, 66. Original quote from Gospel Doctrine, p.
139-40. Italics added.
[3] Matt Hill, personal
correspondence. Story used with permission.
[4] Bill Brough, personal
correspondence. Story used with permission.
[5] Ronald Barnes, personal
correspondence. Story used with permission.
[6] Debra McCracken, personal
correspondence. Story used with permission).
[7] Jeffrey R. Holland, “None Were with
Him, April Conference, 2009.
[8] Don Lynn Wood, http://uvicf.org/tributes/DLWoopdStory.html.
[9] “If you live up to your privileges,
the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”
–
Joseph Smith, History of the Church (directed to the members of the Relief
Society), 4:605.
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